Category Archives: Preaching

Mt 28:19 – “Go and make disciples of all nations”

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Mt 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

What should we make of the fact that, in the original Greek, the word translated ‘go’ is a participle – ‘going’?

Murray Harris (Navigating Tough Texts, p24) comments that the Greek grammar here is often misunderstood.  It is said that there is no command to ‘go’, but only a participle, ‘going’. …

Luke 4:30 – ‘He went his way’

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NET – ‘But he passed through the crowd and went on his way.’

NASB – ‘But passing through their midst, He went His way.’

Bill Mounce writes:

‘I was reminded recently of why every word choice matters. I was visiting a church where the preacher was discussing Luke 4:30, the story where people tried to throw Jesus off a cliff. The verse says, “But passing through their midst, He went His way (ἐπορεύετο)” (NASB). The preacher emphasized that Jesus had “His” own way, different from what the townspeople intended for Him.

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Preaching: Christ-centred, God-focused, or Trinitarian?

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I have sometimes wondered if enthusiasm for Christ-centred preaching can lead to a neglect of God-centred, or, indeed, a fully-rounded Trinitarian approach.

This is touched on by Sidney Greidanus, in chapter 5 of Preaching Christ From the Old Testament.

Greidanus agrees that ‘christological preaching’ can indeed sometimes slide into ‘Christomonism’, the preaching of Christ isolated from God.  Some, such as Wilhelm Vischer, held that

‘the theological exposition of the [Old Testament] writings within the church can be nothing other than Christology.’

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Richard Baxter on profitably hearing God’s word preached

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From Chapter XIX of The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, “Directions for Profitable Hearing God’s Word Preached”

Titus 3: Directions for Holy Resolutions and Affections in Hearing

The understanding and memory are but the passage to the Heart, and the Practice is but the expression of the Heart: therefore how to work upon the Heart is the principal business.

Directions:

  1. Live under the most convincing lively serious Preacher that possibly you can.
  2. Remember that Ministers are the Messengers of Christ, and come to you on his business and in his name.
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Isaiah 55:10f – ‘My words will not return void’

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55:10  The rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return,
but instead water the earth
and make it produce and yield crops,
and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.
55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing.
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.”

In Urban Legends of the Old Testament: 40 Common Misconceptions, David A Croteau and Gary E.…

Is the Holy Spirit a ‘she’?

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The problems associated with applying personal pronouns to God are well-known.  Is God a ‘he’, a ‘she’ or an ‘it’?

In A More Christlike God, A More Beautiful Gospel, Brad Jersak writes:

‘Even using the simple pronoun ‘he’ for God is awkward and inaccurate…God is not a ‘him’ or a ‘her.’ Jesus said “God is Spirit” (John 4:24). But God is far more personal than an ‘it.’ Thus, we lean to the language of ‘him’ historically because when God showed up in the flesh, ‘he’ came as a man, Jesus (his ‘son’).

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Teaching methods of Jesus

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Based on this post, by Brandon Hilgemann

1. Jesus spoke with authority

He was able to say: “You have heard that it was said…but I say…” (Matthew 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44).

The crowds were amazed because he taught as one with authority, unlike other teachers (Mark 1:22, Matthew 7:28-29).

We cannot preach on our own authority.  But we can and must rest on the authority of Christ and his word.

2. Jesus told stories

He told countless parable. …

Mt 19:24; Mk 10:25; Lk 18:25 – ‘A camel…through the eye of a needle’

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Mark 10:25 “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

See also Mt 19:24; Lk 18:25.

It is occasionally claimed either that:

(a) kamelos (camel) should be read as kamilos (rope): the two words sounded the same in the days of koine Greek (Cole).  According to Garland, the words of ‘rope’ and ‘camel’ are also similar in Aramaic.…

Exhortation in the New Testament

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Exhortation in the preaching of Jesus

Characteristics of Jesus’ preaching:

  • Appeal to the OT (32 times in Matthew, quoting 11 different books).
  • Practical application of the text.
  • Use of illustrations.
  • Preaching for a verdict.

The Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7) presents practical applications of the law (e.g. anger (5:21–26), lust (5:27–30), loving your enemies (5:43–48), giving to the needy (6:1–4), and so on), but Jesus does not stop there.  He concludes his sermon with a series of exhortations (Mt 7:13-27):

‘As Jesus began his conclusion, he gave a powerful word picture showing that his sermon does, in fact, demand a response.

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The Carol Service Talk

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This is a bit late for Christmas 2023.  But, hey, I write for posterity (if not prosperity), so I’ll borrow (and slightly adapt) some thoughts from Chris Green and pass them on.

How can we give our Carol Service talk a cutting edge?  What will help us to slice through the layers of predictability and (let’s face it) banality that besets such discourses?

Chris Green offers:

1. Choose one obvious passage.  Speak from one of the old faithfuls, one that requires a minimum of background and explanation, and let it loose.…