Deus Misereatur

If Eugene Peterson can turn Wendell Berry's works toward preaching and pastoring, then I can turn Flannery O'Connor's in a similar direction. O'Connor wrote tons of letter until the day of her death. One of them was to a female friend whom she had long been encouraging to write. This young woman was crushed when she received some criticism on one of her yet-to-be published books. O'Connor responded to her in her sober, sensible and Southern fashion. What she says about criticism, and how to take it, struck me as very fitting for sermons. Below is her comment that I will slightly (and obviously) modify toward preaching: "No matter how just the criticism, any criticism at all which depresses you to the extent that you feel you cannot ever [preach] anything worth anything is from the Devil and to subject yourself to it is for you an occasion of sin. In you, the talent is there and you are expected to use it. Whether the work itself is completely successful,...

Preaching as Reminding: Stirring Memory in an Age of Forgetfulness by Jeffrey D. Arthurs My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have read my fair share of books on preaching through the decades. Many of them are encouraging and helpful, unpacking the "Why" and "What" of Christian preaching before they get into the "How". Each one normally has a unique perspective and pursuit. Some are trendy, many others are traditional. Jeffrey D. Arthurs, professor of preaching and communication at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, MA, has recently added his assessment and angle in a new 192 page softback, “Preaching as Reminding: Stirring Memory in an of Forgetfulness”. These seven chapters are easy to read and retain, while supplying strengthening substance. The first three chapters of “Preaching as Reminding” look carefully at the role of remembering and forgetting in Sacred Scripture, and how the preacher is called to be a reminder, a remembrancer. A reme...

Paul's Theology of Preaching: The Apostle's Challenge to the Art of Persuasion in Ancient Corinth by Duane Litfin My rating: 5 of 5 stars A dear friend of mine sent it as a gift about Christmas time. After three months I finally got around to reading it and was elated with this thoughtful treasure trove! The gem I’m referring to is the paperback, “Paul's Theology of Preaching: The Apostle's Challenge to the Art of Persuasion in Ancient Corinth.” Here are 400 pages of careful expeditions into the ancient development of rhetoric and expansive reflections on 1 Corinthians 1.18-4.21. This masterful historical and theological work is penned by Duane Litfin, author and previous president, the seventh, of Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. It is a compilation, expansion and reworking of his doctoral thesis, articles and speeches from the past decades. The book is ideally suited for preachers, liturgists and homiletics professors. The first third of “Paul’s Theology of Preachin...

I was recently huddled in a discussion group with other ministers, and – no surprise – we began talking about preaching. The conversation narrowed itself down to the way we preach each Sunday. There were some great sentiments voiced and out-loud-thinking presented, but there was also an uncertainty with regard to expositional preaching (where you preach through a passage, and deal with its content). Some of the guys started rummaging around for biblical examples or standard patterns for preaching. This got me to thinking: is there any evidence in Scripture for what we call expositional preaching? I quickly noticed that the few specific sermons recorded in Acts are predominately outside-of-church sermons. They are presentations of the Gospel in open-air (Acts 2 and 4), synagogues (Acts 13), amphitheaters (Acts 18) and courtrooms (Acts 22 and 26). The only episode we have that depicts inside-the-church preaching is Acts 20.7, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered tog...

There is a shrewd, virile strain running in the blood stream of most North American Christians. It’s a very self-reliant bug, one that thinks worship is something that boils up from my own rugged individualism. “I worship how ever I want, and God has just gotta be mighty pleased I have even given Him the time of day. I’ve got the good old American know how, and I’ve got the power!” But the Bible is clear: It’s God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil. 2.13); It’s the gift of the Spirit by which we can even cry out, “Abba, Father” and pray (Rom. 8.15, 26-27); It’s Christ Jesus who takes away the veil over our hearts so that we can finally hear and receive the Word of the Lord (2 Cor. 3.14-16); and even real Christian preaching is only accomplished by God working in the preacher, as the Apostle Paul says, “Christ we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labo...