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Heavenly worship

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Robert Banks and R. Paul Stevens write:

In the last book of the Bible we are given an empowering vision of worship in the new Jerusalem. All earthly worship should be inspired by the worship that is already going on in heaven and that we will experience more fully when Christ comes again. In this sense our present worship is like “playing heaven,” as when little children invite each other to “play house,” looking forward to the day when they are grown up and have their own home.…

Abortion used to be a feminist issue

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David Baker writes:

Once, abortion was a feminist issue. Alice Paul (1885-1977) denounced abortion as an evil forced upon women by men. A number of suffragists called abortion “child murder” in Susan B. Anthony’s publication, The Revolution. There are those who still bravely bear that flame today, with Feminists for Life of America, being one such organisation. Feminists for Life of America first revealed and shared many pro-life quotes from the first wave feminists and on its website you can read ‘pro-woman answers to pro-choice questions’…

Let the last words be given to feminist writer and bioethicist Fiorella Nash. …

Theology of sexuality and gender

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Here I summarise this essay by Andrew T. Walker, entitled, ‘Gender and Sexuality’.

Gender refers to the biological differences between males and females and to the different cultural ways in which creational distinctions are expressed.  Sexuality refers to God’s design for the procreative relationship between men and women and to the experience of erotic desire within that relationship.

Sexuality and gender in God’s design

Several axiomatic truths related to gender and sexuality are found in the Genesis 1–2 narrative.…

Stand-up preaching

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What can the preacher learn from the stand-up comic and other expert communicators?

Not a lot, it might be supposed.  The preacher shouldn’t go all-out for laughs: his message is far too serious.  He shouldn’t preach time again the same message, honing it until every word is in the right place, and the delivery timed to perfection.  He shouldn’t try to create any kind of unnatural persona, but rather be in the pulpit the same person that he is at home, at work, and amongst his friends.…

Wiersbe: the use of imagination in preaching

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A few thoughts from Warren Wiersbe.

“The purpose of preaching is not to explain a subject, but to achieve an object.” (Fosdick)

‘We have forgotten that the Bible is an imaginative book. It contains every kind of literature, from funeral dirges and pastoral poems to epigrams, parables, allegories, and creative symbols that have captured poets, artists, and composers for centuries. For some reason, our views of inspiration and inerrancy have robbed us of a living book, a book that throbs with excitement and enrichment.…

Ministries of the word

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As the pages of the New Testament testify, the ministry of the Word encampasses a wide range activities.  Over thirty verbs are employed.  According to Peter Adam, these may be categorised as follows:

Words of Information: teach, instruct, make known, remind.

Words of Declaration: preach, proclaim, cry out, testify, bear witness, declare, write, read, pass on, set forth.

Words of Exhortation: call, denounce, warn, rebuke, command, give judgment, encourage, appeal, urge, ask.

Words of Persuasion: explain, make clear, prove, guard, debate, contend, refute, reason, persuade, convince, insist, defend, confirm.…

Preaching from the Old Testament? Use Biblical theology!

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Biblical theology (a slightly unfortunate expression, because all theology should be biblical!) means ‘looking for, and following, the connecting themes that run through the Scriptures’ (Millar and Campbell).  In other words, it is discerning the Bible’s overall story; its big picture.

How can biblical theology be used to preach Christian truth from the Old Testament?

Gary Millar offers the following options:

  1. Follow the plan.  Sometimes, a forwards trajectory is present in the OT passage itself.  Ruth 4 (which traces Ruth’s descendants down to King David) and 2 Kings 11 (where that same royal line is in jeopardy) are cases in point. 
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Dabney: the preacher’s text

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Every sermon should have a text.  That is to say, it should be an explication and application of some portion of Holy Scripture.

A distinction is often made been ‘textual preaching’ and ‘expository preaching’.  The supposition is that there is a fundamental difference between preaching from a short section of the Bible (a single verse, say) and preaching from a longer portion (such as a paragraph).  But there is (or should not be) any fundamental difference. …

Simplicity in preaching

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J.C. Ryle was a master of a simple, forthright style.  His advice to fellow-preachers is invaluable.

Here’s a summary.

Prefatory remarks

1. Simplicity in preaching is of the utmost importance.  We cannot be useful if we cannot be understood, and we cannot be understood if we are not simple.

2. Simplicity in preaching is not easy to attain.  It is easier to appear clever than to be intelligible.

3. Simple preaching does not mean childish preaching.…

The ‘preacherhood of all believers’

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G. P. Hugenberger writes:

While it is true that preachers are not self-appointed (“how can they preach unless they are senṭ” Rom 10:15), it should be noted that Jesus commissioned not merely the Twelve but also the rank and file of his disciples to preach the kingdom of God (cf. the extensive parallels between Mt 10 and Lk. 10, though the latter lacks the term kērýssō). Likewise, in Luke’s account of the “Great Commission” (that “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations,” Lk 24:47) Jesus’ immediate audience included other disciples (e.g.,…