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There is just something special, at least for me, about the empty church sanctuary (I know that in the modern age we call it the “Worship Center”). I enjoy walking and praying alone in the stillness of this day lit place of safety. This room, which seems to resonate with the ambiance of previous awe-inspiring worship services, serves as a place of reminder and reflection in several respects.
People tend to be predictable. Although they may show some openness to innovation and change, for the most part people love standing right in the center of their personal comfort zones. What I mean, at least in the case of church, is that church people tend to sit in the same chairs or pews each Sunday. This is true of the staid, traditional church as well as the more casual, blended or contemporary church. As I love to tell my students, “people is people.” I make use of this reality in sermon preparation.
Each week I find a time to walk alone in the sanctuary with a legal pad in my hand. Because people tend to sit in the same place from week to week I can remember them by name and experience as I stroll by their seats. This gives me the opportunity to do a little pastoral reflecting upon things they may have told me, pains they have endured, joys experienced, or anything else that is significant in their lives. As I whisper a prayer for them and reflect upon the week’s selected text, the Holy Spirit begins that wonderful process of illumination. The Lord graciously begins to reveal the relevance of the text and its meaningful application for this particular family and church.
From row to row and chair to chair the process of illumination tends to magnify. My mind and heart begin to race as certain implications of the selected text gradually are revealed. So not to forget, I jot each of these thoughts, ideas, and concepts down on the legal pad. Each thought or idea has a significance that I could not have discovered in a commentary, book, preaching resource, or on the internet. It is a far more personal and pastoral approach, in my estimation, because I actually am engaging my flock instead of engaging reading or internet materials. Please understand that I believe there is a place for commentaries and other helpful resources. But there simply is no greater place to begin to see and understand the implications, relevance, and application of the selected biblical text than in a place where I can think solely of the church members. I also see the implications for my own life. Therefore it becomes a moving devotional time for me. The Holy Spirit looms large in this special and significant time of sermon preparation.
Most of the time I walk back into my study and begin to type many of these thoughts and ideas into the message. Some of the thoughts have no place in the actual sermon. They were given by the Holy Spirit in order that I might pray for a situation or consider how I might minister to a family in need. Some of these thoughts do indeed make their way into the message. Sharing this illuminated and biblically charged information with the congregation the following Sunday is an awesome joy. I know that the message is God’s Spirit-anointed message because I broke away from the study and walked in that special place called the “Sanctuary.”
Showing posts with label pastor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pastor. Show all posts
Friday, September 10, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Applying the Word
Visit www.crossingthehomileticalbridge.com
DEFINING APPLICATION
“‘Application’ stems from two Latin words: Ap, meaning ‘to,’ and plico, meaning ‘to knit.’ Application developed into the idea of joining something in such a way as to change or effect that to which it was joined. Historically, two other terms were used to describe the act of applying Scripture:
Improvements - enabling a congregation to utilize God’s Word in their daily lives.
Uses - the practical implications of a biblical text, following the “Doctrines,” showing how the latter might impact everyday living.” -(Adams, Truth Applied, 15-16)
SCOTT BLUE BELIEVES APPLICATION IN THE EXPOSITORY SERMON MUST INCLUDE AT LEAST 5 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS:
1. Sermon application must be based on biblical truths gained by a historical¬
grammatical-literary examination of the biblical text chosen for the expository sermon.
2. Sermon application should be related to the author's intended purpose for the text or a
portion of the text.
3. Sermon application must relate why the biblical truths are relevant for the
listeners in their contemporary lives.
4. Sermon application must include practical examples and suggestions of how
listeners can adapt their lives to the biblical truths presented.
5. Sermon application must persuade listeners that they should adapt their lives to
the biblical truths presented and encourage them to do so.
Application
The goal of application in preaching is to aid listeners in making the connection between the biblical text and their lives. The issue of biblical and preaching relevancy has been discussed ad nauseam for the last few decades. Many writers in the field of homiletics speak of the need for preachers to “make the Bible relevant” for the modern listener. I have always found that expression laughable.
In my classes and writings I continually stress that God’s Word already is remarkably relevant. No preacher “makes” the biblical text relevant. There is, however, the challenge that preachers face in helping listeners to see that relevance and then live it out in their daily lives. This is where the functional element of application comes into play. The issue for the preacher is not in “making” the biblical text relevant, but in revealing the pre-existing relevance.
Application, properly revealed, may show a Christian how to develop a more meaningful prayer life, solve particular problems, restore relationships, access the forgiving nature of God, develop the principle of financial stewardship, or understand and utilize spiritual giftedness. For sermons to be meaningful to listeners the preacher simply must expand his abilities in demonstrating the relevance of his chosen text.
Preachers and teachers of God's Word need to understand that in order to make meaningful application to the contemporary listener we must understand people and the world they live in. A preacher or teacher literally must be a student of people and their environments. Therefore he must subscribe to popular magazines, keep abreast of financial trends, be aware of educational issues and trends, understand and be able to discuss gadget technology (the I-world), be familiar with issues in local, national, and international politics; music and literary trends, and any other matter(s) the people that attend his church face.
Preachers simply must learn to study the truths of the Bible that were originally intended for an ancient culture and show how those truths relate to and canned by carried out within the live of the modern listener.
DEFINING APPLICATION
“‘Application’ stems from two Latin words: Ap, meaning ‘to,’ and plico, meaning ‘to knit.’ Application developed into the idea of joining something in such a way as to change or effect that to which it was joined. Historically, two other terms were used to describe the act of applying Scripture:
Improvements - enabling a congregation to utilize God’s Word in their daily lives.
Uses - the practical implications of a biblical text, following the “Doctrines,” showing how the latter might impact everyday living.” -(Adams, Truth Applied, 15-16)
SCOTT BLUE BELIEVES APPLICATION IN THE EXPOSITORY SERMON MUST INCLUDE AT LEAST 5 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS:
1. Sermon application must be based on biblical truths gained by a historical¬
grammatical-literary examination of the biblical text chosen for the expository sermon.
2. Sermon application should be related to the author's intended purpose for the text or a
portion of the text.
3. Sermon application must relate why the biblical truths are relevant for the
listeners in their contemporary lives.
4. Sermon application must include practical examples and suggestions of how
listeners can adapt their lives to the biblical truths presented.
5. Sermon application must persuade listeners that they should adapt their lives to
the biblical truths presented and encourage them to do so.
Application
The goal of application in preaching is to aid listeners in making the connection between the biblical text and their lives. The issue of biblical and preaching relevancy has been discussed ad nauseam for the last few decades. Many writers in the field of homiletics speak of the need for preachers to “make the Bible relevant” for the modern listener. I have always found that expression laughable.
In my classes and writings I continually stress that God’s Word already is remarkably relevant. No preacher “makes” the biblical text relevant. There is, however, the challenge that preachers face in helping listeners to see that relevance and then live it out in their daily lives. This is where the functional element of application comes into play. The issue for the preacher is not in “making” the biblical text relevant, but in revealing the pre-existing relevance.
Application, properly revealed, may show a Christian how to develop a more meaningful prayer life, solve particular problems, restore relationships, access the forgiving nature of God, develop the principle of financial stewardship, or understand and utilize spiritual giftedness. For sermons to be meaningful to listeners the preacher simply must expand his abilities in demonstrating the relevance of his chosen text.
Preachers and teachers of God's Word need to understand that in order to make meaningful application to the contemporary listener we must understand people and the world they live in. A preacher or teacher literally must be a student of people and their environments. Therefore he must subscribe to popular magazines, keep abreast of financial trends, be aware of educational issues and trends, understand and be able to discuss gadget technology (the I-world), be familiar with issues in local, national, and international politics; music and literary trends, and any other matter(s) the people that attend his church face.
Preachers simply must learn to study the truths of the Bible that were originally intended for an ancient culture and show how those truths relate to and canned by carried out within the live of the modern listener.
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