Prayer postures
‘Hands together, eyes shut tight.’
That’s the way generations of children were taught to pray.
Curiously, many different prayer postures are described in Scripture, but not that one.
William Hendriksen (New Testament Commentary on The Pastoral Epistles) lists the following:
- Standing: Gen. 18:22; 1 Sam. 1:26; Matt. 6:5; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11; Luke 18:13…
- Hands Spread Out or/and Lifted Heavenward: Ex. 9:29; Ex. 17:11, 12; 1 Kings 8:22; Neh. 8:6; Psalm 63:4; Psalm 134:2; Psalm 141:2; Is.
Why we preach Christ from the Old Testament
“You must preach the text as it lays,” someone said to Jared Wilson.
“Indeed,” replied Jared, “and every OT text lays, as Spurgeon put it, ‘along the road to Christ.’”
In support of his assertion, Jared points to the following New Testament texts:
John 5:39 — “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me”
John 8:56 — “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.…
Preaching is not merely explaining
Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.…
The Craddock homiletic
Fred Craddock (1928-2015) was was pastor, preacher, and teacher of homiletics. He wrote influential books, including As One Without Authority (1971) and Preaching (1985). I have recently been working my way through this latter book, and also listening to some online discussion with, and sermons by, Craddock.
Michael Jeffress has written a paper entitled, ‘Fred B. Craddock’s Contribution to Preaching: The Revolution of the Inductive Method’, in which he helpfully summaries the key themes of Craddock preaching method.…
Knowing God
“This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3).
What does it mean to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent?
Let J.I. Packer answer.
First, knowing God is a matter of personal dealing, as is all direct acquaintance with personal beings. Knowing God is more than knowing about him; it is a matter of dealing with him as he opens up to you, and being dealt with by him as he takes knowledge of you.…
The Bible, women, and authority
I have great respect for Ian Paul. So, when he offers a view that I find unpersuasive, I’m glad to give it a hearing anyway.
Here, then, is the gist of his ‘considered summary’, arising from his study of the main biblical texts (Gen 1, 2 and 3, Luke 24, John 20, Acts 18, Romans 16, 1 Cor 11 and 14, Eph 5 and 1 Tim 2). But here are the bare bones.
[Source]
Of course, Ian Paul offers a more extended discussion and defence of his reading of the key biblical texts.…
Preaching: monologue or dialogue?
Most evangelicals would, I suppose, think that ‘proper’ preaching consists of a prepared speech, delivered without interruption to a group a silent listeners. The use of dialogue would be thought to ‘water down’ the content and authority of the message, by allowing what was being said to be questioned or even doubted.
But these assumptions should themselves be questioned, writes Ian Paul (here and here).
Consider the biblical evidence. Ian Paul quotes Jeremy Thomson:
Much of Jesus’ teaching was given ‘on the way’ and involved a high degree of interaction with the audience (Mark 8.27–10.52). …
Tabernacle: symbolism and meaning
Writing in the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, John Oswalt says that, while it is possible to read too much into the detailed instructions for the construction of the tabernacle (in Exodus 25ff), the main points are clear enough.
I summarise:
Several colours are significant. White suggests the purity of God and the needed purity of his people. Blue indicates God’s transcendence; purple, his royalty, and red, the blood that must be shed if sinful humans are to approach a holy God.…
Tabernacle and temple in the Bible story
The tabernacle and temple were alike the meeting place between God and people. Indeed, the tabernacle, which was at first a moveable structure, found a permanent home in Solomon’s temple.
But, actually, the story begins not in Exodus but at the beginning of Genesis. As many scholars have observed, the garden of Eden was itself a kind of temple, for it to was the meeting place between God and his people. Not surprising, then, that there are so many allusions to the creation narrative in the instructions for the construction of the tabernacle in Exodus 25ff.…
The tabernacle – God’s dwelling place
Christians sometimes regard the accounts of the tabernacle, temple and priestly service as tedious and irrelevant. This is a mistake. They point to a vital reality – the presence of God with his people.
The tabernacle itself is of seminal importance. It is the first in an important series (tabernacle, temple, incarnation, church, new Jerusalem). The account of its construction is much more detailed than that of the temple (see 1 Kings 5-8), and the tabernacle found a permanent home in the latter structure. …