“After writing sermons for over twenty-five years, I am still amazed at how many times I have to take all my hard work up the mountain of God, where I lay it on an altar and prepare to drive a knife through the heart of it” (Barnes, The Pastor as Minor Poet, p. 118).
Maybe Two Word Studies
“Depending on the issue and the text, liberals are sometimes more to be trusted with the message of the text than conservatives are. This is because liberals are not stuck with the results of their exegesis the way conservatives are. Because conservatives confess that the teaching of the text is normative, the conservative has to …
Preaching With a Rolled Up Newspaper
“So the minor poet doesn’t stand in the pulpit to scold the congregation by essentially calling them bad dogs. It is striking how much of contemporary preaching reduces to this: ‘You bad, bad dogs! Look at what you did.’ And those in the pews respectfully cower and look like guilty golden retrievers who know they …
Feast of Weeks
I was privileged the other evening to sit in on a fantastic lecture by Tim Edwards. For those thinking about getting an NSA menu, this is an hors d’oeuvres from our M.St. course. Dr. Timothy Edwards : A Defense of Biblical Hebraism from Daniel Foucachon on Vimeo.
Because the Disobedient Don’t Care
“Settling this exegetically won’t settle anything, as the last several decades have demonstrated. If there is enormous pressure to go in this direction, and there is, then we need to bring the gospel to bear on what is causing that pressure, and stop bringing isolated texts to the symptoms of that pressure. Trying to stop …
A Close Eye for the Text
“Minor poets so revere the work of the major poets that they assume there are no throwaway lines” (Barnes, The Pastor as Minor Poet, p. 78).
This Approach, Wise I Don’t Think
I like Hugh Hewitt. I have enjoyed one of his books, and his web site is a good go-to place for a discussion of some of the nuts and bolts of the political battles we are in. He does good work. But . . . But here is an example of why my concerns (expressed …
No Empty Cross
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #6 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). We will have more to say about this glorious truth in …
Compare and Contrast
“At the same time, we don’t want to assume that any position that ticks feminists off must be biblical. That can’t be right — it is far too easy to do. And, as with so many issues, we have to distinguish different levels and layers. If, as I have noted, our holy fathers used to …
Who Requires Way Too Much Explaining
“But a minor poet can never take on the role of being the public relations official for Jesus” (Barnes, The Pastor as Minor Poet, p. 76).