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A Stretching Kind of Preaching

Stretching Preaching

Lord willing, this Saturday at IDC we conclude our summer sermon series on the book of Genesis. We put our sprinting shoes on for this one, knocking out all fifty chapters in fourteen weeks. As it so often happens, now that we are functionally done with the book I finally feel prepared to preach it.

Preaching Your Darlings

William Faulkner coined a now famous line for writers, “Kill your darlings.” Stephen King, in his On Writing, went even further by saying, “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.” I’ve often wondered how such advice might apply to preaching. For it seems to me that every preacher has his own homiletical darlings. Maybe it’s a darling genre, a darling length of text, a darling tone, or a darling sermonic scheme (that’s probably my own)—whatever it is, the preacher likely has at least one.

Brothers, where it’s appropriate we need to kill our darlings lest they impede growth in faithful heralding.

It’s Stretching Time

When we planted IDC in 2013 I had yet to serve in a ministerial context where preaching week in and week out was my responsibility. During my associate pastor days the peak of preaching regularity was once a month. Thus, one of my first homiletical darlings to die was a preferred method of sermon prep. No longer could I sit and meditate on a sermon for over a month. What as just over a month was now just over a week. It took me many months to get used to a new way of preparation. I was stretched.

About six months in I started squeezing on another darling: genre. Every preacher, because of personality, interest, or expertise, is uniquely given to preach a particular genre. Some are storytellers and so they preach narrative. Some are rapture crazy and so prophetic books are their favorite meal. Some are systematic logicians and so feel drawn towards epistles. Count me in that later category. Put me in a section a New Testament epistle and I feel I’ve just sat down in a sermonic La-Z-Boy. We started IDC by preaching through 1 Timothy. I still think it was the right book to do at our church’s outset, but I wonder how much of my Pauline preference played a part in its selection. Desiring to give our young church the whole counsel of God, we jumped into Ruth right after 1 Timothy. I had, after all, told our core group one of the preaching convictions I had was, “Balance between the testaments and the genres.”

So, here I was outside my comfort zone in a narrative, and compounding my anxiety was that I was preaching through the book in four weeks. “Oh man,” I thought way back then, “one whole chapter each week?!?!” The homiletical stretching continued. After Ruth we went to Haggai and that little prophet made the stretching start to hurt. Since Haggai we’ve covered Mark, Job, 1 John, and two different topical series. Each one as stretched my homiletical muscles in regularly uncomfortable ways.

Uncomfortable because I’ve had to throw other darlings overboard along the way.

Seeing and Experiencing the Sermonic World

Now here I am concluding our Genesis series in two days time by walking through the story of Joseph—in one sitting. Yep, all fourteen chapters in about 45 minutes. Who is sufficient for such things? Maybe it’s wise, maybe it’s not. But one thing is certain: this sermon is stretching me. The whole series has been a stretching exercise. The rapid journey through Genesis is teaching me things I wouldn’t learn otherwise. Because of Ruth and Job I now feel comfortable with preaching one chapter, and thanks to Genesis one chapter feels quite luxurious. I trust this series is training me for future series that take in large chunks of narrative in every study.

What I’m coming to see is that we preachers need to see and experience the sermonic world of God’s word. If we never get out of a preferred genre we functionally spend our lives in one sermonic home. If we get out to other genres yet still only preach a few verses at a time we see the sermonic world with one-color lenses. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating for only rapid tours through the vast landscapes of Holy Writ. To this day one of my favorite sermons I’ve ever preached at IDC was on one verse, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Sometimes the best thing we can do for our preaching is learn how to preach a full sermon on just a few words from God. Every morsel of God is a means to endless meditation. Preaching large texts teaches us “essentiality”—what is the dominant idea uniting all these verses? Preaching small texts teaches us “unsearchability”—there are unsearchable riches contained everywhere, if we would but prayerfully meditate long enough to see them.

An Unexpected Spiritual Consequence

All this talk of stretching our preaching is little more than an exercise of semper reformanda. Our homiletical ability must always be reforming, growing, and deepening. I’ve found the sermonic stretching does something for the soul as well, it fuels dependence. It may be just me, but whenever I preach in my comfort zone(s) I’m tempted toward self-sufficiency. “You got this,” whispers the Worm. And it’s terrifying to me how prone I can be to agree with his lie. But when unhelpful homiletical darlings are thrown out the window I sense my soul usually growing in dependence. As I said above, the question often is, “Who is sufficient for such things?” He who is strengthened by the grace of Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:2). That’s a truth I must never forget and stretching my preaching helps me remember it.

How are you stretching your preaching?

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5 Lectures from Trueman

10-09-14_CarlTrueman72_NW_2499-2

It seems to me that every pastor needs interaction with the best of men from other Christian traditions. Such interaction protects against the accusation of insulation. We need the sharpening power of other convictions and interpretations on Scripture, theology, and history. And it helps when the given interlocutor is full of wit and wisdom.

One such man for me is Carl Trueman. I read and listen to anything of his I can get my hands on. I don’t always agree with him, but oh how he challenges my often preconceived notions of evangelical Christianity. He’s consistently insightful and frequently hilarious. If you haven’t learned from him before, here’s a good place to start.

Changing Times, Unchanging Truths

Back in October 2012 The United Christian Church of Dubai, pastored by John Folmar, hosted Trueman for Truth & Faithfulness: Timeless Truths for Changing Times. He lectured five times on historical giants such as Knox, Owen, Warfield, Machen, and Lloyd-Jones. Each talk contains his characteristic historical verve and they are also full of random, illuminated asides. Download the lectures below, queue them up on a playlist, and listen to them whenever you have the time—I’m sure you’ll find them rewarding.

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The Woes of Gospel Ministry

Woeful Ministry

In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul tells the church at Corinth it is quite right to pay ministers of the gospel. Gospel heralds are oxen that ought not be muzzled. But, so that the churches would not be burdened and that he would have his reward, Paul preaches the gospel free of charge. Such selflessness offers no ground for boasting for God’s will compels him to preach. He declares, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

I’ve thought often about that word, “woe.” It carries the sense of eschatological judgment. Perhaps James gives us the best brief exposition when he ways, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” If the Great Apostle does not preach the gospel he believes he will be fiercely judged.

A Woeful Service

In older times pastors spoke of gospel ministry as an “awful ministry.” The ministry is full of eternal weight and so one must enter into it full of awe. In what surely is the best book ever written on pastoral ministry Charles Bridges puts his finger on this very point as he considers the proper view of Christian ministry. He writes,

“[Is it any wonder] to see ‘the chiefest of apostles’ unable to express his overwhelming sense of his responsibility — ‘Who is sufficient for such things (2 Cor 2:6)?’ Who, whether man or angel, ‘is sufficient’ to open ‘the wisdom of God in a mystery’ — to speak what in its full extent is ‘unspeakable’ — to make known that which ‘passeth knowledge’ — to bear the fearful weight of the care of souls?  Who hath skill and strength proportionate?  Who has a mind and temper to direct and sustain so vast a work?  If our Great Master and not himself answered the appalling questions by his promise — ‘My grace is sufficient for thee (2 Cor. 12:9);’ and if the experience of faith did not demonstrably prove, that ‘our sufficiency is of God (2 Cor 3:5);’ who, with an enlightened apprehension, could enter upon such an awful service; or, if entered, continue in it?”

Channeling Paul, Bridges calls gospel ministry a “fearful weight” and “an awful service.” Now, that’s a view of the ministry worth attention in our day. Does anyone talk like this today? We need more people talking about how fearful ministry is, not simply how fun it is. For the purposes of this post I’d like to channel Paul in another direction—by thinking of gospel ministry “a woeful service.” Paul gives all ministers one woe in 1 Corinthians 9:15, but are there others we can pull out from Scripture? It seems to me that by clear reasoning or good and necessary consequence there are at least six woes in gospel ministry.

6 Woes in Gospel Ministry

Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! The gospel ministry is precisely that: a ministry dedicated to declaring the gospel. God commissions pastors as heralds and woe be upon us if we do not earnestly and persistently proclaim, “Hear ye! Hear ye! Thus saith the Lord . . .” Paul doesn’t say, “Woe to me if I don’t preach.” He says he must preach the gospel. If the announcement that Christ died for sin, was buried and then raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures doesn’t permeate our ministry we are in desperate trouble. The command is clear enough, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2).

Woe to me if I do not pray! Every Christian is to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17), yet there ought to be peculiarly strong callouses on the knees of faithful pastors. With sweat and tears we must wrestle with God to bless our congregation and our ministry. James says we are men just like Elijah and look what he was able to do in prayer—hold up rain in Israel for three and a half years! Without prayer we have no reason to expect God will move in power through our churches. The Prince says it best, “Of course the preacher is above all others distinguished as a man of prayer. He prays as an ordinary Christian, else he were a hypocrite. He prays more than ordinary Christians, else he were disqualified for the office which he has undertaken.”

Woe to me if I do not shepherd the sheep! The Fiery Apostle’s word to elders is keen on this point as he writes, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Pet. 5:2). Here we must be careful to have a complete view of shepherding. True shepherds know, feed, lead, and protect the sheep. Every pastor will uniquely gravitate toward a few particulars of the four-fold work of shepherding. He must thus labor diligently in those areas where he is naturally weak lest he sow and reap judgment on our sheep.

Woe to me if I do not evangelize! Timothy, and all pastors ever since, are commanded to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5). If a pastor is preaching the gospel with faithfulness he undoubtedly evangelizes in every sermon. But is the pulpit the only place where evangelism should happen? Clearly not. The great evangelists of old held huge rallies where plenty of lost people would come. Their revivals were there evangelism. Furthermore, in many centuries it was the lawful duty of all town citizens to gather for worship on the Lord’s Day. Thus many Puritan preachers, for example, had scads of nominally religious attenders in every service to evangelize. Yet, in our day of shifting cultural sand many preachers cannot expect to automatically have large swaths of lost people in gathered worship. We must thus hit the streets, restaurants, and communal gathering places to reach those apart from Christ.

Woe to me if I do not disciple! Christ’s marching orders tell all believers to make disciples, yet there is a unique discipling work Paul gives to pastors. He writes, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). A major thread in the tapestry of gospel ministry is the training of future leaders. This might come through regular discipling relationships or in church officer training. Let every local church labor for the Spirit’s help in becoming a godly leadership factory. May we all have a company of pastors birthed from our ministry.

Woe to me if do not pursue holiness! Oh, how we must exercise the soul. The Great Apostle famously writes, “Train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7). Proper pastors watch their life and their doctrine closely. What our people do indeed need more than anything else is our personal holiness. We need gifts and graces. May there be a renewed understanding in our time that holiness weaponizes—in a wondrous way—gospel ministry. M’Cheyne, that holy man of old, said, “A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”

Who is Sufficient?

Are there more woes in gospel ministry? Undoubtedly. I’m sure I’ve neglected something. But you might be like me and think, “Those six are sufficient to provide fear and awe in the Lord’s service.” We probably see them and cry with Paul, “Who is sufficient for such things?” The answer is oh so sweet, “Those who have tasted and seen God’s grace.” Just before he commands his young protege to train leaders Paul gives the secret to success in gospel ministry, “Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” There are unsearchable riches of grace found in Christ. May we sense them anew as we labor under an awful, woe-filled ministry.

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A Personal Prayer List

M'Cheyne

M’Cheyne’s personal prayer diary consisted of five lists. The second list offered eight “heads for prayer.” These headings can easily be adapted for modern ministry and would be quite helpful, I’m sure, to many a pastor’s prayer life.

  1. For an abundant gift of the Holy Spirit.
  2. For the purity and unity of the Church of Christ.
  3. For her majesty the Queen and all in authority under her and for a special blessing upon our country.
  4. That God may raise up in great numbers fit persons to serve in the ministry of his church.
  5. That a blessing may accompany the ministrations of the Word of God, in order that it may have free course and be glorified.
  6. For the propagation of the gospel among the heathen.
  7. For the fulfillment of God’s promises to his ancient people.
  8. For a special blessing on all the members of the Assembly and Church.
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A Holy Family of God

Genesis Podcast 1

A couple weeks ago I attended a coaches meeting for our local youth soccer association. After several minutes the meeting commenced in a most surprising fashion. The volunteer president stood behind the podium and said, “Let’s open with a word of prayer. Would you bow your heads with me?” If you know my background, I’ve probably been to hundreds of soccer meetings and have never heard one begin with prayer. I thus immediately thought two things: 1) I love that that just happened, and 2) people still do that? In fact, someone not too far from where I sat was plainly saying to his neighbor, “That stuff doesn’t belong here anymore.”

Reflecting on that moment this week I couldn’t help but wonder if countless Christians and churches don’t feel something similar when confronted with the truth regarding the reverence due to a holy God and the duty of holiness he requires of his people. Are not many in our time tempted to think, “That stuff doesn’t belong here anymore. Sure it was all fine and dandy back in the day, but it’s unnecessary today.” Might you even think earnest calls to holiness to be a relic of a bygone era? Something only radical conservative Christians believe? O, how our text shouts out to us tonight just the opposite. Our God is the Lord of holiness. As such he is deeply concerned to see His people marked off, cut out, and distinct in the world—which is what holiness means.

So what I want to do is encourage us, as the covenant family of God, to persevere in the glorious pursuit of holiness. I simply want to bring out two things our text emphasizes regarding holiness and the family of God.

Holiness & The Family of God

Worldliness threatens God’s people. Worldliness is a favorite weapon of the Worm. Like tasty bait hides the hook and beckons the fish, so does Satan use the world to seduce God’s people away from their first love. The Bible, more than many of us realize or may even like, relentlessly calls God’s people not to feasting upon a sinful world, but fasting from a sinful world. Jesus says, “What good is it to gain the whole world and forfeit the soul?” John says, “If anyone love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” James says, “Do you not know friendship with the world is enmity with God?” The Old Testament shows us how God selected His people out of the world and called them to be separate from the world. Not isolated in the world, but a compellingly odd witness to the glory of a holy God. Ever since the book of Genesis worldliness has been a great seducer of God’s people. Jacob compromises obedience for worldly comfort and comes oh so close to putting the promise in grave peril through united the covenant family with those outside the covenant.

Do you believe worldliness is a threat? Let us say, “Yes,” not in fear, but because we read our Bibles well and know our own hearts. Are you eager like Dinah to see the delights and pleasures of the world? Are you like Jacob careless in how you shepherd your family in the midst of the world? Or might you even be like Shechem, seeing and taking whatever you want in the world?

Holiness thrives on God’s promises. What is it that summons Jacob out of the slow, snakelike coiling power of worldliness? God’s word; particularly, God’s word of promise. Look back at the word of promise Jacob hears in chapter 35. God has just reaffirmed a name change from Jacob (“the deceiver”) to Israel (“God’s warrior) and notice the amazing promise of 35:12, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.” It’s still incredible to hear these promises made to this man. This is Jacob, the great schemer who takes what doesn’t belong to him, who flees in fear before mighty men. His only daughter has just been raped; his sons have become murderers and could have started all out war in the land of Canaan. His house is full of idols. Yet, he is nonetheless the man of promise, the man through whom God has now promised to bring kings. Such is the amazing grace of God. He delights to turn schemers into saints, rejects into royalty, lovers of worldliness into lovers of holiness.

Maybe you’re reading this and are scheming in some way to earn God’s blessing of acceptance, of eternal life. Maybe you feel rejected in the world, so much so that you are certain God would reject you as well. The Bible says we all have rejected God in our sin, we all subsequently scheme to earn salvation, but there is nothing we can do to earn it. So God sent His son, the King of Kings from the family of Jacob to die in the place of sinners like you and me. He lived the life you should have lived, died the death you should die, rose again and ascended into heaven. He calls now for you to turn from you sin and trust in Him, to bow you knees before the King. This promised King who saves. This is the promised Holy One of Israel who takes it upon Himself to make His bride, the church, holy as He is holy. What a promise! What a word! Our God is the Lord of holiness.

This post is adapted from my recent sermon, “Dinah,” on Genesis 34-36.

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Thoughts on Stott’s “Between Two Worlds”

JRWS PHOTO RTB

I’ve said before that Between Two Worlds: The Challenges of Preaching Today by John Stott is one of the few masterpieces of homiletical instruction. If you haven’t ready it you really should stop reading what I’m about to say and buy a copy. But, should you tarry longer here, I hope you get a glimpse of why you the book is so valuable.

Where It All Begins

John Stott’s Between Two Worlds is borne out of the conviction preaching is “an indispensable necessity” for the church’s evangelism and growth (9). He understands the market for publications on the topic of preaching is saturated, but his aim is to fill a void any student of preaching can acknowledge to exist. Namely, his aim it “to bring together several complementary aspects of the topic, which have often been taken apart” (9). Thus, he weaves together historical, theological, and practical perspectives on preaching.

0802806279mHis section on the history of preaching spans the centuries from Jesus to the twentieth century. Attention is then turned toward contemporary objections to preaching which include everything from the “anti-authority mood” to the influence of television. In part three Stott unfolds five foundations necessary for preaching the Word. The rest of the book, nearly two hundred pages worth, is occupied with practical considerations for preachers and their preaching. Stott spends an entire chapter encouraging pastors to diligent study of the word before he offers a method for preparing sermons. The final two chapters seek an appropriate balance in applying “sincerity and earnestness,” as well as “courage and humility” in delivery.

That Between Two Worlds is still read thirty years after it’s initial publication is a testament to it’s enduring legacy. A noticeable strength of the book is the breadth of material that Stott manages to address in a relatively small number of pages. He succeeds in his desire to bring together several complementary aspects of preaching that normally have been kept apart (9). He boldly states in chapter one, “Preaching is indispensable to Christianity. Without preaching a necessary part of it’s authenticity has been lost. For Christianity is, in its very essence, a religion of the Word of God” (15). And what did all God’s preachers say? “Preach!”

Historical Precedent

To show preaching’s indispensability and uniqueness to the faith Stott first surveys the testimony of history and of Scripture. One might quibble about why the author deals with history before Scripture, but the quibbling really is for those who might be called “nitpickers.”  Stott adequately shows that every century in the church’s history believed preaching to be a central focus in the church’s witness. What’s impressive about Stott’s survey is that he doesn’t succumb to a common temptation to root preaching’s history in the Reformation. Surely, the Reformation represented a recovery of the Word’s sufficiency—and thus a recovery of preaching—but we must give credit where credit is due. Mighty preachers are found in many places before the Reformation. Stott recognizes this and gives due attention to the church fathers, friars, and 19th century giants such as Simeon and Alexander. However, Spurgeon is noticeably absent from Stott’s discussion on this period, an unfortunate oversight for sure. Maybe it’s my Baptist bias, but surely the “Prince of Preachers” deserves mention in any history of preaching—especially from a fellow Englishman!

A practical implication for preachers today is quite simple on this point: study church history. “Chronological snobbery” will stagnate one’s ministerial development, especially one’s homiletical development. Historical awareness protects the pastor from undue thoughts of novelty, while also providing encouraging example from the giants of old. Stott clearly knows his history and is better off for it.

“Dialogical Preaching,” Really?

The second chapter finds Stott dealing with contemporary objections to preaching and of particular help is his discussion on the “anti-authority mood” (51-64). Stott gives five points today’s preachers must remember as they respond to modernity’s and post-modernity’s distaste of authority. He calls preachers to remember: 1) the nature of human beings in Christian understanding, 2) the doctrine of revelation, 3) the locus of authority, 4) the relevance of the gospel, and 5) the dialogical character of preaching. On this fifth and final point, we need not fear that Stott reveals himself to be a precursor of the dialogical preaching advocated in recent years by members of the emerging church. Instead, Stott wants preaching to contain a “silent dialogue” between preachers and their hearers. The preacher should be aware of potential pitfalls in the audience’s interpretation of or objections to a given text. Preachers today would do well to remember this reality.

In chapter three Stott gets down biblical business. What does the Bible have to say about preaching? He writes, “True Christian preaching is extremely rare in today’s Church . . . The major reason must be a lack of conviction about its importance” (92). The biblical remedy for this malady is a mixture of five convictions: a conviction about, 1) God, 2) Scripture, 3) the church, 4) the pastorate, and 5) preaching. We preachers must be reminded that preaching is fundamentally a theological reality, and this chapter will do precisely that.

Yes, Pick Up the Book—And Other Books

Another chapter worth particular mention is chapter five and “The Call to Study.” Much of today’s evangelicalism is saturated with cries that the pastor learn leadership techniques ripped from the corporate sector. Leadership is indeed a fundamental part of the pastor’s work, but we must ask, “How does the pastor lead?” I would argue, “The pastor primarily leads through the preaching of God’s word.” Stott seems to agree, for he says, “Since the pastor is primarily called to the ministry of the Word, the study of Scripture is one of his foremost responsibilities” (181). Further, “The higher our view of the Bible, the more painstaking and conscientious our study of it should be” (182). To selectively know Scripture and study it with irregularity is to fall into the devil’s hands and cause the congregation to starve of faithful shepherding.

An implication here relates to the preacher’s elders and congregation. If the church’s elders and members don’t their pastor’s leadership is primarily rooted in the proclamation of God’s word, the pastor inevitably will find everything but preaching and study consuming his time. Could the decline of real evangelicalism in America be linked to a decline of the church’s perception of preaching? It sure seems so. Stott issues a clarion call to pastors and churches to not only recover the importance of preaching, but to recover the diligent study of God’s word as being the necessary and fertile ground in which faithful proclamation can grow.

Balance, Always Balance

Finally, something must be said of Stott’s worthy articulation of balance in the preacher’s life and ministry. Of peculiar import here is his call for the pastor to be sincere and earnest, courageous and humble. The reality of indwelling sin means every pastor will tilt to one side of the biblical ideal. For example, preachers today can have so much courage in delivery that their preaching has a swagger—which really is the stench of pride. Stott rightly calls God’s men to be tough and tender. For Stott, this balance can be seen in the pastor’s willingness to both disturb and comfort his congregation in preaching. In my circles at least, the element of disturbance is often emphasized at the expense of comfort. Stott rightly calls preachers to a “humble mind (being submissive to the written Word of God), a humble ambition (desiring an encounter to take place between Christ and his people), and a humble dependence (relying on the power of the Holy Spirit)” (335).

Why You Should Read It

Preaching indeed is “indispensible to Christianity.” John Stott’s Between Two Worlds represents a veritable gold mine of instruction and application for preachers who desire to devote themselves to the ministry of God’s word. The book is useful not only to those just starting out in the ministry, but can serve as a welcome reminder to men who have a couple decades under there ministerial belt. Is it an overstatement to call this book “required reading?” Maybe. But I still think we should say it. Overstatement is good every once in a while.

Even though Stott’s roots were in the Anglican tree, here is a theology and practice of preaching that transcends denominational lines and convictions. Perhaps this is because preaching itself transcends denominational lines and convictions. For all these reasons and more, Between Two Worlds is a timely and timeless work.

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Book to Look For: Transforming Homosexuality

prpbooks_images_covers_md_9781596381391Few cultural issues are as pastorally pressing as the subject of homosexuality. As we know, the subject itself is much more complex than it might seem on the surface. In God’s kindness, a bevy of resources keep flowing off the press to equip church leaders and members to think through it all with biblical care and compassion.

Due to land on September 25th is Transforming Homosexuality: What the Bible Says About Sexual Orientation and Change from Denny Burk and Heath Lambert. (Am I the only one that finds it fascinating the Baptist men put this out with a traditionally Presbyterian publisher? I’m not intimating anything, just pointing out something unusual.) Read the description below and I think you’ll agree this will be a book worth your attention. If the description isn’t enough to convince you of the book’s timeliness, check out the endorsements from Allberry and Butterfield—their praise is surely worth particular attention.

Description

Faithful Christians today agree that the Bible forbids homosexual behavior. But when it comes to underlying desires, the jury is out. Some Christians view homosexual desire as morally neutral, while others believe it calls for repentance and gospel renewal.

Is same-sex attraction sinful, even if it is not acted on? How we answer this urgent question determines how we counsel brothers and sisters who wrestle with same-sex desires. Denny Burk and Heath Lambert challenge misconceptions on all sides as they unpack the concepts of same-sex orientation, temptation, and desire. They show that ultimately a biblical view gives hope for profound personal change, with patterns remolded and rethought in faithfulness to Christ.

Endorsements

“Denny Burk and Heath Lambert have written a clear, compassionate, and thought-provoking book on how the gospel brings transformation to those struggling with homosexuality. Our hope is not the heterosexuality-or-bust shtick of reparative therapy, but the wondrous prospect of growing in holiness and Christlikeness that comes through repentance and faith. This is essential reading for every pastor and for any seeking to bless and minister to those with same-sex attraction in our churches.”

—Sam Allberry

“In Principles of Conduct, John Murray reminds us that ‘the line of demarcation between virtue and vice is not a chasm but a razor’s edge.’ In Transforming Homosexuality, Denny Burk and Heath Lambert shine scholarly and pastoral light on that razor’s edge, helping Christians to discern the difference between sexual temptation and sexual lust as it bears on same-sex attraction. This is a bold and provocative book. It will also likely be a controversial book. But it is predominantly a loving book that seeks to help people with unwanted homosexual desires be transformed by the full knowledge that God’s grace for us in Christ is sufficient for all our various struggles and sins.”

—Rosaria Butterfield

“Under pressure from worldly trendsetters, many in the church (including several key evangelical leaders) have adopted the position that homosexual desire may in some sense be ‘normal.’ Homosexual acts are sinful, they say, but a homosexual orientation is not inherently unrighteous. In Transforming Homosexuality, Denny Burk and Heath Lambert address that idea with biblical clarity and godly wisdom. This is an important book about an issue that has overwhelmed our culture.”

—John MacArthur

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Got 15 Minutes to Spare?

At the inaugural Together for the Gospel in 2006 John Piper preached on “Why Expositional Preaching is Particularly Glorifying to God.”

You may not have time to listen or watch the whole thing, but you should at least check out the first fifteen minutes. I do believe you will be helped. There Piper elaborates on his longing to see God raise up preachers “mighty in the Scriptures, aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace, dead to self, willing to labor and suffer, indifferent to the accolades of man, broken for sin, and dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty, and holiness of God.” Let us all long and pray for the same thing.

Click here if you want to read the manuscript.

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5 Pillars of a Living Church

A Church Alive

Imago Dei Church was planted in January of 2013 with a simple, yet biblical, passion: to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ. We took Christ’s marching orders of Matthew 28:18-20 as our charter. Thus, the matter of first importance was to establish a church culture that acknowledged the lordship of Christ, for He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Recognizing this all-permeated lordship of our Savior gave us a few clear mandates to shape our congregation’s life together. I offer them here hoping they might serve fellow pastors in leading ordinary church who seek to passionately glory in our extraordinary God.

The church must herald His gospel.

The gospel of Jesus Christ—the good news that Christ died to save sinners, was buried, rose again three days later, and ascended to the right hand of the Father—is the announcements that gathers Christ’s church. It is not news we perform or enact, but is an announcement we herald. It is not a work we perform, but truth to which we bear witness. Being the lifeblood of Christ’s church the gospel must bear an indelible stamp on all we do. Sometimes this is explicit (like in preaching) and other times it is more implicit (the liturgy). Where the gospel of Christ is, there is life abundant. Where the gospel is heralded, the church becomes a life-giving agent for the nations.

The church must stand on His word.

The second consequence naturally proceeds from the first. How will they hear if someone doesn’t preach? “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” God’s word has given us everything necessary for faith and life. Therefore, the church must be a tangible expression of sola scriptura. We long to see every gathering, formal or informal, be rooted in the word. If God’s word brings life to God’s people we always want to place ourselves next to this life-giving fountain. So God’s word saturates our gathered worship as we sing it, pray it, read it, support it, preach it, and see it.

The church must depend on His spirit.

To rightly situate our lives on the gospel and in the word means we depend on His spirit. Without the Spirit we have no gospel and no word. This dependence is, maybe, most practically seen in the church’s life of prayer. The church that doesn’t pray is a church that thinks the Spirit is an optional power source. We must weekly plead for the enabling and empowering work of the Spirit to flow through the congregation. So we pray often in gathered worship, at our monthly prayer meeting, and try to shepherd IDC in such a way that prayer is peculiarly present in our midst. We want to speak often of Jesus calling to us through His word and His spirit. We pray each week before the sermon for the Spirit to open our eyes to behold wondrous things from God’s word.  We rejoice in the Spirit’s work in salvation, illumination, and consecration.

The church must rest in His sovereignty.

If there is any one distinct theological line we cut into the sand it is that the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit reigns totally sovereign over everything and everyone. Because He is Lord of all He does whatever He pleases. “He has predestined all things according to the counsel of His will.” This truth is the kick drum of the Christian life. It keeps us in time and resonates in the song of each day. And just like every good kick drum does this one leads us to clap our hands—in joy, humility, and love. It is not a doctrine that freezes hearts, but inflames them.

The church must revel in His holiness.

Christ washes His bride with the water of His word in order to present her holy, without spot, blemish, or any such thing. He is perfectly holy and calls us to strive for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Banish away all cheap contemporary notions of legalism or moralism. This is God-ordained, Christ-bought, Spirit-wrought, and word-directed holiness. He does it and so we must do it. Let us work harder than anyone for this godliness, recognizing it is simultaneously only because of God’s grace we get to agonize in this supreme delight. We thus practice church discipline, commend obedience, and cherish self-denial. The stance of our members must increasingly be one of the soldier. Christ our captain enlists us into the battle of the ages, with His armor we war against the cosmic forces and heavenly powers in the heavenly places.

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The God of Blessing

Genesis Podcast 1

On the way back home Jacob find out Esau is coming out to meet him. Esau’s messengers say to Jacob his older brother is coming with 400 men to protect him on the journey home, but Jacob fears Esau is up to some trick and is really out to annihilate his family. So he divides his family into two camps and then in 32:9-12 he prays to God, pleading the promises God, specifically the promise of protecting his vast offspring.

A Contest With God

What comes later that night is one of the most amazing scenes in all the Old Testament. Jacob sends off his wives and sons, and everything else he had. Then notice 32:24-26, “And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. (Human strength counts for nothing in an encounter with God.) Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day has broken.’ But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.’” This angel then asks, “What is your name?” Oh, let us hear something of earnest, pained desperation—“My name is Jacob, the deceiver, the heel-grabber.” Notice what comes next in 32:28, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel (literally meaning something like, “God’s warrior”), for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Here is the transformation of Jacob’s scheming weakness into Israel’s warrior strength—it is true faith in a sovereign God who changes men. One scholar says the name change means he “will be God’s conquering warrior in the earth.” Victory over the serpent would come through the one who is named “Israel.”

So Jacob emerges from his struggle with God named and blessed. Which brings to mind the true and faithful Israel, Jesus Christ. In agony at Gethsemane and crushing pain at Calvary Jesus struggled with God. He clung to the Father knowing He could call down a legion of angels to rescue Him from the anguish. Yet, he struggled unto the point of death—not just a limp—and he emerged named and blessed. Philippians 2 says God saw his obedience and so gave him the name that is above every name and so he became the blessing unto all nations as he offers transforms sinners into saints. If you’re in here tonight and are not a Christian, what are you struggling for? Maybe you are struggling earn acceptance before God through your own righteous scheming. Maybe you are struggling to believe that God will accept you and all your failures. The good news of Jesus is that if you would simply turn from your sin and trust in this Savior, His struggle covers your own and brings you life eternal.

Our text ends with chapter 33, which shows us that God did protect his promised blessing to Jacob. Jacob finds out Esau did not come for war but to reconcile and to renew their friendship. The blessing was promised, it was provided, and it was protected. Our God is the Lord of blessing.

Truths About God’s Blessing

A couple weeks ago I finished a fresh reading of Tolkien’s classic The Lord of the Rings. I told Emily after that for the first time in my life I realized one reason why I may love the story so much: I quite identify with the hobbits. I love the quiet, simple life of work and no-fuss drama. I fancy myself as something of a surprising hero of dashing courage and unexpected cleverness. Isn’t that often why we love particular stories; we envision ourselves as being the main character?

If that’s true, and I think it is, we ought to all love the story of Jacob. For, brothers and sisters of the covenant, this man is totally like us. He schemes to earn the blessing, doubts God’s power, fears man, and still find Gods choosing him and changing him. Is that not so keenly similar to the story of our lives? So as we begin to close I want to highlight a couple things about how God’s blessing worked through Jacob life, for we can be sure it still works for God’s people in the same way.

God’s blessing comes from sovereign grace. Rachel tried to receive the blessing of children through mandrakes, Jacob tried to receive the blessing of riches through a white tree branches. Yet, human schemes cannot earn God’s blessing, it’s only channel is sovereign grace. Where in your life might you be trying to earn God’s blessing? Repent of your prideful effort and drop the scheme like a devilish coal on fire.

How did God finally bring Jacob to stop scheming and submit? He crippled Him. God cripples His people’s self-sufficiency. It is the most merciful pain you or I can ever experience. Such crippling, like it did with Jacob, leaves a mark on one’s life. I wonder if others can see your soul as one crippled of its self-sufficiency.

The blessing comes from sovereign grace and . . .

God’s blessing calls for patient, prayerful struggling. The wrestling match with God points to something of the ordinary posture of God’s people. He has promised them—us—His blessing, but we have no idea when it will come. Abraham waited twenty-five years for the promised son of Isaac. Isaac prayed for his wife Rebekah to have children to continue to promised line of offspring and they waited twenty ears. Jacob sojourns twenty years before returning home, and he has to fight with God at the boundary line of the Promised Land. Patient, prayerful struggling is the way of life for God’s people on this side of heaven. Why then do we not lose heart? For the struggle is the struggle of clinging to the Lord, from whom all blessings flow. In Jacob we not only see that God cripples our self-sufficiency, but that God blessed His people’s dependency.

Oh, may we long to be blessed—in the fullness of the biblical term—by the God of Jacob. See tonight that it comes from sovereign grace alone and thus calls for patient, prayerful struggling in this life, waiting for the sunrise of blessing to appear on the horizon. May we individually and corporately struggle with God, saying “we will not let you go until you bless us,” until we can call our church body—like Jacob in 32:30—“Peniel,” for we have seen God face to face. What a blessing that would be. Our God is the Lord of blessing.

This post is adapted from my recent sermon, “Jacob,” on Genesis 28-33.