“One of the elements of powerful preaching is preaching as a man that has been liberated. Liberated from what? From the ensnaring effects of the fear of men” (Martin, What’s Wrong With Preaching Today? p. 17).
Surveying the Text: Hebrews
Introduction: There are seven Old Testament passages quoted in the first chapter of Hebrews alone, and five of those seven passages have to do with the submission of the nations to Christ. That is what the entire book is about—and we are taught this through the author showing us that this is what the entire …
In Case You Forgot
Jerusalem Had a Wall
So what can we learn about our controversy over illegal immigration from what the Bible tells us about the gift of tongues? Obvious question, right? “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other …
An Important Distinction
Scripture throughout makes a sharp distinction between personal loyalty to God and simple prioritization of the institutional church. When things are ordered rightly, this distinction is not a separation, but it remains a distinction. Here is a striking example. Jesus sharply rebukes those who prioritize the needs of the temple over the responsibilities to family. …
A Reminder
Deep Ethos
“Unless we would degrade preaching to a mere elocutionary art, we must never forget that the soil out of which powerful preaching grows is the preacher’s own life. This is what makes the art of preaching different from all other arts of communication” (Martin, What’s Wrong With Preaching Today? p. 5).
Exegete the Right Source
“The text, then, will not be tortured to teach a doctrine contrary to the general teachings of inspiration, and it will be something more than a motto for a series of observations drawn from a merely human source, the preacher’s own mind” (Shedd, Homiletics and Pastoral Theology, p. 160).
Surveying the Text: 2 Thessalonians
Introduction The second epistle to the Thessalonians was likely written shortly after the first one, in that it was addressing many of the same sorts of issues. This beleaguered church was faced with hostility, was affected by apocalyptic excitement, and also needed to deal with some of her members that were responding to this kind …
The Resurrection of the Entire Cosmos
Introduction We know from Scripture that Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion. Jesus died and Jesus was raised. But what power did the raising? How was this done? We know that Jesus was raised, but who raised Him? The Text: “I am the good shepherd, and know my …