One of the little joys of preaching

How many things can you say about a well known Biblical passage or character?  Most of us might have a few things to say, but how about twenty minutes worth?  One of the joys of the process of preaching is that it forces you to look closely at a given passage of Scripture in order to determine what you should say about it.  As a rule, I don't look back at past sermons to see what I've said from a passage before.  Over time, passage like Luke's account of the birth of Christ will certainly be used more than once.  By not looking at the past messages, I allow God's Word to speak to me afresh and show me new insights that I hadn't seen before.  People have asked me, "If you've already read that book, why are you reading it again???"  That's usually in response to seeing me reading the Lord of the Rings again (I'm well past 15 times and counting).  My answer is simple: I find new things to appreciate and enjoy each time I re-read a book that I love.
Scripture is no different.
  This week I'm preparing a two-part message on the story of Jonah.  It's a story that is popular in Sunday School, kids love hearing about a guy being swallowed by a whale evidently (Of course they do!).  So what do you say about a story that everyone "knows" already?  That's where close examination of the text comes in.  I have to read it carefully; look for things that are obvious, and things that are subtle; put myself in the author's shoes (What is he trying to tell his audience?) and then in the seat of the original audience (What did it mean to them?).  Lastly, I look at the text as it relates to my congregation today; what message does God have for them here and now?
When it's all said and done, it really isn't that difficult to fill up to 9 to 12 pages of notes that I use for my sermon.  At times, the difficulty is in finding a way to stop before it grows out of control.  For me, there's both academic and spiritual joy in the process of rediscovering Scriptures that I've known my whole life and finding a way to explain that message to others.

Sermon Video: "The LORD is my refuge" - Psalm 11

David is confronted with two conflicting things that he knows to be true.  The wicked assault the righteous (as Saul did to him), and God is in control of this world.  The solution to that dilema is two-fold; to become part of the process of giving refuge to those in need (i.e. being a part of God's refuge) and accepting by faith that God will in the end judge the world, that those who are martyred in the cause of Christ are victorious.  For David, he still had to hide in caves from Saul, but he refused to raise his hand against the LORD's annointed; instead, he placed the outcome in God's hand; the LORD was his refuge.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

The Word of God in the hands of the people

In Diarmaid MacCulloch's superb book "The Reformation" there is a profound observation that comes originally from Bernard Cottret's biography of John Calvin, "the increase in Bibles created the Reformation rather than being created by it, and it is notable how many of these Bibles were translations from Latin into local languages." (P.73)
In other words, there were plenty of would-be reformers and reform movements throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, but it was the printing of Bibles in the vernacular (the language of the people) through movable type that made the Reformation possible.  It is an amazing thing when the Word of God is read by God's people.  In the days of Josiah (II Kings 22), the people of Israel had so little contact with Scripture that not a single copy was available until a dusty old scroll was found in the temple and read to the people.  The subsequent weeping and mourning were inevitable because without God's Word his people will always wander away from the truth.
The same thing could be said of any church, regardless of denomination, in our world today.  The closer the people in the pews are to God's Word, the more they ingest it themselves on a regular basis, the better off the church will be.  Worried about a crack-pot pastor leading his flock astray?  There is far less a chance of that happening when the people know God's Word as well as he does.  Worried about people remaining true to the Gospel message in its original form?  Not if they read it, teach it, and preach it every week.
Does our local church need reform, does yours?  Follow the example of the Reformation, get the Bible into the hands of the common people and let the power of the Word of God convict God's people of their sins and bring them to their knees in worship of the LORD.

Sermon Video: On the Road to Emmaus - Luke 24:13-35

On the afternoon of  the first Easter Jesus walks alongside two of his followers as they discuss recent events.  Cleopas and the other follower are disheartened by the death of Jesus and their dashed hopes.  Jesus shows them from the Scriptures that what happened to the Messiah (himself) was both necessary and predicted.  When they arrive and share dinner Jesus is revealed to them when he breaks the bread; immediately, they return to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples that Jesus is indeed alive!  When the whole of Scripture is consulted, God's people find the truth burning within their hearts.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

"take hold of the hope offered to us" - Hebrews 6:18

Something I was reading in the book, "The Reformation", by Diarmaid MacCulloch reminded me of this verse from Hebrews that we'll be looking at during Bible study tonight.  The reference in Hebrews is to those who fled for their lives to the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, in order to physically take hold of the horns of the altar in hopes that their lives would be spared by those who pursued them.  It was an appeal to God's mercy that was sometimes granted, (as it was by Solomon when his older brother Adonijah fled to the alter in I Kings 1:49-53 upon hearing that Solomon had been made king; although Adonijah later tried to get the throne anyway and was killed) and sometimes it was not (as with the case of Joab who had conspired against Solomon with Adonijah and who also had the blood of two innocent men killed in cold blood on his hands; he was killed despite having his hands on the horns of the altar).  The whole point of the passage in Hebrews is that our hope in Christ is greater than taking hold of the horns of the altar.  We can truly seek a sanctuary that is secure against all storms.
How does any of this relate to the Reformation?  Simply enough, it was in 1414 that the Bohemian reformer, Jan Hus was given safe-conduct (a guarantee of protection) by the Holy Roman Emperor so that he would be willing to go before a church council and explain his grievances.  The council and the Emperor changed their mind, put Jan on trial for heresy (Jan's reforms?  He wanted the Mass given in the language of the people, and the cup given to all so that they could fully participate in the Mass); they then had Jan burned at the stake.  The resulting uproar and civil war in Bohemia paved the way for the first Western Church that was independent of Rome, and example that would later influence Martin Luther.  Had these men been true to their word the reforms of Hus could have been debated and evaluated, but instead those in authority tried to crush dissent.  That such short-sighted and ungodly decisions led to the splintering of the Church is no doubt (more on MacCulloch's book as I work my way through it)
So how does this apply to me?  The hope that we have in Christ avoid all such human double-dealing and uncertainty.  God does not lie.  His Word will stand for all time.  When we flee and take hold of the Cross of Christ, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." -Hebrews 6:19