This Side of the Pulpit » Entries tagged with "preaching"
The Philosophy of Lutheran Sermons
Lutheran sermons don’t just teach you what the Bible means. Lutheran sermons are not intended to give you simple information. They are not for instruction purposes. Oh sure, we do instruct and explain the word of God. We tell you what the parables mean, and who the central players are, and what some of the background of the text is. But this isn’t the primary purpose of the Lutheran sermon, just like the primary purpose of Scripture is not to give information*. The primary purpose of the Lutheran sermon is to confront you with the word of God. The Lutheran sermon is experiential–or existential of that other word gives you heartburn. The Lutheran sermon is an experience of being shown, or exposed to, or receiving the Spirit of Christ. It is hearing … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Law/Gospel Outlines?
I preached an unusual sermon Sunday. It was the infamous Law/Gospel outline. You probably have heard thousands of these. I’ve preached my fair share. Here’s the way they usually go: Here’s the Word of God. Oh, there’s law. God says you should be doing such and such. You don’t. You need Jesus to forgive you. Conclusion. It’s not a horrible outline, but I think it should be generally avoided. While Lutherans are supposed to properly distinguish Law and Gospel, that doesn’t mean to use it as an outline. Rather, it means to distinguish between the works of the Law and Gospel, the work of law and law of love, the work of flesh versus the life of the spirit and all kinds of other things. But this Sunday I saw the need to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Sermon Writing Advice
This is inside baseball, folks, so your mileage may vary. Whatever lectionary (sequence of readings for Sundays) you use, you’ll end up with three readings and propers (introit, gradual, etc) for the Sunday. Often they work together, with a common theme bridging all the propers together. This is very common in the One Year lectionary, especially with the collect, introit and Gospel. But don’t assume they all go together the same way, or that you have to connect them. Look, especially in the Three Year lectionary, there is the feature of a lectio continua (or really a lectio semi-continua) –a series of readings from one book, not necessarily coordinated with the Gospel. And in the One Year you don’t have a one-for-one correspondence either. When you preach, look at the propers and other … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Blog Update on Church Father Sermons
I realized that I hadn’t posted any excerpts from the Church Father’s sermons lately, but I have a good reason. I’ve been preaching a sermon series on The 10 Commandments, so I haven’t been referring much to my Fathers’ resources of late. I’ve been trying to use the lectionary readings as texts as much as possible, though honestly a few of the sermons have only referenced them in a vague kind of way. The series ends next week, and I will return to my regular lectionary preaching, so too, the Church Fathers will have a chance to speak to us again here as well. That is, if this still interests you. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
This Wasteland
What is that sound high in the air Murmur of maternal lamentation Who are those hooded hordes swarming Over endless plains, stumbling in cracked earth Ringed by the flat horizon only (T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land”) The great lie of the deceiver is the status quo, the illusion of normalcy. The Stones may have been unintentional prophets like Caiaphas before them, but they are servants of the Most High when they remind us of the impossibility of satisfaction. We were created for the Creator, to long for Him and search Him out. Our deeply satisfied lives in front of the glowing screen laughing at sex jokes and guile, thrilled with balls being thrown and caught by gladiator-sized steroid junkies realize the depth of our scorched souls. That we appear contented and happy among the idols that give … Read entire article »
Pastors as Sheepdogs
Randy Asburry has an excellent post that tied in perfectly with my sermon last Sunday on “Good Shepherd Sunday.” It’s much better than what I merely grasped at in my sermon. My only complaint: that he would have posted this last week so I could have used it then! Here’s his post. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Thoughts on Using a Prepared Sermon Series
I’m using a Lenten series this year written by Concordia Seminary President Dale Meyer and his homiletics students. I’ve only used a sermon series written by someone else a few times in my near-ten years of ministry, and those were for the Lenten “round-robin” services I’ve participated in from time to time. In fact, apart from those three or four years, I’ve never used a sermon written by someone else. The few I have for those services was with some serious heavy re-writing. Ok, St. John Chrysostom’s Easter Sermon is the exception; I’ve read that at one of the Easter services a few times. I approached using this prepared series a bit apprehensively. Not so much out of pride–Dale Meyer is a better preacher than me and most others. But I … Read entire article »
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