I Have Found a Friend in Jesus

In our series of the Psalms of Ascents, we come to psalm 125. to recap briefly, the psalmist travels to Jerusalem (120-122). He begins his worship by asking God for mercy (123) and then recounting how God has been the source of their help in the past (124). In this psalm (125), he sings about the current relationship he has with the Lord.

Read Psalm 125 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is the tentative outline I developed for this psalm. As always, please send feedback. I think they always can be improved. I would like the flow of thought to be better than this. This is just the initial thoughts.

Our Relationship with God

I. A relationship with God provides...(1-2)
          A. Stability (1)
          B. Protection (2)

II. Warning to those who have a relationship with God. (3)
          A. God's people do not have control over this land (3a).
          B. God's people should not be tempted to do evil (3b).

III. Holiness is expected of those who have a relationship with God. (4-5)
          A. Prayer for the good
          B. Warning for the bad

I want to give some of the thought process of my outline briefly. In verses 1-2, the psalmist uses geographical analogies to communicate a truth about the people of God. First, he mentions Mount Zion. This is by no means the highest "mountain" in Jerusalem and is in fact more a hill (I live in Colorado so I may be biased). The point of using Mount Zion is it permanency. Mount Zion was the temple mount and was the center of the Jewish religious system and the center of religious activity in the future (Rev. 14:1, for example). The use of this imagery is to show how God's people are stable in Him. He makes them like Mount Zion: permanent, stable.

The next geographical analogy used is the mountains which surround Jerusalem (although probably still hills by Colorado standards). Here, instead of the analogy being used to describe His people, the picture is used to describe God. His people are like little Mount Zion but God is like those big mountains which surround Jerusalem and protect it from attack. The Lord gives His people protection.

In the next point, point II, there are two warnings given in this psalm. The first half of verse 3 indicates that those that do not trust in God (the wicked) are in control of lands around Jerusalem (septer) but will not rest on the land of God's people. The point here is that in this world, there are evil people who are leaders around the world (most call them politicians) :-) God's people are not in control of this world. While God is ultimately in control of all things, He has temporarily given authority of this world over to Satan. This is a warning to God's people. This world is not home.

The second warning comes in the last half of verse 3: the reason the wicked's septer will not reach the land of God's people is so they will not be tempted to do wrong things. The warning is that God's people should not be tempted to do evil in this world. If the wicked are in charge, they may tempt God's people to engage in behavior and activities which would defile them. Becare, the psalmist says, to not let this happen.

The last two verses, making up point III, are pretty self-explanatory: the psalmist is praying that God will do good to those who are faithful to Him (those who do good) and he is warning those who live as they want (who turn aside to their crooked ways) that God will punish them. In short, the Lord expects holiness (upright in their hearts) from those who are to be in relationship with him.

I think this message is would be a great message for new believers and matures believers, alike. A relationship with God through Christ will bring us stability and protection. However, that does not mean that this life will be easy. Those who are lost are in control for now but we must not be tempted to live like them. Instead, God expects holiness from us. Any Christian could benefit from a reminder like this.

As I was thinking about a song from today which captures the essence of this psalm, my mind when to "The Lily of the Valley" (click to listen) because it tells how we are in relationship with God through Christ and that in temptation he helps us stay pure.

I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
He tells me every care on Him to roll.

He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
In temptation He’s my strong and mighty tower;
I have all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn
From my heart and now He keeps me by His power.
Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore,
Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal.

He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He will never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,
While I live by faith and do His blessèd will;
A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,
From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.
Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessèd face,
Where the rivers of delight shall ever roll.

He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

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Whose Side is God On?

Psalm 124 is the fifth psalm of those labels "Psalms of Ascent." After traveling and making it to Jerusalem (120-122), the psalmist begins his worship of God (123), which is why he came to Jerusalem in the first place. In this psalm, he is continuing that worship by recounting how God has helped His people in the past.

Read Psalm 124(NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is the outline I developed for this psalm. I am happier with this outline than the previous two, but I would still love some comments on them. I would especially like to hear suggestions on making the sub-points of II alliterated. :-)

The Lord is on Our Side

I. God is on the side of His people (1-2)

II. God keeps His people from being... (3-7)
         A. Swallowed (3)
         B. Drowned (4-5)
         C. Prey (6)
         D. Snared (7)

III. God helps His people (8)

A somewhat simple outline with a great message. In today's world, it is popular for the lost to say things like "God is not on anyone's side" or "God does not pick sides" but this is just not the truth. God IS on the side of those who have placed their faith in Christ and are called His people.

How many times have we felt like we have been swallowed by some problem overtaking us. Or that we are drowning in the issues of everyday life. How often do we feel like we have become prey to those who would want to harm us because we carry the name of Christ. Or that someone is trying to snare us, to cause us to fall and do harm to the name of our God. God keeps us from this. If you doubt this, read 1 Corinthians 10:13, where it says that God temptation to overcome us (and that would include the temptation to lose faith in God in the midst of trying circumstances).


I think a hymn that captures the essence of this psalm may be "God Will Take Care of You" (click to listen).

Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,
Through every day, over all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart doth fail,
God will take care of you;
When dangers fierce your path assail,
God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,
Through every day, over all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

All you may need He will provide,
God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied,
God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,
Through every day, over all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast,
God will take care of you.

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Finding Mercy

The fourth psalm in the Psalm of Ascents is psalm 123. To recap our travel through our series of the Psalms of Ascents, it begins with the psalmist desiring to go to his true home (ps. 120). It continues with the psalmist praising God for His protection during the journey to Jerusalem (ps. 121). He reaches Jerusalem and praises God for the great things he finds there (ps. 122). In this next, brief psalm, we find the psalmist in Jerusalem and beginning to do what he traveled there to do: worship Yahweh. To begin this worship experience, he asks for God to send His mercy.

Read Psalm 123 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Because this is such a short psalm, the outline is also short. It is still a rough draft and I really do not like it much but here is what I have.

God is the Giver of Mercy

I. We depend on God's mercy (1-2)

II. We desire God's mercy (3-4)

First, I really need a new title. Actually, I really do not need a title at all but I have been trying to title my sermons for the purpose of summarizing what I going to speak about. If anyone has a thought about a better title PLEASE post it so we can all see it.

Second, it is obvious in the first two verse that the psalmist is talking about his dependency on God for mercy. Verse two is not about the servants looking to their master for orders, but instead looking to them for the necessities of life. The psalmist uses these to show how we desperately need God to give us mercy because it cannot be found anywhere else.

The last two verses of the psalm shows the psalmist desire for that mercy. Because others (namely the proud, who depend on no one for anything) have attacked us (ridiculed and hold contempt for us) we need God's mercy to get through.

It seems to me that this psalm also is like stairs step:

I look to God in heaven (v. 1.)
     until he shows us mercy (v. 2)
        because we have endured much contempt (v. 3)
                from the arrogant (v. 4)

This also could also be an outline for this text. Any help with these outlines would be great.

I love the message of this little psalm: "God is the only place for me to find mercy and I need that mercy greatly."

I still need a "modern" song with which to end this sermon. The first song of thought of (with the help of my wife) was "Mercy Came Running" by Phillips, Craig and Dean, but since I do not not agree with their doctrine, I am hesitant to use this song thinking that someone may see that as endorsing them. Then I thought of the hymn, "At the Cross" where the chorus says, "Mercy there was great, and grace was free...Pardon there was multiplied to me...There my burdened soul found liberty...at Calvary." That may be the right one. Any suggestions?

I will have to update this one later as I continue to work on it.

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When We All Get To Heaven

Continuing my series on the fifteen Psalms which are entitled "Psalms of Ascents," I will be looking at Psalm 122 today. This is the third psalm in this series (you can read my previous posts on 120 and 121 here). In the first psalm of the series, 120, the author communicated a dissatisfaction with living in a foreign place and he longed to go to his true home. The psalm 121 the psalmist wrote about the dangers of traveling to his true home but his God watched over him to keep him safe until he arrived. This next psalm seems to indicate that the traveler made it and rejoices that he is now home.

Read Psalm 122 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

The psalmist essentially tells of the things which he is happy to experience now that he is home. i realize that this was written by an ancient Jew happy to be arriving in Jerusalem, but it seems to me there is some correlation here to a Christian arriving in the heavenly Jerusalem. Here is the sermon (this is still rough - any suggestions you may have to improve it would be greatly appreciated):

When We All Get to Heaven

I. We will experience joy (1-2)
          A. Joy from the community in getting there (1)
          B. Joy at arriving there (2)

II. We will experience unity (3-5)
          A. Unity does not mean uniformity (4)
          B. Unity does not mean licentiousness (5)

III. We will experience peace (6-9)
          A. The peace that comes from security (6-7)
          B. The peace that comes from prosperity (8-9)

I think I probably need to give a rationale for some of my thoughts here. I think the information in point I is probably self-explanatory (if you would like some explanation, just post a comment here and I will happy to respond).

Point II may not be as clear. The psalmist begins in verse 3 by saying that Jerusalem is a city which is compact. We must interpret this no in a Western Post-modern way but in a Ancient Near-eastern way. In today's understanding a city closely compacted together usually brings irritation, crime, rudeness, and many other things which are the antipathy of unity. However, in the psalmist day, a city closely compacted was safe and gave strength in numbers against an attacking enemy. The psalmist was speaking of the unity he felt when entering Jerusalem.

Then in verse 4, he mentions how the different tribes of the Lord all come up and worship in the same manner. The point is, though the twelve tribes of Israel were all different and had their own little quirks, and sometimes they fought amongst themselves, they came together to worship the Lord. There was diversity among the people of God and yet there was unity among the people of God. This produces the sub-point A: Unity is not uniformity.

Yet in balance with the diversity of the tribes, verse 5 mentions the thrones of David, where judgments were rendered. It seems the psalmist is saying that even though there is diversity and unity, this does not mean anything goes. There is still law, and still judgments to be rendered and when all the people come together they acknowledge this. Thus, while there is unity, there is not a licence to live contrary to God's will. Unity is not licentiousness.

Finally, in point III, the issue of peace is brought up. In these four verses (6-9) the word "peace" is mentioned three times. The psalmist wants peace (wholeness, completeness, Shalom) in Jerusalem. For the ancient jew, this is somewhat literal. No more wars and no more fighting amoung themselves; a wholeness for the people of God. To the Christian, peace is found through Christ and Christ alone. However, the peace we will find in heaven must be beyond anything we can fathom in this physical world.

The psalmist finds peace from the walls of Jerusalem which keeps the enemies out. In short, he finds peace through security. Second, he seems to indicating that he finds peace through the prosperity of Jerusalem. PLEASE NOTE: I am not referring to the prosperity that the charlatans called prosperity preachers are talking about. I am talking about how well off we will be in heaven. I do not expect to live like a king on this earth. I am, however, a child of the King of everything and will be living with him forevermore. I do not know how much more prosperous one could get.

In keeping with my practicing of assigning a "modern" song to each of these psalms, the obvious choice for me was used in the title: the hymn "When We All Get to Heaven" (click to listen).

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace.
In the mansions bright and blessèd
He’ll prepare for us a place.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when traveling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

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I am so Proud of Her

I have mentioned my brothers on my blog but I am not done. My sisters are also amazing women doing great things.

My sister Audra is the coordinator for Smart Start of Bulter County (Kansas), which provides multiple areas of service and advocacy for families in that part of Kansas (Audra, if I have this wrong, let me know and I will change it). Here is her website:

Smart Start of Butler County

And here is her picture. You should click here, and then email and tell her that her brother is bragging on her.

Oh...and here are a couple of pictures of her dogs, Gracie and Georgie. Gracie is the older, white dog. Audra just got her new puppy, Georgie, who is the smaller, brown dog. I think the pictures tell the whole story (click pictures for larger image).





Love ya, Audra.

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My Help Comes from the Lord - Addendum

In a previous post, I wrote about Psalm 121 and gave an outline (please read that post before moving on with this post). I have adapted this outline to make the flow of thought a little more easy. Here is the new outline and then I will share my rationale.

My Protector Watches Over Me

I. My protector is the Creator (1-2)

II. My protector is omniscient (3-4)
     A. He keeps me from slipping (3)
     B. He does not sleep (4)

III. My protector is omnipotent (5)

IV. My protector is omnipresent (6-8)
     A. No matter the time (6)
     B. No matter the situation (7)
     C. No matter the place (8)

The first point is the same in both the previous post and in this one so I will not comment on it here.

Second, one may balk at the use of these theological terms but I think first it will give the pastor/teacher an opportunity to teach these theological truths that EVERY Christian should understand and be able to communicate. Yes, the teacher could use "All-knowing", "All-powerful", and "All-places" in these points, but I do not think we should dumb-down our sermons. We should teach those entrusted to our care what they need to know. If the critics will use these theological terms (and they will) then Christians should be able to know what they mean.

Thirdly, I do not think these are "forced" in as they may first appear. For point II, "omniscient" is communicated, I feel, for his stating that God will not let his foot to slip and God does not sleep. God knows the obstacles coming on the path and helps the author miss them. Even when the psalmist is sleeping, God is watching. He always knows what is going on. The theological term for this is omniscience. What peace comes from knowing our God knows all that will come along our path!

Also, omnipotent is understandably used here as well. Verse 5 speaks of God is the shade on our right hand. First, the right hand poetic for power. Second, shade indicates that something is between the speaker and the sun, namely, God. This is all poetic language to indicate that the psalmist's power is really Gods power. God fights for him. An enemy steps in front of the psalmist and then God steps in between them, casting a shadow over the psalmist.

(RABBIT TRAIL - Sometimes in a Western Post-Modern mindset, shade or a shadow is a bad thing - cold, dark, mysterious. In an Ancient Near-eastern mindset, a shadow is relief from the sun in a place with no air conditioners. It is shade and relief).

The psalmist is singing about God's power and how that helps in in times of trouble. What encouragement comes from knowing that God is not only powerful, but ALL-powerful! He is omnipotent.

Finally, the term omnipresent was used because the psalmist spoke of the circumstances in which God saves. God will protect from the sun during the day and the moon at night. This is a poetic device named "Merismus," which lists the extremes to make the point that whatever being talked about is the extremes AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.. One of these was used in verse 2, "maker of heaven and earth." THis means God created the heavens, the earth, and everything in them, under them, over them, and, in short, everything. In verse 6, the psalmist here mentions the day and night. This means God is watching all day. We would say 24-7. No matter the time, God is watchinging over you.

Next, the psalmist says God protects from all evil. No matter what evil is going on around you, God is watching over you.

Finally, the psalmist says your coming and your going: another merism. Not only when you come and not only when you go, but anywhere you go.

Anytime, any circumstance, any place. The theological term for this is omnipresence. What encouragement we should have knowing that God is with us everywhere we go!

It is these thoughts which bring to mind the song, "His Eye is on the Sparrow" (see previous post). Our God watches over us. He protects us. And this is all because He loves us.

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The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 7.22.08

Dan Scarlton...AWAY!

Dan Scarlton, a character from the FUGE video about "Adventure Now" which my nieces showed me.

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Don't Worry...It's Not Me. It's My Brother

My brother is running for reelection in Greenwood County, Kansas. If you are there during voting time, remember to vote early and vote often.

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Just Over One Year

Last June, I began this blog. I have posted more regularly than I thought I would. I am wondering if anyone has benefitted from anything posted.

I began tracking hits through ClusterMaps (see to the right) beginning June 22, 2007. Here is a map of the hits for the last year up to today. (Click the picture to see a larger image or click the map on the right side of the screen)



Granted, many of these hits are just people who pop on the blog, see it is some religious site, and then get out of there as fast as they can. However, it is still amazing to think that many people have at least hit my little ol' blog.

I have put a quiz over on the right side of screen about your favorite type of article that shows up on this blog. Let me know what you think as I prepare for another year of mindless yammering.

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Rob and His Tree

On Thursday, May 29, I drove my mom and my daughter to Lawrence, Kansas to up keep my brother's memorial tree. My brother, Rob, passed away May 2, 1994 and instead of being buried in a graveyard, his memorial is a tree at the public library in Lawrence. We went up and clean out the weeds and overgrowth and then planted new flowers. Since he worked in the reference area, they called him "Robbie Reference." Here is some pictures of Rob's tree.







Here is his obituary:

Robert P. Kenneson Jr., 31, of Lawrence died at his home Monday, May 2, 1994. Services were scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday at the Lawrence Public Library.

He was born Nov. 2, 1962 in Akron, Ohio to Robert P. Kenneson Sr., and Joan M. Hoch Kenneson of Eureka. He graduated from El Dorado High School, the Automotive & Electrice Institute in 1981, and attended Kansas State University. He worked for a design and landscape company in Kansas city, Kan., Pence Garden Center in Lawrence, and in April 1991 he began working at the Lawrence Public Library as a reference clerk.

Survivors include: parents, Joan & Robert Kenneson Sr. of Eureka, grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kenneson of Coleville, Pa., brothers, Rory of El Dorado, Rolland of Colorado Springs, Colo., sisters, Angela Hoyt of Cassoday, Audra Kenneson of Eureka.

Memorials are to the Lawrence Public Library, Rumsey Funeral Home has the arrangements. (El Dorado Times, May 6, 1994)

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The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 6.6.08

All its going to take is your complete cooperation, absolute secrecy, and twenty live turkeys.

Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson played by Gordon Jump on the Turkeys Away episode of WKRP in Cincinnati.

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My Help Comes from the Lord

(See the Addendum to this post here)

The second Psalm of the Ascents is Psalm 121. Psalm 120 expressed the psalmist dissatisfaction with living where he is at and his longing to go home. It marks the beginning of his journey. Our current psalm, Psalm 121, is about his journey. He has set out and is traveling to Jerusalem. And on his journey, he knows the Lord will keep him safe.

Read Psalm 121 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

The word for "watch" or "keep" is used six time in these eight verses (3, 4, 5, 7-2x's, 8). It is about God watching over his people when they are journeying through life. Here is my rough draft outline:

My Protector Watches Over Me

I. My Protector is the Creator (vv. 1-2).

II. My Protector is Vigilant (vv. 3-4).
     A. He keeps me from slipping (3)
     B. He never sleeps (4)

III. My Protector is Powerful (v. 5).

IV. My Protector is __________ (vv. 6-8).
     A. He watches over me all of the time (6)
     B. He watches over all my life (7)
     C. He watches over me no matter where I am (8)

This sermon, like the one for Psalm 120, should provide the audience with encouragement that, while they are in the middle of the journey, and things may look dangerous, God is one who watches over them, no matter the time or place.

I am struggling with this outline. The most obvious thing above is the phrase for point IV. I want something like "complete" or "comprehensive" but those are not exactly what I am looking for. I am always a sucker for alliteration (it helps me remember as I am preaching and it can really help the audience remember when they walk out the door) so ideally, the last word in each point would begin with the same letter. That is really not necessary, though. I think the title should be stronger - it is a bit elementary. Even the lost will look up to the sky sometimes and say, "someone up there is watching me." Maybe that could be the title?

Again, I covet your input. Am I accurately relaying the text as the author intended? Do you have any suggestions on the outline or the general message of the psalm? Let me know.

As I said in the previous post, I want to end each of these sermons with a song we sing today which captures the idea of what the psalmist was communicating. I will point out, I will not be singing them (that would just be cruel) but reading them. For this psalm, I chose, His Eye is On the Sparrow (click to listen).

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

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Longing to Go Home

Psalm 120 is the first of the fifteen Psalms which are entitled Psalms of Ascents. There is several debates on how these psalms were used. Most hold that they were sung by those who had to travel to Jerusalem for the different festivals which the men had to be present. Some old Jewish teaching indicates that perhaps the Jewish priest sung one of these psalms on each of the fifteen steps leading up to the temple. However, they were used, they were an important part of the Jewish ritual system and religious life.

Psalm 120 is a great start to these group of songs because it expresses a dissatisfaction with the place the psalmist is currently living. It marks the beginning of their journey and that journey greatly anticipates the arrival at Jerusalem. The psalmist is longing to go home.

Read Psalm 120 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

It strikes me that this is the feeling of the believer as well. How we long to make the journey, so to speak, to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22)! We are so tired of sin and pain and death that we cannot wait to stand in God's presence. This is akin to what the psalmist is writing about.

Understanding that outlining poetry is committing a mile injustice to the material, but also understanding that my intending audience best learns in outline style, I have been working on an outline and I need help completing it. Here is my rough draft:

How to handling living in a sinful world.

I. We face terrible distresses but God answers us. (vs.1)

II. We face deceitful tongues but God saves us. (vv.2-4)

III. We face barbaric enemies but God brings peace. (vv. 5-7)

The whole point of the sermon would be to point out that the psalmist is honest about living in a lost world. It is not a bed of roses. As one commentator put it, "God rescues us from distress but does not preserve us from distress altogether." So the believer should learn some encouraging principles from this sermon regarding the dissatisfaction they experience in this lost world.

I think the phrase "deceitful tongues" and "barbaric enemies" could use some work. I am also wondering if the whole construction gives away "the punch line." That is, in the teaching point, I give God as the answer and thus I am wondering if the teaching is over. I also do not like the "how to" in the title. In fact, I am not thrilled with the title at all. I have come to a standstill but I know I am so close.

I would sure like some input from several people. What do you think? I am abusing the text terribly? Do I need to change the whole direction of the sermon? If you have some suggestions on different phrasing or anything like that, please post them.

I am attempting to finish each on of these psalms of ascents with a song or hymn from our time that captures the same sentiment. I think a song that captures what the author of Psalm 120 is attempting to communicate is old Gospel song, Sweet Beulah Land (click to listen).

I'm kind of homesick for a country
to which I've never been before.
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken,
And time won't matter anymore

Beulah Land I'm longing for you,
and someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land... sweet Beulah Land

I'm looking now across that river
to where my faith is gonna end in sight.
There's just a few more days to labor,
Then I'll take, my heavenly flight

Beulah Land I'm longing for you,
and someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land, Sweet Beulah land

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Mind Cramping - Your Input Needed

I have been attempting to develop two sermon series for several weeks now. The first is a series through the book of Haggai. I have been enjoying the study and hope to post some thoughts about it in the next few days.

I have also been attempting to develop sermons from the psalms of ascension (Psalms 120-134). I recently taught through Psalm 119 and thought I should continue through Psalms. I realize it is not the same as preaching through Ephesians, or Genesis, or even Haggai. Hebrew poetry is a challenge, which I why I want to work through it.

As I have been working through these, I have really just cramped up in the brain. I just cannot think through some of these things. I have been praying through the study, I have just sat and read through the passages, and I have come to a standstill, so to speak. So I try to go on to other things and let my mind engage in other activities and then come back to these passages later and still nothing.

Let me be clear, I am obviously finding all kinds of valuable material and great application for sermons. It is, after all, the Word of God and is always alive and profitable. The problem I am having is attempting to find the teachable points needed in a sermon. Granted, I have a somewhat traditional model of preaching and some have issues with that. But my goal, as always, is to faithfully relay the text to the audience with relevant principles for today.

So as I was struggling with these things, my wife told me to post some of my thoughts and have others let me know what they think. So, I will be posting some of my thoughts, outlines, and other things on these passages and I any help you all could give me would be greatly appreciated. Also, if these are useful to you please use them and share them as needed. If you do that, let me know how you used them - just because I am curious.

I think I will begin with the Psalms. However, I will start with the next post. This post is already long and I do not want to combine topics (it is easier to sort when it is only one topic per post, so to speak). So I hope the following posts will help you and I hope you responses will help me.

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Blogging....But Not Here

I have not blogged here for a while but I have been blogging. I started a new blog recording my new hobby. You will have to read it to find out what I have been up to...not that you do not have any thing better to do.

Click Here to read my other blog: A Turn of Events. Or you can click the link to the right.

I will get back to these things but I am having fun playing right now.

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Book Review: The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching

I recently completed The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching: Connecting the Bible to People edited by Keith Willhite and Scott Gibson. This is an older book I found on a discount shelf and read through pretty quick. It is essentially a compliation of chapters by different authors all to honor Haddon Robinson, who is one of my favorite teachers. In Robinson’s book Biblical Preaching (a must read for all preachers), he puts forth an idea he calls “The Big Idea.” In short, the Big Idea is the one message the author of the text is communicating. With this concept, Robinson declares several things: we can truly know what a biblical text is communicating; every biblical text may have many applications but only one interpretation; when preaching a text, the pastor must bring out this meaning; and a host of other ideas. It is a revolutionary concept if one has not every thought in this manner before and in our post-modern society, there is a generation of people who have been taught that meaning resides in the reader and not in the text. Thus, Robinson’s principle of the Big Idea is a truly a big idea. Thus the title of the book of this review, The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching, is really a play on words about the concept found in Robinson’s book.

The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching declares the concept of the Big Idea as the best basis for preaching. It begins by revealing to the reader why it is the best way to preach. In short, the various authors say preaching with the Big Idea in mind helps the preacher keep sight of the one thought the biblical author is attempting to communicate with his audience. In doing this, the preacher can confidently declare, “thus saith the Lord.”

The next section of the book helps the bible student understand the Big Idea’s biblical and theological power. The authors do this by explaining how to find the Big Idea when navigating through the different genres of the Old and New Testament. The principles, examples, and outlines shared through this section were helpful and bring to light the importance of preaching what the text brings forth and not what one wants to make the text say.

The book concludes with some helpful chapters on how to communicate a message based on the concept of the Big Idea. They discuss issues like flow of thought, the use of illustrations in the message, and how preaching with passion makes a difference. Each of these topics are handled well and could be very useful to any preacher.

Overall, I think this book is a valuable encouragement for preachers even though it is a decade old. I also think that if one has not read it, Biblical Preaching should be read first. Biblical Preaching is a better “How To” book while The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching will help the bible student further refine the concept of the Big Idea and how to incorporate that into their sermons. It is also the kind of book that would be helpful to reread if one has not read it in a while. Useful to have on a pastor’s bookshelf.

2t22 Rating

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Sing It Sister!

I am not sure who this it is or who her parents are but this little girl has apparently heard The Lord's Prayer sung several times. She does a great job for a 2 year old.



What a cutie!

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Book Review: Submerged

Submerged, by Alton Gansky, is the third book in a series of stories about protagonist Perry Sachs, although I did not know this when I pick it up from the book store. Even though it was the third book, the author did a great job of brief character development so the reader would not feel like he or she missed anything by not reading the first two books. In this installment, Perry travels to Nevada in an adventure to save his dying father and solve a mystery from thirty years earlier.

The story has a feel which Area 51 conspiracy theorists would really enjoy. The characters related to each other well and their dialogue seems relatively believable. The banter between Jack and Gleason is particularly enjoyable. It creates an emotional attachment with these characters.

Essentially, in the early 1970’s, a group of scientists were brought to investigate an underground base which could not have been built by any government on the planet. Thirty years later, these same scientists begin to die by a strange illness. Perry’s father, who was one of those scientists, reveals a secret which begins Perry and his pack of buddies on an adventure that will bring more questions than they ever could have imagined. With the help of some Nevada deputies, and through some confrontation with mysterious military personnel, they experience a life-changing experience.

I really enjoyed the book and drilled through it a couple of days. The whole experience was fun but I did not care for the last chapter. The author attempts to explain what they saw through biblical “eyes” but instead produces, if true, a strange, strange, doctrine about the afterlife (I cannot reveal more than this without giving away the story). The author does have a note at the end of the book explaining that this is a fiction book and the theological points made by the characters are just that – theology by a fiction character.

The story may have been better if I had read the previous two stories about Perry Sachs, and that may have provided me with more investment in the characters. Nevertheless, it was fun and a fast read that can provide you with a nice break from whatever you want distracted from.

2t22 rating:

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Hey...That's a Little Creepy

The other day I logged on to StatCounter.com to see how many people have hit my blog, where they came from, and how they got there. StatCounter is free tracking service that will tell its users some good information about who visits your site. One of the nice pieces of informaiton it provides is how the visitor came to your site. That is, if they performed a search through Yahoo or Google, it will tell you what they were searching for - the purpose of this is to see if your site is providing people for what they are looking for.

Anyway, the other day I noticed that someone from Hong Kong hit my blog. I always am happy to see that people from other countries at least have my blog pop up on their screen (I have no idea how long they stay but at least it crossed their line of sight). I also noticed that they found my sight because they performed a Google search for my name. That's a little unnerving. I do not think I know anyone living in Hong Kong. Who is searching for my name? (Click image to see the entry)






I mean, that is OK. People are allowed to search for whatever they want. But, really, who in Hong Kong knows my name (spelled correctly I might add) and why were they searching for my name? It is just kind of funny, kind of...

If you are the one from Hong Kong searching for me, give me a post here and let me know how I can help you. Unless you mean me harm...then post on Mark's blog.

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I'm Back...I Think...

I have another friend and fellow Baptist that is in the blogisphere now. Check out Don's blog at philetus.blogspot.com. He writes about theological issues and has some original articles also available through his site. Of particular interest is his article on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Done has done much research of the Dead Sea Scrolls over the last couple years and was able to put together an interesting overview of what they are, their history, and their impact for today. I would encourage you to print out his booklet and read through it. If you like, contact him through his blog and let him know how much you liked it.

With Don starting his blog and my friend Mark, continuing to post on his blog, Converging Heritage, I thought, maybe I ought to get in gear and start blogging again. I just have found too many excused to not to.

Things that have kept me from blogging this month:

• Transforming a bedroom into a home office
• Building a website for my friend's business
• Family "stuff"
• "Teaching" an online Philosophy of Religion class for OBU MTI
• Distraction over an up-coming interview at a church
• Laziness
• Company
• Changing the faucet on our kitchen sink
• Church "stuff"
• Games (with the family, on the computer, and online)

Needless to say, I have found a great number of reasons not blog. But, I am going to attempt to get back into the swing of things.

Here is what I plan to blog on in the upcoming weeks (not that I think anyone is greatly anticipating anything I will be blogging on next - this is more for me as a "to-do" list):

• Finish the sermon preparation series
• Post a couple of book reviews
• Random thoughts which have been rolling around in my head during the Philosophy of Religion class.
• Thoughts on bible studies I am going through on my own
• AND, of course, more "the funniest thing I have heard today" - looking for those throughout the day are what keep me sane

"all this and more, coming soon!" That is, unless I find a good excuse to not do it.

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The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 3.25.08

tanophobia

Jessica, my daughter, doing what she thought I told her when I told her the fear of Satan is called "Satanophobia."

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Eighth: Preach It Man!

In continuing my series on sermon preparation, the final step is to actually preach the sermon. The most I can say about the actual act of preaching is to pray, pray, pray. God will do the work. It is the preacher's job to prepare and remove himself as much from the sermon as possible so the congregation can hear God as clearly as they can. If the preacher prepared well, then he will not wonder what he will say, or how long it will be, or how the passage will flow. He will know the point of the sermon and not chase rabbits all day and so loose the listener. The sermon will be direct, to the point, and will say what need said using the most efficient amount of words. That is not to say sermons should be short or fast - but they should be long for the simple sake of being long. My philosophy is, "I have something to say from Scripture and I will get up, saying as efficiently as I can and then watch God work." My preaching is the weakest link in that process.

As for some of the more practical or physical issues of preaching, most of the mechanics of public speaking can be applied and it will help the presentation. Here are some things to think about:

1. Talk slow and clearly. You have been thinking about the sermon for quite a while now. When you lay a big theological concept on them, take a second or two to let it sink into their minds. Otherwise, they will park there and miss the next few minutes of what you are teaching. You are not talking as slow as you think you are and your nerves make you talk faster than you think you are. Train yourself to preach at a appropriate pace for the audience.

2. You should be able to out-preach a crying baby. Invariably, there will be a crying kid in your sanctuary. Do not let it rattle you. Just keep preaching. The parents will appreciate that you did not point out that their child was unhappy. If you think that something was missed because of the commotion, just note that the point is too important to miss so you are going to repeat it.

3. Use meaningful gestures and good posture. One of most helpful things I learned from preaching class was the issue of what to do with your hands and how to use meaning gestures. To help us students work on this, we were to video ourselves preaching and then play the video back on high speed. This will magnify any repetitive behavior which can really distract a listener from the message. For example, there were some men in the class who rocked back and forth while they preached. At high speed, they looked like Weeble Wobbles. There was another man who lift his arms from his side and put them back down. At high speed, it looked like he was trying to fly. I do not remember having repetitive behavior but I would walk back and forth behind the pulpit but would not let go of the pulpit. As if it was a life raft and if I let go I would drown. As for posture, get your hands out of your pockets. Jingling change while preaching is distracting to the listener. And they will wonder what in the world you got in those pockets. No slouching over the pulpit - it makes one look tired and lazy.

4. People do funny things when listening to sermons. Do not let that distract you. I am not sure what runs though their minds, but people do the weirdest things while preaching. Once, while guest preaching, I looked over at a prominent church leader and he was sitting upright with both hands over his face. His head was not bowed - he was sitting normally as if he was looking and me and listening, he just had both hands over his face. Strange. Recently, when sharing a sermon, I had a man in the crowd shaking his head as if I was way, way off theologically (I was not) and flipping through the pages to apparently find his proof. I have had people just burst out and ask a question about something (that I do not mind at all). There is any number of things that can distract you from what you were saying. Train yourself to stay on track.

5. Preaching is a spiritual exercise and God will work how he wants. Allow me to say, I am not saying preaching is performance. I am saying that if we want to minimize any distraction which would hinder the listener to hear the message, then we need to look at ourselves as well. Do we have distracting habits which would hinder the message? How can we improve the delivery of the message? These points are about attempting to communicate the message as clearly as we can. It has nothing to do with natural ability. I am the world's worst speaker. But there are things I can do to improve and become better at the call God gave me, with His help.

6. Handling compliments. I still do not know how to do handle the comments after the sermon. People will invariably tell you, "That was a good sermon" or something like that. However, we are not want to preach a "good" sermon which people really found entertaining or fun. We want to preach a life changing message which will bring about a change in the relationship between people and their God. When someone compliments one of my sermons, I usually saying something like "I hope it helped" or sometimes just "Thanks." I hate doing that but I think the people 1) are trying to encourage me and 2) do not really know what to say after a challenging sermon. So I am trying to know their heart and hope they know mine.

I pray you find this series on Sermon Preparation helpful. If so, please leave a comment or two on the steps that you found helpful. If you end up preaching this sermon, please let me know how it went and if these posts were helpful. Also, if you have a link to your sermon, I would love to hear it.

Diagram -> Outlining -> Excursus -> Word Studies -> Commentaries -> Excursus -> Refining -> Illustrations -> Practice -> Preaching

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Too Busy to Post

I have not posted for several days because I have not had the time. I am not complaining as I enjoy having projects I must complete and time lines to work with. I have transformed one of our house's bedrooms into a home office for my wife, I have preached a Wednesday night study for my pastor, I began "teaching" an online Philosophy of Religion class with OBU MTI, and maintained the house while my wife left town on a business trip. Those are the things I can remember.

So, for what it is worth, I just thought I would notify anyone who reads this that I will attempt to begin blogging again. Sorry for the break. I hope someone noticed. :-)

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Geekfest 2008...Revisited

In a previous post, I mentioned how I was looking forward to some movies. Well...that was then, this is now. Many of those movies have trailers out and they look fun. Here they are:

Speed Racer


Star Trek: Under Construction


The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian


Batman: The Dark Knight
This is just a tad disturbing so do not watch if you are creeped out easily or are afraid of clowns (the bad guy, after all, is "The Joker").


I could not find the trailers for X-men or Wolverine. But nevertheless, the above movies should be fun to watch. I am a sucker for superhero movies, cartoon-into-live-action movies, and great-books-turned-into-movies movies. Should be a fun summer.

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Seventh: Practice

In the continuation of the series of post regarding sermon preparation, we next turn to the issue of practice. We have worked a lot on this passage (1 Timothy 1:3-11) and have developed a decent sermon so far. The next step I take at this point is practicing delivering the sermon.

Now, first of all, some may have the concept of "practicing" delivering a sermon. I am sure thoughts such as, "If God has anything to do with it, you will not need practice" or "I do not want to practice my sermon, I only want to say what the Holy Spirit wants me to say." While these are valid thoughts, practice does not negate these concepts. In fact, practice can hone the thoughts what God would have you say to the audience to which you are speaking.

In addition to this, public speaking does not come naturally to me. When asked to extemporaneously give speeches or even announcements I have a hard time communicating correctly. I invariably flub some important part or leave out some integral detail. I do not want this happening when I preach. Why would God call someone who is that bad at public speaking to preach? I continual ask Him the same question. I rest on Paul's statements that I am strongest when I am at my weakest and the weak things of the world are what God chooses to work through.

When I practice my sermon, I do just as I would if I was standing before the congregation. I pray over my sermon, although at this time I am praying for God to prepare my heart and the people's heart who will be receiving this message. I am praying for God to show me what exactly He would want me to share with the people. Then I begin. I preach through the material I have prepared. I have a pen with me and when I come to a place that needs work or I feel like something needs added, I make note of it and move on. I also time myself. I want to know how long this message will take to preach through.

Practicing the sermon does several things for me. First, it helps me smooth the rough edges off the sermon. If there are awkward moments in the sermon or transitions that do not seem to flow, I can identify those and work on them.

Second, it helps me memorize my sermon. I know what is coming and do not have to looks at my notes when preaching the sermon. Also, when the sermon is memorized, it helps me live it out when I am running around town. If I am preaching about loving the lost and my sermon notes are running through my mind, I will think about the slow cashier differently (and it may provide a good sermon illustration at the same time).

Third, practicing the sermon helps gets more of "me" out of the sermon. That is, if I am unprepared then the audience gets a lot of me - my thoughts, my mistakes, my misspoken words, etc. Practicing helps minimize the things that may distract the listener from getting the whole message.

Finally, it may help me create a whole new "shape" for the sermon. For example, as I practiced our current sermon on 1 Timothy 1:3-11, I started with an illustration about counterfeiting and how Abraham Lincoln founded the Secret Service. This made me think that perhaps a good way to approach this sermon is something like "God's Secret Service" or "We must be God's Secret Service Agents." Then the main points could be a creative use of that topic. However, I was not able to do that as the time came for me to preach it without having time to "redevelop" the sermon in that manner.

I have one more note about practicing. I want to mention what practicing is not. I do not practice my sermon so I can produce the highest level of emotion in the congregation that I can. I do not practice my sermon so that I can have the best pointing jesters or waving or whatever. I am not practicing so the sermon will be my best performance ever. These are self-focused reasons for practicing and one must always remember to avoid such practices. I practice my sermons so that the message can be clearly heard and I can be removed as much as possible in the delivery.

We are almost through this series. While not a complete study of sermon preparation, it may help in giving a direction in which to move toward.

Diagram -> Outlining -> Excursus -> Word Studies -> Commentaries -> Excursus -> Refining -> Illustrations -> Practice -> Preaching

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Book Review: Naming the Elephant

I recently read James W. Sire’s book Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept. It declares itself a companion book to Sire’s The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog. The Universe Next Door is an essential reference book every Christian leader needs to read and have on their bookshelf. This book is an examination of eight major worldviews to which the majority of people on the planet hold. It begins with a definition of what a worldview is. However, eventually Sire was not happy with his own definition.

That is where Naming the Elephant comes in. This book is entirely about redefining a worldview. I found this refreshing because Sire is not apologetic for saying that while his definition was adequate it could be better defined to clearly communicate the definition of worldview. Sire begins Naming the Elephant with a history of the definition of worldviews. This discussion is worth the price of the book. Sire lays out in detail the trail of philosophers, Christian and secular, who have had the greatest influence in the development of the concept of worldview.

Next, Sire provides the reader proof of the need for the reworking of the definition of worldview. He moves from that topic to showing that a worldview is more than a set of presuppositions but is more of a way of life. This is important because of Sire’s previous definition of worldview. Following this logically and sequentially is Sire’s thought on how the concept of worldview impacts individuals and societies.

It is only at this point that Sire provides his redefinition of a worldview. Sire’s original definition of worldview, found in The Universe Next Door, says,

A worldview is a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic makeup of our world. p. 16

With the risk of spoiling the ending of Naming the Elephant, Sire’s new definition of worldview is,

A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being. p. 122.

Some of the main differences Sire points out, are a worldview is “a fundamental orientation of the heart.” In other words, it is a spiritual issue. A worldview shows where the person is at spiritually. Or perhaps said backwards, where a person is at spiritually will define their worldview. It is expressed as presuppositions and it impacts the way we live. It is my opinion this redefinition is clearer and helpful for the dialogue.

Sire finishes his book by discussion what difference this discussion makes. Since worldviews are a spiritual issue, and since they impact the way we live, we should understand how to use our worldview. Understanding what a worldview consists of and how that is manifested in a person’s life will provide the Christian leader with an essential “tool for analysis.” If we know what we are looking for as we read various authors’ work, their worldview shines through their words. As we look at art or listen to music, worldviews issues are easier to pick out. Our worldview helps us identify others’ worldview which in turn can help the Christian leader minister a bit more effectively.

The entire book was just a little over my head. I felt like I was in the deep end of the pool and was able to keep my head above water most of the time but very often my head would go under for a short time. I feel it is always good to read to stretch oneself in ones reading and this book did that for me. It is a good resource for anyone wanting to delve deeper into the topic of worldviews.

2t22 rating

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Sixth: Illustrations

In continuing my series on sermon preparation, we turn to the topic of sermon illustrations. Illustrations are an integral part of the sermon. To begin with, sermons are well communicated when each main point has explanation, illustration, and application. That is, you state the main point and then explain what the author is saying about that principle. After that, a good illustration will help hammer home the point you are attempting to make. Finally, application MUST be made. Howard Hendricks says,

Observation plus interpretation minus application equals abortion. In other words, every time you observe and interpret but fail to apply, you perform an abortion on the Scriptures in terms of their purpose.

But, this is a coming post.
Back to the point at hand, illustrations help the preacher communicate his point clearly and help the audience remember the point.

Here is how illustrations made their way into our sermon on 1 Timothy 1:3-11. (Click here for our outline as it currently stands). As I was refining the outline (see previous post) I was also thinking of illustrations. For example, the first main point is:

I. We must have ministries marked by sound doctrine
          A. Watch for counterfeits
          B. Watch for divisions
          C. Watch for the goal - LOVE

This got me thinking about identifying counterfeits. The "standard" illustration is the "you must know the real dollar bill to identify the counterfeit - and the better you know the real dollar the easier it is to identify the counterfeit" but I figured many had already heard that illustration in a sermon about combating false doctrine. Therefore, I wanted to find something new or original to make my point of identifying counterfeits.

Next, the second point says:

II. We must avoid ministries marked by false doctrine.
          A. Their direction is off.
          B. Their discussions are empty
          C. Their desire is wrong.

This made me think of an illustration about false signals leads the follower astray. I wanted to find an illustration about that.

I could not think of anything for the last point while refining the outline so I needed to continue to think about that. I also wanted a illustration to kick everything off that captured the idea of the entire sermon. I was thinking something about the impact of counterfeiting on the economy and comparing that to the spiritual life.

Now that I had a good idea of what I was looking for I began to search for some good illustrations. What makes a good illustration? There are many things. Mostly, for me, I want to find personal illustrations first. I had a story about me, a compass working wrong, and me being lost in Fort Worth, TX. It is a somewhat amusing story but it communicate the point of following a false signal: "The compass may say west but you are going east. That is the way it is counterfeit teachers proclaiming a counterfeit gospel. They lead people astray" and so forth.

Next, I try to find illustrations I have not used before and have not been used so much they are almost expected from the audience. This is the same as them not listening. There are several places I look for illustrations.

Online
www.sermonillustrations.com
www.sermoncentral.com

Books
I have several books of sermon illustrations. They are categorized by topic. I usually try to pick up these books when I see them on sale or in the discount bin. The trouble with these type of books is that, first, they are not that personal, and second, others have used them. However, you may not be able to get around that. When there is a good illustration, use it make the most of your point.

In the case of our 1 Timothy 1:3-11 sermon, I found most of the remaining illustrations on www.sermonillustrations.com. At least, I found the idea for the illustration on that site. Finally, I searched online for information about counterfeiting and was directed to the Secret Service's website. This provided me some great information for the beginning of my sermon.

Here is a list of the illustrations that I decided to use in the sermon (they are all listed except the illustration of my personal illustration). This search online really helped me because I found a great illustration for the final point of the sermon regarding the purpose of the law. When I read the illustration you see on the above link, I thought immediately of an object lesson of the level. I could bring a level in and show them the illustration.

Here are some things to note about illustrations:

1. The sermon is about teaching God's Word and illustrations help bring out the meaning of the text in a way that is memorable. The illustration is not about being "funny" or even "clever" it is about making the greatest impact with God's Word. It is a tool to help communicate God's Word.

2. The Emergent Church folks say the way we should be preaching is telling stories with God's Word to illustrate the story (I have sat in meetings with other pastors who seriously were talking about this as if it was a great idea). This is plain and simply wrong. There is no story anyone needs to hear and no story that will change anyone's life other than the Gospel story. I firmly believe that the Word of God must be plainly taught and illustration help make the point the author is attempting to communicate. You can take or leave illustrations but you cannot minimize God's Word to an illustration.

3. This is the not the part of the sermon that should take the longest time in preparation. That is, if you exegesis is weak because you have not taken the time you needed with it, an illustration will not help you have a biblical sermon. It may be entertaining but not biblical. Sometimes you may not find the illustration you are looking for and you have run out of time. Preach the Word. It is the Word that God promises to not return void, not our illustrations.

Our sermon is really ready to get into shape to preach. That will be the focus of the next post.

Diagram -> Outlining -> Excursus -> Word Studies -> Commentaries -> Excursus -> Refining -> Illustrations -> Practice -> Preaching

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The Street Where You Live...or Die

The other day, or other month, Colorado Springs Police Department published a list of the most dangerous intersections in the city. Here is the map of the top five with a description of each intersection. Click on the marker to read the description.



View Larger Map

Here is an article with the entire list of the top 25 most dangerous intersections in Colorado Springs.

I am thankful that while my family and I pass by many of these intersections every day, we have not been in an accident for quite some time. We go past where these accidents "live" and are not injured so far. It gives a whole new meaning to the song,

I have often walked down this street before
but the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before.
All at once am I several stories high
knowing I'm on the stree where you live.

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Book Review: 1984

I recently reread George Orwell’s 1984. I had first read 1984 in 1984, when I was in high school. I am not sure I appreciated much of the books message but this time it was an interesting read. Since 1949, when Orwell wrote the book, I am sure there has been countless reviews of 1984, so I will not review it as much as pull out some thoughts I had while reading it.

While reading this somewhat disturbing book, it really struck me how many little details in Orwell’s book were very close to reality today. First is the issue of the technology in the book. Things like the telescreen and the versificator are technology essentially used today. Granted, our TV’s do not transmit, but Tivo does monitor your viewing and provide you with suggestions based on your viewing habits. Computers can show a picture while projecting another with a small camera. These are eerily close to the telescreen. Songs are not written without any human invention as in the story, but one person on a computer can create a symphony (although, they usually don’t and it usually comes out more hip-hop than anything else). One really cannot contemplate today’s popular music and it almost seems its purpose is to numb the mind of the masses. Compared to something like Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, where each movement presents a musical interpretation of a season, today’s music seems a little less complicated, to say the least. Will it be long before pop songs are written entirely by a computer with no human behind it?

Second, some of the philosophical issues are very real today, which is exactly the point of the book. Orwell did not believe the socialism of his day went far enough. He conveys this thought through one of his characters, O’Brien, he says,

“We are different from all the other oligarchies of the past in which we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that.”

This does not mean Orwell was against socialism. He just did not believe it would work in it form in which it existed in his day. And he was right. He believed that for it to work, socialist leaders needed to be honest about their motives, and do everything they could to keep the proletariat from raising to the middle class. This can also be seen in the book from Winston’s continual thought, “If there is hope, it lies in the proles.”

It always strikes me about those who reject a capitalistic society desperately want a system of governance in place which would allow them to think differently and act differently than the "oppressive capitalist", when everyone under a socialist government are not allow them to think differently from the government and cry out to be saved. The problem with their thought process is they begin from the false premise that people are good. They believe people will work hard and at the same level as everyone else. They believe people want to share. The problem is, as Scripture reveals, people are not good at their core, they to be compensated fairly for the work they do, and they are by nature selfish.

The final thing which was eerily close to circumstances today is the issue of revisionist history. Historians are essentially allowed to rewrite history and that revision then is the way it happened. This was evidenced by my wife and daughter on a recent trip to Washington D.C. They were either in the rotunda or in the Supreme Court and were listening to another group being led on a tour. The tour guide pointed to the images which were obviously Moses and the 10 commandments. The guide told the group, “The one through ten Roman numerals on those two tablets represent the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which we call the Bill of Rights.” This simply was not the case. However, someone has “written history” and has declared these were not the Ten Commandments but the Ten Amendments. Thus, that is what they are and have always been. This is but one example which permeates children’s textbooks and other areas of our live.

1984 has some vulgar content in it but overall it is fascinating read, if read critically. As the version of the book I read said, it is a warning. If you have some extra time, I would suggest rereading it. It is not the best book I have ever read but it is a classic and it is worth being reminded of the warning.

2t22 Rating:

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Happy Anniversary to Us

Today is Rhonda's and my fourth anniversary...think about it....think about it...there! Yes, you are correct. It is leap day and that means we have been married 16 years. And it has been a fantastic 16 years...at least for me. I thought I would include a picture of us (click the image for a larger picture).

I love you, Rhonda. I can not imagine who I would be without you. Happy 4th Anniversary.

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Fifth: Refining

Continuing in our study of preparing a sermon, we are at the place were we want to refine our outline to something preachable and memorable. This is something that comes with practice. And even with practice, some preaching outlines are just better than others. When you are preparing two or three sermons per week, sometimes you have to go forward with something good when, if you could spend some more time on it, it could be great. This does not negate the sermon. After all, it is God who speaks to the person's heart and it is God who promises His words will not return void. The purpose of intense preparation is not to do God's work; it is so that there will not be any hurdles in the way of the person who needs to hear the message. If we ramble, if we have disjointed thoughts, if we are unprepared, it can be a hindrance to hearing the message. Yes...God can and does work through those sermons that are confusing and are hard to follow. But how much more could He work through us if we have spend the time preparing.

But I digress...the point of this post is discuss refining our outline to make it a bit more teachable than its current condition.

First, when I begin refining I have been reading the passage and looking over all my previous notes. I have spent a lot of time with the text and beginning to formulate what needs to be taught through the passage. So, to refine the outline, I begin to look at different outlines other preachers have used.

One source that is easy to use is SermonCentral.com. Here is what I looked at when considering the 1 Timothy 1:3-11 passages.

SermonCentral outline 1

SermonCentral outline 2

These were OK but they were not what I was looking for. It should also be noted that I do not use these outlines. I use them as sermon seeds. Which brings to mind another resource I look to for refining outlines: SermonSeeds.org. This site usually has some good helps, but not for our passage in 1 Timothy.

Here is a list of outlines from the commentaries, from the Internet, and anywhere else I can pick someone's brain for some sermon seeds.

The issue with most of these are that they are exegetical outlines or theological outlines and not homiletical outlines. That is fine because the commentaries are not about having homiletical outlines, but they are an outline of the passage. This is why preaching from a commentary doesn't work. It was not made for that purpose. The idea of a sermon is to move from the exegetical (a statement of what the text says), through the theological (the truth pulled from that passage), to the homiletical (a statement which teaches that idea). Let me give an example of an entire passage.

A commentary would have more an exegetical outline. It is just an outline of how the passage flows. Here is an exegetical outline for Hosea 14:

I. Exhortation for Future Grace
          A. The Prophet’s Call to Repent (14:1-3)
          B. Yahweh’s Promise (14:4-8)
Garrett, NAC

A theological outline states theological truths but not in teachable principles. They just state the truth. This could be used as a sermon but may provide dry content and your audience may not leave remembering what your preached. Here is a possible theological outline for Hosea 14.

I. The Effect of Genuine Repentance 14:1-9
          A. The need for repentance (1)
          B. The attitude for genuine repentance (2-4)
          C. The results of genuine repentance (5-9)
Hunt, Old Testament Outline

This is more of a teachable outline. The words "We" or "you" appear more frequently, there is an attempt to make the main points memorable (notice the repetition of "repent"), and the flow of the passage is still faithful to the text (refer to the outlines above). Here is homiletical outline for Hosea 14.

I. We have a need to repent. (1-3)
          A. Accept responsibility for your sin. (1)
          B. Make an honest confession of your sin. (2)
          C. Let go of false gods. (3)
II. God is faithful when we repent. (4-8)
          A. God Will Revive Us. (4)
          B. God Will Restore Us. (5-7)
          C. God Will Remind Us that He Sustains Us. (8)
III. We must make the choice to repent. (9)
          A. There are Two Ways in life.
          B. It is a matter of the will.

Again, this is not essential to make sermon. And, again, I do not want to convey the idea sermon creation is solely an intellectual exercise. This entire process is to be bathed in prayer. However, there are little things we can do to help our audience catch the idea of the text and have it keep with them.

Here is progress on our 1 Timothy 1:3-11 passage. I have attempted to show the progress of thought in the order in which I thought through the outline. These are in red. The underlined points are the statements which I settled on for the time being. Refining the outline takes time, which means it is harder to do the night before the sermon is to be preached.

It hard to describe how ideas come. All I can say is that I have a small book I essentially take everywhere with me. In this notebook, I had the outline written down and prayed over it, scratched out, rewrote, thought out, etc. for at least a week. I thought about the audience of this sermon and what they may need to gain from this passage. I thought about what would help me remember the outline best. I thought, worked, and wrestled. The document link above shows that progress. To see the outline in its present form without the extra commentary and word studies, click Here.

This is still not ready to preach but it is getting closer. And it will not be THE perfect sermon nor the IDEAL sermon, but it is shaping up to be something that will preach.

Diagram -> Outlining -> Excursus -> Word Studies -> Commentaries -> Excursus -> Refining -> Illustrations -> Practice -> Preaching

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The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 2.26.08

"You do and it will be the biggest mistake you ever made, you Texas brush popper."

Marshall Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, played by John Wayne, in the movie True Grit. It is better when you hear Rooster saying it. Click Here to hear the clip. By the way,

A “brush popper” (also known as a brush buster, brush hand, brush rider, brush thumper and brush whacker) is a cowboy who works in brush country. (Quote from http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/texas_brush_popper/

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