From Wisdom to WISDOM

This is the million pound question.

Let me suggest four  routes that should take us “from Wisdom to WISDOM.”

Fearing the LORD… Jesus

The governing principle of wise living is “the fear of the Lord” (Prov 1:7, 9:10).  The fear of the LORD is a disposition towards God of reverence and reliance. Such fear and faith spring from a personal knowledge of Yahweh. The more we know of the LORD who has revealed Himself in history and Scripture, the more we will fear His displeasure and trust His grace.

We can easily transpose this into a Christian context. Perhaps the most common confession in the New Testament is that “Jesus is Lord.” Jesus is designated Lord approximately 120 times in the gospels alone. Significantly, this term ​kyrios (Lord) was used in the Septuagint to represent the divine name of God.  To call Jesus “Lord” is to unsubtly associate him with Yahweh.

Thus, in a New Testament setting, to fear the Lord is to reverently rely on Jesus. Wisdom begins with the question: what is my heart’s attitude towards the Lord Jesus Christ?

Christ: the wisdom of God

Paul, writing to the Colossians, designates Christ as “the wisdom of God” (Col 2:3).  Jesus is God’s wisdom.  This, despite the fact that Christ’s crucifixion is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks. Yet to those who are being saved Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). His gospel carries the “power of salvation” (Rom 1:16) and in Him are “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3).

All of this means that we can tell the world that Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s wisdom. The wisdom of the OT is provisional; the wisdom of the cross is ultimate.  Supreme wisdom is found in the gospel of Christ and ultimately “in Christ” Himself.

The New and Greater Solomon: wisdom’s practitioner and teacher

It is easy to demonstrate that Jesus is presented in the Gospels as a new and greater Solomon. Luke especially emphasizes the growth of the boy Jesus in wisdom and our Lord’s extraordinary wisdom as a youth (2:40, 46,47, 52). Jesus’ first sermon is said to produce “amazement” (cf. 1 Kgs 10:4); indeed afterwards the people asked “What’s this wisdom that has been given him?” (Mk 6:2). Later we see Jesus teaching using parables in the style of the wisdom teacher. Later still, we see Jesus brilliantly escaping the testing questions of His enemies (Mk 12:13, cf 1 Kgs 10:1). Finally, Jesus Himself claimed to be “one greater than Solomon” (Lk 11:31).

In Jesus we have a new and greater Solomon. In a way surpassing even Solomon, Jesus teaches the way of wisdom. And unlike Solomon, Jesus was the perfect practitioner of wisdom. With Solomon, it was sometimes a case of “do as I say, but not as I do.” But the wisdom Jesus teaches, he embodies, with a perfect life of righteousness.

Gospel implications and living wisely

I have sometimes heard it said that to Christ-centered preaching simply declares what God has DONE for sinners in Jesus Christ. It is true – wonderfully true – that the gospel is news of what God has done for sinners. It is also true – sadly true – that too many preachers merely proclaim a list of do’s, while they hide away the gospel of grace.

But while Christ-centered preaching must start with what God has done in Christ, it must not end there. The same disciples who are called to trust in the free offer of the gospel, are subsequently called to obey everything Christ commanded. There are ethical entailments which are not to be confused with the gospel, but which naturally flow out from the gospel.  Those saved by grace are also taught by grace to “say no to ungodliness” (Titus 2:12).

This is where the wisdom literature comes in. Interestingly, when the book of Proverbs is quoted in the New Testament (8 times), the proverbs are used predominantly in an ethical way. They are not cleverly applied to Jesus in some way we hadn’t thought of. They are applied as supporting Scripture to encourage godly living.

This is also “preaching Christ.” Jesus wants His life and death to be proclaimed for the salvation of men. But he also wants the life of godliness expounded for the sanctified living of the church. The children of God must learn, however slowly and limpingly, to walk as Jesus did (1 Jhn 2:6).

 

—-

Previous posts in this series:

Why Do We Ignore Wisdom?

Why Bother With Wisdom?

What is Distinctive About Biblical Wisdom?

The Voice

If aliens ever visit our planet, I’m sure they will want to get a feel for Earth’s culture before just “popping in.”  Their investigation will lead them to an obvious conclusion:

Life on Earth is an endless singing competition. 

Right now a leading competition in the United States is called “The Voice.”  The premise is clever.  Celebrity judges listen to contestants without seeing them.  Seriously, the judges sit in red, cushioned thrones with their backs to the contestants.  If the singer’s “voice” is compelling enough, then a judge will swivel their throne around to look upon the performer’s face, which we are left to assume is perfect for radio.

The judge’s dramatic turn indicates two things:

  1. The contestant has made it to the next round.
  2. We will watch anything on television.

But here’s the twist: more than one judge can swivel!  Should such a stunning event occur, the future former recording artist gets to select a judge as his/her mentor.  As you can imagine, the aliens can’t stop watching.

To convince a hopeful to join their “team,” an interested celebrity judge must use his/her vast vocabulary to explain why such a voice warrants the judge’s condescension.  Here is a list of the usual pitches:

  1. “Your voice is just so unique.  You really bring a lot to this competition.”
  2. “Your voice is just so distinct. You really bring a lot to this contest.”
  3. “Your voice is just so dissimilar to the others.  You really bring a lot to this tournament.”
  4. “You look great.”

The bottom line is, singers with a unique voice – who don’t sound too much like [insert name of Grammy winner] will advance.  Why?  Because they have their own voice.

Those who sound like Adele will weep and ponder life beyond a competition that very few aliens will even remember a year from now, when they conquer us and force us to sing for them.

Preaching is not a reality show.  But preachers do run the risk of sounding a little too much like [insert name of Matt Chandler] for our own good.  “Karaoke Preaching” is fun for the preacher, but it is immature and it weakens the “voice” that God has given us.

Influence vs. Impersonation

We all have pastors who have influenced us.  I love a host of preachers, like John Piper … and I’m sure there are others.  After listening to his sermons for years, it would be dishonest to deny that his voice runs through my head when I prepare a sermon from Romans.

But it would also be disturbing if I stood up in front of the congregation every Sunday and laced my sermons with Piper’s well-hyphenated theological explosions.  In stead, the best thing to do is to let my preaching heroes lead me to the Bible.

In other words, I need to train myself to admire insightful exposition above quirky speech patterns.  The speech patterns might make a sermon enjoyable to hear, but it’s a preacher’s level of insight that I want to incorporate into my own preaching (footnoting when needed, obviously).

My Voice, in Flux.

Good authors read more books than they write.  Good musicians listen to more songs than they play.  Both good writers and good musicians are eager to encounter colleagues who make them grow.  They are constantly in flux, without losing themselves in the process.  Preachers who encounter more effective preachers on a regular basis will benefit greatly.

The hard truth is that my preaching “voice” might be authentically mine, and still be bad.  The “just be yourself” advice is great.  But we can take a misguided approach to how we apply good advice.  No one would suggest that we celebrate our tendency to mispronounce words.  Few would ratify that monotone delivery of ours, even if we claim Jonathan Edwards as our inspiration.  We must be willing and eager to tweak our “voice” if it needs tweaking.

Personally, I listen to far more sermons than I preach.  Why?  The obvious reason is that it is healthy for my soul to receive teaching from a trusted brother in Christ.  I treasure that.  But also because there are so many things about my preaching that need improvement.  Many other preachers have already made those improvements and they can serve as working models.

Finally, if there should ever be a preaching reality show, I am not totally without hope.  I have been told that I have the perfect face for radio preaching.  And, I’m confident that I can secure the alien vote.

 

Workman’s Toolbox – 11.12.12

With Christmas on the way, I was reminded of this great video:

Max McLean (that brother with the amazing deep voice!) gives us some thoughts on reading Scripture publicly and bible memorization.

An interview with John Piper on what he has learned over 30 plus years of pastoring. Was struck by this paragraph, where he encourages pastors to think:

“Outrun your people and your colleagues in thinking. That is, stay ahead of them in thinking through biblical implications of what is being said or proposed. Make a practice of thinking before a meeting. Think of as many implications of a proposal as you can. Think of as many objections to the proposal as you can. Think of good biblical answers to all those objections. Think of how much it will cost and how it will be paid for. Think of who might implement it. Think of the ways that it will bring joy—or temporary sorrow. Think about its relation to a dozen other things that people like or don’t like. Sit with your pencil in your hand (or your fingers on the keyboard) and doodle until you’ve exhausted the possibilities, or the time you have. Go to the meeting having thought more than any one else, and more deeply than anyone else. This is what good leaders do.”

RC Sproul reminds us about the true power of preaching.

Workman’s Toolbox – 4.12.2012

Scottish friends, did you know that Paul Tripp is coming to Scotland?  His marriage conference (held at Charlotte Baptist Chapel, Edinburgh) can be booked through The Good Book Company .

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=4e632b01dd&view=att&th=13b65403bc329c99&attid=0.1.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_LpRd4jnjMa7JTWnIuN3rr&sadet=1354616353693&sads=lnMVkfKQLtNRim1v_IGK6lNnhqQ

Speaking of Paul Tripp, here is a very convicted post by him: 5 Signs you glorify yourself.

This is helpful by Peter Mead: 10 mistakes preachers make with narrative. I’ve made more than a few of these!

I really like Thabiti Anywabwile definition of preaching:  “God speaking in the power of His Spirit about His Son from His word through a man.” Here is the latest post in his excellent series.

Workman’s Toolbox

Here is a great video from Rico Tice that explains the Christmas message.

This is such a powerful article! Geoff Thomas shares seven things that are essential to any pastor’s ministry (Preaching – The Method).

1. The work of the ministry will only be achieved by unfeigned belief in the truthfulness of the Bible.

2. The work of the ministry will only be achieved by enduring tough times.

3. The work of the ministry will only be achieved by toil.

4. The work of the ministry will only be achieved by dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

5. The work of the ministry can only be achieved in the defence of the gospel.

6. The work of the ministry will only be achieved by discriminatory preaching.

7. The work of the ministry will only be achieved by applicatory preaching.

 

Ten Questions For Expositors – Dr Harry L. Reeder

Dr Harry L. Reader III is the senior pastor of Briarswood Presbyterian Church, a 4000 member church in Birmingham, Alabama. He is the author of Embers to a flame; How God Can Revitalize Your Church, is a Gospel Coalition Council Member, and teaches in various theological seminaries.  Today we are delighted that Dr Reader has taken the time to answer our Ten Questions For Expositors.

 1.  Where do you place the importance of preaching in the grand scheme of church life?

The ministry of prayer, preaching of the Word and worship leadership with proper administration of the sacraments are my number one and overarching priority in life and ministry.

2. In a paragraph, how did you discover your gifts in preaching?

After my conversion I was asked to be the Lay Youth Director and the feedback from teenagers and adults was such that I was being challenged to consider if this was my calling in life, and then the growing joy in preaching and teaching God’s Word for the equipping of His people and communicating the Gospel to the lost became a consuming joy.

3.  How long (on average) does it take you to prepare a sermon?

20 – 25 hours.

4.  Is it important to you that a sermon contain one major theme or idea? If so, how do you crystallize it?

Yes. I attempt to wordsmith it and then find ways to communicate it throughout the sermon.

5. What is the most important aspect of a preacher’s style and what should he avoid?

God’s Word should be preached with reverence, permeated by joy, expressed through amazement from the heart of the preacher to the heart of the people with utter dependence on the Holy Spirit. A preacher must avoid plagiarism and lecturing, while embracing clarity and, conviction, expressed through passion, pleading and persuasion with full reliance upon the Holy Spirit

6. What notes, if any, do you use?

One page of notes but I attempt to only use the notes if necessary for preciseness or as a reminder.

7. What are the greatest perils that preacher must avoid?

See the above…#5 The only addition is a preacher must avoid indolence, immorality and insubordination of any valid authority especially ecclesiastical authority while maintaining his focus, joy and passion for the preeminence of Christ to the Glory of the Triune God.

8. How do you fight to balance preparation for preaching with other important responsibilities (eg. pastoral care, leadership responsibilities)

Continue to be aware of the need for prioritization, discipline and intentionality of redeeming the time to do what makes one most effective in their calling.

9. What books on preaching, or exemplars of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?    

Preaching and Preachers by Martin Lloyd-Jones.  Between Two Worlds by John Stott.  Find Biographies i.e. the Life of George Whitfield and read three to five biographies a year of great preachers/pastors.

I would suggest that pastors find five mentors whom you respect and can learn from.

10. What steps do you take to nurture or encourage developing or future preachers?

  • I teach in four Seminaries
  • I have a mentoring group of 10 men pursuing ministry
  • Developing a Pastor’s Fellows Program
  • Available for counsel and encouragement for those who seek it.

————————————————————————————————

You can listen to Dr Reeder’s sermons on the Briarswood website.

Starter For Ten

Tim Chester was our 27th edition of Ten Questions For Expositors, and one of my favorites in the series.  Thought I would list all the past interviews for you so you can check out any you’ve missed.

Tim Chester

Tim Keller

Matt Chandler (pt 1) and (pt 2)

Josh Moody

Conrad Mbewe

Thabiti Anyabwile

Vaughan Roberts

Liam Goligher

Voddie Baucham

Philip Ryken

Steven Lawson

Brian Croft

Frank Retief

Christopher Ash

Robin Weekes

John Shearer

Julian Hardyman

Liam Garvie

Melvin Tinker

10 Question For Expositors – Tim Chester

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=4e632b01dd&view=att&th=13b0342c3e5a5912&attid=0.1.3&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_LpRd4jnjMa7JTWnIuN3rr&sadet=1352972654356&sads=6-q-Xre1gNCTDaNvUUj1OyPZxjM

Dr Tim Chester is a pastor of The Crowded House in Sheffield and director of Porterbrook Seminary. He is the author of a number of books including The Message of Prayer (IVP), The Busy Christians Guide to Busyness (IVP), You Can Change (IVP/Crossway), From Creation to New Creation (The Good Book Company), Delighting in the Trinity (The Good Book Company), The Ordinary Hero: Living the Cross and Resurrection (IVP), A Meal with Jesus (Crossway/IVP), and co-author of Total Church and Everyday Church (IVP/Crossway). He is married with two daughters.

Today, Tim Chester answers our Ten Questions For Expositors.

1. Where do you place the importance of preaching in the grand scheme of church life?

I believe it’s vital for every church to be word-centred. From creation onwards throughout the Bible story we see God giving life through his word and ruling through his word. And from Eden onwards, when God’s word is doubted or ignored, death and chaos follow.

The difficulty with the question is that we have various definitions of preaching doing the rounds. Your ten questions, for example, use ‘preaching’ and ‘sermons’ interchangeably. I believe preaching in the New Testament is to proclaim the gospel, urging people to faith and repentance, with the aim of capturing their hearts for Christ. The New Testament describes a variety of forms in which this can take place including sermons, debates  and conversations.

I say this not to devalue sermons  (which I love), but to ‘revalue’ other forms of word ministry. The measure of whether a church is word-centred is not simply whether there’s a good sermon each Sunday morning. The measure of being word-centred is that the word is being learnt, lived and loved throughout the life of the church. Our aim should not be to have good Bible teaching churches, but to have good Bible doing churches (James 1:22)!

Please don’t mistake what I’m saying. I realise there are plenty of postmoderns and postevangelicals who want to replace the sermon with some relativistic engagement with the Bible. I don’t want that! My concern in fact is to be more word-centred. I don’t want less than the sermon. I want more than the sermon.

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=4e632b01dd&view=att&th=13b0342c3e5a5912&attid=0.1.5&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_LpRd4jnjMa7JTWnIuN3rr&sadet=1352972980116&sads=jUMsCzzo6KrSLIljCAoxfZ8f1vUIn our situation the Sunday sermon sets the agenda for the church each week and we then follow this up in our gospel communities where we work out together how to apply that word to our lives, our life together and the world around us. We also put a big emphasis on creating a culture in which people ‘gospel’ one another (that is, preach the gospel to one another) in the context of everyday life.

2. In a paragraph, how did you discover your gifts in preaching?

It started with leading Bible studies when I was a student. I actually preached my first sermon in a Pentecostal church. It was 55 minutes on the theme of redemption. I’m sure it was very boring! I really learnt to preach when I was church planting in Staines with a man called John Miller. He taught me to preach to make an impact rather than simply lecture people.

3. How long (on average) does it take you to prepare a sermon?

It probably takes me about a day to get the bulk of sermon preparation done.

But that’s not the whole picture. I always prepare a series as whole up front. I want to ensure I have the big picture of the book we’ll be working through (or a good understanding of the subject if the series is topical). That big picture evolves as the series progresses because the details of each passage finesse your understanding of the book as a whole. But you need some sense of the overall picture before you can begin to make sense of the detail. It’s this iterative cycle that makes preaching through a book so exciting.

Four or five weeks before I’m preaching I’ll look at the passage for about an hour. The aim is to get the questions, issues and application bubbling around in my mind over the coming weeks.

I do the bulk of the preparation usually about a week in advance. That’s partly because I need to get a draft off to the people who are preparing the Sunday gathering and the people preparing for our children’s groups.

I was once told by a builder that plasterers spend a lot of time apparently doing nothing, just sizing up a wall. And then they leap into a whirl of activity and plaster the wall quite quickly. Increasingly, I think, this describes how I prepare my sermons. I can spend a lot of time apparently doing nothing (or just throwing a ball around the study). What I’m actually doing is meditating on the text. And then an idea will grab me and I’ll rush over to my computer and the heart of the sermon can be done quite quickly. A lot of editing follows, but the main ideas are done. It didn’t used to be like this. As a younger preacher (and I think this is a good model for new preachers) I followed a template much more. So sermons were built up piece by piece.

I always leave the final edit to the Sunday morning. I change wording during this edit, but its primary purpose is to take out any material that’s not absolutely necessary. I leave it until Sunday morning so the material is fresh in my mind when I deliver it a couple of hours later.

4. Is it important to you that a sermon contain one major theme or idea? If so, how do you crystallize it?

I wouldn’t want to be dogmatic about having one major theme. There’s a danger that we try to squeeze everyone into one mould. Different preachers have different styles. That said, I think one of the most common mistakes of new preachers is trying to squeeze too much into their sermons. I suspect this metaphor is now out of date, but I still think about the ‘cutting room floor’. In the old days movie editors used to literally cut out sections of tape and glue the other pieces back together to create the final movie. It meant most of the footage ended up on the cutting room floor. Preachers need a similar process in which they cut out anything that doesn’t need to be there. That means a lot of good stuff on the cutting room floor! The key issue is this. The aim of a sermon is not to impart as much information as you can to the hearers. The aim of the sermon is to capture their affections for Christ and that aim should shape everything in the sermon.

5. What is the most important aspect of a preacher’s style and what should he avoid?

I think empathy, passion and authority (or conviction) are all important.

It’s important to empathise with the congregation. Life is hard. Following Christ can be hard. The word of God can sound weird. If you never acknowledge this then your hearers will wonder what planet you’re on. We need to show how the text connects with real life. I learnt this from David Powlison who often spends a long time describing a problem. As a result, when he brings the word to bear on that issue, it comes with real power.

I also think you need to show passion. I don’t mean some kind of affected emotionalism. But you need to show people that the word has impacted your heart. I often tell new preachers that you should meditate on the passage until it moves your heart (whether that is joy, fear, sorrow, conviction or excitement). Your aim then is to preach it so the passage evokes a similar response in your hearers.

We want our preaching to come with authority. Clearly that comes primarily from the word itself and from the Spirit. But I think we should preach with conviction. I’m not sharing my opinions or my reflections with you. I’m declaring a word from God.

I realised a few years ago that often when I stood up to preach I thought my sermon was about to be one of the best sermons in the history of the church! Yet when I read through old sermons a few months later it was agony to think that I’d inflicted this rubbish on my poor congregation. I decided this combination of attitudes is actually quite healthy as long as you hold both together. I realised my enthusiasm for my sermon was actually enthusiasm for the passage. The word of God had gripped me and I was excited about sharing its message with the congregation. That allowed me to preach with conviction. But remembering my retrospective assessment of my sermons would prevent me ever growing too proud!

6. What notes, if any, do you use?

I use full text with key words highlighted in bold. I print my text on A5 so it sits in my Bible as I preach. Over the last couple of years I’ve weaned myself of a lectern. I now prefer to stand with my Bible in one hand with my notes inside. I think this helps me have a more conversational feel with the congregation.

7. What are the greatest perils that a preacher must avoid?

There are some technical issues (like trying to cover too much, not including application or making the process of understanding the Bible seem so esoteric that people think its beyond them). Obviously it’s also vital to always preach the gospel and always preach Christ. We must never leave people feeling condemned because there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

But the greatest dangers are with our own hearts. One danger is finding identity in preaching. We can preach justification by faith even as we practice justification by preaching! A good sign that something is wrong is when your mood is affected by how your preaching went the day before or when criticism makes you despondent.

Another big danger is neglecting the important of the Holy Spirit. It’s the Spirit who speaks God’s word into people’s hearts and uses it to bring conviction, life, love, change and so on. So we need to preach in conscious dependence on the Spirit. I’ve started using the language of the Spirit speaking through the word and through the sermon to highlight this for myself and for my congregation.

8. How do you fight to balance preparation for preaching with other important responsibilities (e.g. pastoral care, leadership responsibilities)

I share the preaching with a small team so I preach about once every two weeks. At the moment that feels about right. Part of me would love to preach more, but I think that once every two weeks gives me time to prepare properly for each sermon. If I’m doing the bulk of a series then I try to get ahead in my preparation. I’ll often have a basic draft of each sermon done before the series starts especially if it’s a topical series.

9. What books on preaching, or exemplars of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching? 

In my younger days I basically followed the template in John Chapman’s Setting Hearts on Fire until I gradually found my own style. Tim Keller’s lectures on Preaching to the Heart (Ockenga Institute) were a great help. And David Powlison’s book Seeing with New Eyes really helped make links between truth and life. I can remember thinking, ‘This book isn’t on preaching, but it’s going to transform how I preach.’

10. What steps do you take to nurture or encourage developing or future preachers?

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=4e632b01dd&view=att&th=13b0342c3e5a5912&attid=0.1.7&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_LpRd4jnjMa7JTWnIuN3rr&sadet=1352972890301&sads=0ZwxlEtLOYQtMc9mNocIQ5ir3ggWe’ve done a variety of things over the years. We used to have a ‘teachers group’ in which teachers and potential teachers would study a passage together a couple of weeks in advance. This helped to model good hermeneutics as well proving a fruitful way of engaging with the text. I’ll go through a sermon with a new preacher before they preach it. We also give feedback afterwards though I’m wary of doing this in a systematic way because I need to submit myself to the word as it’s preached rather than critiquing the methodology of the preacher. We’re planning to provide regular training and to this end one of my tasks for next year is to write a workbook on Gospel-Centred Preaching for the Gospel-Centred series we’re doing with the Good Book Company. We also put our leaders through Porterbrook Learning and Porterbrook Seminary.

 

 

Tuesday Toolbox

  • The Simeon Trust is still doing a great work in the USA. Are you planning on attending one of their 19 workshops before next summer?