How I Prepare a Sermon

Posted on September 24, 2013

It was a lot of fun to sit down with my friend John Chandler & SermonSmith as we discussed how I go about preparing sermons.

In the interview, I kind of sound like I just smoked a joint (although I never have). I’m so relaxed and chill, probably because I’m not passionate about the preaching process, and would rather talk about actual preaching or just preach. I really do like my process, really, and I think there will be some helpful things to others, but in the end everyone has to form their own process. John knows this, and it’s why he is exposing his listeners to so many different types of preachers.

Here are few highlights that John pulled out that we discussed:

  • Weekly rhythms for sermon prep
  • Relational work of a pastor
  • The Value of Reading Fiction for preaching
  • Lectio Divina & Preparation

Reading the Bible with Jesus

Posted on September 24, 2013

I am teaching Christ-centered Interpretation: Reading the Whole Bible with Jesus for for the third time in our church’s short history. I never weary of this course. It sharpens my interpretive skills, sweetens communion with God, and strengthens my confidence in the power and relevance of God’s Word for everyday life.

We began the course by thinking about Why we Should Read Well, Obstacles to Reading Well, and a Christ-centered, Trinitarian Approach to reading the Bible well. We’re recording the audio, so that should be up at the City Life Church podcast, in case you’re interested. A few stand out quotes:

People read for three reasons: entertainment, information, and understanding. Most people never reach understanding. – Mortimer Adler

“Intellectual honesty consists not in enforcing an impossible neutrality, but in recognizing that neutrality is not possible.” – J. I. Packer

If Jesus isn’t biased about Jesus being the ultimate point of the text, then he’s not Jesus.

Why Beliefs Are not Enough

Posted on September 23, 2013

UnknownMuch of our action is not “pushed” by ideas or conclusions; rather, it grows out of our character and is in a sense “pulled” out of us by our attraction to a telos. If we…are going to be “prime citizens” of the kingdom of God who act in the world as agents of renewal and redemptive culture-making, then it is not enough to equip our intellects to merely think rightly about the world. We also need to recruit our imaginations.

– James K. A. Smith, Imagining the Kingdom

Facing My Identity Issues

Posted on September 22, 2013

I sat in my office sulking. My day had been so demanding. My week tiresome. My month an all out marathon, minus the fans.

Pastoring eternal souls, preaching week after week, leading leaders, and living an outwardly focused life is demanding enough, but occasionally the demands pile higher. As a pastor, I am a sinner that counsels sinners. This means that, despite our common hope in the gospel, there are times that I fail to apply my own counsel to my own soul. It means that I’m not enough for any disciple much less a whole church.

The past couple of weeks had been one of those “pile up” weeks. More counseling, more speaking, more demands. Add to the stack a particular situation that was, shall we say, extreme? The inbox had hate mail and church slander waiting for me. In tandem, I had to watch self-destructive behavior dismantle a person, whom I had poured a lot of life into.

Exhausted, I thought: “No one understands what it’s like to be a pastor.” “I deserve better treatment than this, after all I’ve done. Why can’t I have better circumstances.” I was emotionally drained.

In hope, I turned to Chuck Palahniuk for help, author of Choke, Snuff, and Fight Club.

Read the rest of the full-length article over at GCD.com