Category Archives: Preaching

Why Johnny can’t preach (Part 2)

Pastoral Ministry

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If you wanted to find our about the ANZAC’s legendary Gallipoli campaign, how would you go about it? Watch Peter Weir’s classic 1981 Gallipoli (“What are you legs? Steel springs”)? Go to the Australian War Memorial? Borrow a book or two from the local library? Read a Wikipedia article? Go to the new ABC 3D interactive site?

In this second discussion of T David Gordon’s Why Johnny Can’t Preach (read part 1), I want to reflect on the first reason Gordon gives as to why Johnny can’t preach—that is, Johnny can’t read (texts).

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We need more pathetic preaching

Pastoral Ministry

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I’m not sure exactly where Tony is going next with his series on emotions, but his post connected with some other thoughts I’ve been having—specifically, the importance of addressing the whole person when we preach. I’ve come to the conclusion that we need more pathetic preaching.

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Borers in the pulpit?

Pastoral Ministry

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Boring sermons are often the bane of church life. However, it need not be so. Rob Smith offers some reflections on how preachers can minister the word of God more faithfully and more effectively.

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In defence of doctrine

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The whole business of doing ‘doctrine’ has become quite unfashionable in the Christian world. But, as Michael Jensen argues, nothing is more important and essential because the gospel itself demands it. (more…)

A truly reformed pastor

Interchange

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In Briefing #365, Gavin Perkins wrote an Up Front piece which argued that “the good pastor is actually primarily an evangelist”. He argued for this on the basis that Jesus’ parable in Luke 15 talks about a shepherd who leaves the 99 in order to find the one who is lost, and on the basis that Jesus saw the helpless crowds in Matthew 9 as “sheep without a shepherd”. He also reminded us of the example of our hero Richard Baxter in this regard (author of The Reformed Pastor). (more…)

Creating the right question

Up front

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I’ve heard it said that, in terms of relating the gospel to culture, the mistake that traditionalists make is that they give the right answers to the wrong questions; they’re answering questions that no-one is asking anymore. They’re tackling issues and fighting fights that belong to a previous generation. (more…)

Preaching the gospel from Ruth

Pastoral Ministry

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Five Festal Garments: Christian Reflections on the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther

Barry Webb

Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, 2000, pp. 192.
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Bible resistance

Up front, Sola Panel

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This is a public health warning for the attention of all those involved in the cure of souls. A particularly insidious threat to spiritual wellbeing has been identified, and we need your help to eradicate it. The phenomenon has been dubbed ‘Bible resistance’. Those most at risk are Christians who identify themselves as members of ‘good’, ‘faithful’ or ‘Bible-believing’ congregations. (more…)

When life’s Donne

Up front

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These famous words reflect life in another time. Death was announced to all by the clanging of the local church bell. Without knowing who had died, you were reminded that you belonged to the race of Adam—the inheritors of death. (more…)

Creating the right question

Pastoral Ministry

| | 3 comments

I’ve heard it said that, in terms of relating the gospel to culture, the mistake that traditionalists make is that they give the right answers to the wrong questions; they’re answering questions that no-one is asking anymore. They’re tackling issues and fighting fights that belong to a previous generation. (more…)

A biblical theology of response

Up front, Sola Panel

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I listened to a fascinating sermon recently on Jonah chapter 2. The preacher taught us about God and his awesome sovereignty, and about Jesus and how the patterns and promises of Jonah looked forward to him. But he also preached about Jonah himself. He talked about what it meant to be chastised by the Lord—to be brought low. He talked about Jonah’s experience of God’s judgement and discipline, and what we might learn from that as we experience God’s chastisement ourselves. (more…)