Classification of Sermons 2 – Phelps

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The following classification comes from the 19th-century writer Austin Phelps:-

1.  Mode of delivery.  They may be delivered from memory, from manuscript, or extemporaneously.

2.  Occasions on which sermons are delivered.  We may speak of ‘ordinary’ and ‘occasional’ sermons.

3.  Subjects.  Sermons may be doctrinal, practical, historical, and philosophical.  But these distinctions can be mischievous.

4.  Audience.

5.  Faculties of mind.  Sermons may be supposed to be addressed to the imagination, the passions, the will, and so on.…

Classification of Sermons 1 – Sangster

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In his book, The Craft of the Sermon, the noted Methodist preacher W.E. Sangster offered the following analysis of sermon types:_

1.  According to subject matter

Biblical interpretation: gives authority to the spoken word; provides endless material for the preacher; guards against the preacher’s own bias; encourages the people to read the Bible for themselves’ prevents evasion of the difficult.

  • Ethical and devotional
  • Doctrinal
  • Philosophic and apologetic
  • Social
  • Evangelistic

2.  According to structural type

Exposition: single text; multiple texts [can ask and answer questions, eg, ‘What is man?’…

‘Faith’ in the Letter to the Hebrews

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In his helpful little book, God’s Words, J.I. Packer offers this summary of the teaching of the Letter to the Hebrews on faith:-

1.  Faith is ‘being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see‘, Heb 11:1 – the emphasis being, as always in Scripture, on the reality of faith’s objects rather than the degree of confidence we feel about them.

2.  Specifically, faith honours and pleases God by taking his word about things (creation, Heb 11:3; rewards, Heb 11:6; God’s faithfulness to his promises, Heb 11:11; this life as a journey home, Heb 11:13-16; the fact that obedience always makes sense, even when it looks like nonsense, Heb 11:17-19; etc.).…

Ten Theological Disciplines

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Theology, according to J.I.Packer, consists of ten linked disciplines.  They are:-

  1. Exegesis – which asks, “what was this biblical text written to convey to its readers?”
  2. Biblical theology – which asks, “what is the total message of the canonical books on this or that subject?”
  3. Historical theology – which explores how Christians in the past viewed specific biblical truths.
  4. Systematic theology – which rethinks biblical theology with the help of historical theology in order to restate the faith, topic by topic and as a whole, in relation to current interests, assumptions, questions, hopes, fears and uncertainties in todays church and world.
…

‘Martyn Lloyd-Jones – Preacher’

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I acquired John Peter’s excellent book on Martyn Lloyd-Jones – Preacher when it was first published in 1986.

Peters gives a succinct account of Lloyd-Jones’ life.  But the emphasis is, of course, on the preaching ministry.  This is characterised as:-

  • Authoritative
  • Biblical
  • Analytical
  • Persuasive
  • Practical
  • Systematic
  • Spirit-filled

Other aspects discussed are MLJ’s pastoral ministry, and his ministry to students.

In discussing areas of controversy, reference is made to MLJ’s view of large-scale evangelistic crusades, the work of the Holy Spirit, the basis of Christian unity, and relations within evangelicalism.…

The Post-Evangelical – 8

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Chapter 8 of the The Post-Evangelical, by Dave Tomlinson, asks a ‘straightforward’ question: what is a post-evangelical view of the Bible?

First, Tomlinson feels that there is a need to ‘exorcise’ the ghost of inerrancy.  He finds it incredible that anyone thinks it even plausible to believe in such a thing.

Contrary to what proponents will tell us (says Tomlinson), the notion of inerrancy is a relatively modern one, arising out of the fundamentalist/modernist conflicts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. …

God, evolution, and Charles Darwin

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Next year sees a major Charles Darwin anniversary: 200 years since his birth, and 150 years since the publication of On the Origin of the Species.

Darwin’s religious views were (or became) those of a muddled agnostic.  In a recent article in Times Online, Nick Spencer offers Ten Surprising Things Darwin Said About Religious Faith:-

1. “The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an Agnostic.”…

N.T. Wright on Inspiration

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N.T. Wright’s 2005 book Scripture and the Authority of God is a mixed bag as far as I’m concerned.  I was helped by much of what was said, puzzled by what was left unsaid.

John Frame’s review of the book (in its American incarnation, entitled, The Last Word ) helped me to understand what is missing from Wright’s account.  It attempting to get ‘beyond the Bible wars’ (from the subtitle of the American edition), Wright (deliberately?) …

The Post-Evangelical – 7

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Chapter 7 of Dave Tomlinson’s The Post-Evangelical is entitled, ‘The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Something Quite Like the Truth’.  It’s about epistemology – how we come to know things.

Tomlinson suggests that what is going on is that many within evangelicalism begin with some vague feelings of discomforts about various aspects of their evangelical church.  They are bothered about the chorus-singing, perhaps, or the dogmatic tone of the preaching,  – and then develop deeper concerns about the credibility of the entire evangelical paradigm. …

Has science got rid of God?

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This is the title of a book by John Blanchard, published in 2004 by Evangelical Press.  In one chapter of the book, Blanchard confronts the frequently-expressed view that science has rendered religion in general, and Christianity in particular, redundant as a means of explaining the world.

One way of responding to this is to note some of the limitations of science’s explanatory power.  For example, science is unable to:-

  1. tell us why the universe came into being. 
…