...Preaching That Changes Lives Michael Fabarez Rethink Your Task Chapter 1 — “Understand the Life-changing Power of Preaching” • If the church is unhealthy, it is the result (at least in part), of unhealthy preaching. “Though the church may be enhanced by a few creative, well-placed amenities, be assured that she cannot survive without the consistent, accurate, and authoritative preaching that intends, in every instance, to transform its hearers.” [p. 5; my emphasis (unless otherwise noted, all italicized comments are Fabarez’ emphasis, not mine).] • The NT uses three primary word families to denote the importance of preaching: khrussw, aggellw, didaskw. They all point to the authoritative, life-changing message that the teacher and preacher are empowered to deliver to God’s people. This was the expectation of Paul (cf. 2 Tim. 4:2; 1 Tim. 1:3; Eph. 4:1). [pp. 7-9] • The basic question for every sermon is whether it produced change in the lives of the hearers. “…we can no longer evaluate our sermons solely on the basis of theological or exegetical soundness.…we must purpose to evaluate every sermon we preach in light of the biblical change it brings about in the lives of our congregants!” [pp. 9-10] Chapter 2 — “Adopt a Life-changing Method of Preaching” • A definition of expository preaching: it will have these primary components — 1. it clearly derives its content from the Bible; 2. it accurately explains what the Bible is saying; and 3. it effects...
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...Preaching the Gospel in an Awkward Age William H. Willimon Duke University Chapel, Durham, North Carolina In The Nature of Doctrine: Religion in a Post-Liberal Age, (Westminster) George Lindbeck notes that North American Christians live in an awkward age. The age is awkward because, Christianity, having once been established in this culture is not yet clearly disestablished. Perhaps that explains why the majority of my sermons begin in Lindbeck's "experiential-expressivist" mode, beginning with the congregation's unformed and uninformed experiences and subjectivity, as if the old Constantinian synthesis were still in place, only to end as if I am a missionary speaking to pagans. Having begun in the recesses of human experience - are you depressed? Do you want self-esteem? How can we get the attention of Congress? -1 end with the renewed realization that the gospel does not merely want to speak to the modern world, it wants to assault, confront, convert, remake that world through the church and its preaching. As Lindbeck might put it, I begin, as all liberals do, as "experiential-expressivist," providing poetic articulation to what people already know, only to realize belatedly that the gospel is more "cultural-linguistic," demanding conversion into a new culture and a new mode of speaking and thinking which cannot be known without conversion. Most Sundays, in my neo-gothic, middle-of-the-university pulpit built in the heyday of North Carolina Constantinianism, speaking to a campus...
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...Mateo 13 24-30 4 Les refirió otra parábola, diciendo: El reino de los cielos es semejante a un hombre que sembró buena semilla en su campo; 25 pero mientras dormían los hombres, vino su enemigo y sembró cizaña entre el trigo, y se fue. 26 Y cuando salió la hierba y dio fruto, entonces apareció también la cizaña. 27 Vinieron entonces los siervos del padre de familia y le dijeron: Señor, ¿no sembraste buena semilla en tu campo? ¿De dónde, pues, tiene cizaña? 28 El les dijo: Un enemigo ha hecho esto. Y los siervos le dijeron: ¿Quieres, pues, que vayamos y la arranquemos? 29 El les dijo: No, no sea que al arrancar la cizaña, arranquéis también con ella el trigo. 30 Dejad crecer juntamente lo uno y lo otro hasta la siega; y al tiempo de la siega yo diré a los segadores: Recoged primero la cizaña, y atadla en manojos para quemarla; pero recoged el trigo en mi granero. Mira a tu becino y dile Dios tiene un plan , Este es el ano de la cosecha, y Dios tiene palabara para este peublo Dios ha sido mas que bueno en mi familia este ano dando gracia a Dios sobre todo nos ha ido sumamente bien, no nos a faltado nada, porque tenenemos un Dios que esta en todas, y cada ano lo predicamos y lo repetimos Que Este ano sera mejor que el anterior, no porque estamos instruidos para predicador sino los creemos y lo vivimos. Jesus Sentado en una playa con un grupo y sus discipulos, les comienza a hablar parabulas, (parables are likes small story or illustration...
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...of Bethel Temple Assembly of God. I have longed and searched for a church to fill my grandpa’s church place in my heart as my church family for a very long time. After my grandpa left the area, my family and I continued going to the church my grandpa pastored for a little while. I am really not sure what happened, but mom and dad stopped going and eventually my sister and I stopped going to church. I would go from church to church trying to feel the love and acceptance I felt in my grandpa’s church, but failed every time. It was not until I started going to Chattaroy Church of God that I found all three qualities. The first quality I want to talk about is the church whose pastor preaches the whole word. There is a difference in preaching styles. There are some preachers who only preach the good and happy parts of the Bible; they never talk about hell, fire, and brimstone. There are some who only preach hell, fire, and brimstone; they never get to the good part. Then there are those preachers who preach both parts. Mike Bostic is the type of preacher who preaches both. He is Watson 2 not the type of preacher who tells you only what you want to hear. He tells you what you need to hear and it is always what God wants him to preach. The second quality I want to talk about is a church that really has a heart not only...
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...OUTLINE THE ENGAGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF DIVERSITY IS A MAJOR CHALLENGE IN PREACHING AND PASTORAL CARE SUBMITTED TO IN FULFILLMENT OF THE MID-TERM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE PREACHING AND PASTORAL CARE BY I. The Engagement and Acceptance of Diversity Is a Major Challenge in Preaching and Pastoral Care II. Introduction Although Jesus preached the acceptance of others regardless of cultural, racial and socioeconomic background, this acceptance of people who are different from us is an age old challenge that is grounded in biology and social science. The principle of homophily (i.e., “love of the same”) states that there is a tendency of individuals to associate and bond with similar others. ("homophily" 2015) The presence of homophily has been discovered in a vast array of network studies that have observed homophily in some form or another and they establish that similarity breeds connections. (McPherson, Smith-Lovin and Cook 2001) These include age, gender, class and organizational roles. (Retica 2006) Individuals in homophilic relationships share common characteristics (e.g., beliefs, values, education, etc.) that make communication and relationship formation easier. Homophily often leads to homogamy – marriage between people with similar characteristics. (McPherson, Smith-Lovin and Cook 2001) The types of homophily include likeness based on geography, family ties, organizational foci such as school, work and voluntary...
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...Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament: A Guide for the Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2003. 222 pp. Paper. $8.99. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. is an evangelical Old Testament scholar, writer, public speaker, and educator born in 1933. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College, Bachelor of Divinity from Wheaton Graduate School, and both M.A. and Ph.D. in Mediterranean studies from Brandeis University. He was the president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary until 2006. He was the Colman M. Mockler distinguished Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Old Testament Ethics. Prior to this he was Senior Vice President of Education, Academic Dean, and Senior Vice President of Distance Learning and Ministries, and Professor of Old Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In 1977 he was the president of the Evangelical Theological Society. Currently he serves on the boards of several Christian organizations. He is the author of dozens of books and commentaries. Also many of his articles appear in the Journal for the Study of Old Testament, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Christianity Today, Westminster Theological Journal, and the Evangelical Quarterly. His primary purpose in writing this book, Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament: A Guide for the Church, is to address the lack of preaching and teaching from the Old Testament that is currently going on in the modern church. The general...
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...Sacred Time in Tension" Liturgy (Volume 13, Number 3), 5-10. Alexander, J. Neil. "Rejoicing in the Glorious Company of the Saints-the Origin of the Feast" Liturgy (Volume 14, Number 3), 1-15. Alexander, J.Neil. The Liturgical Meaning of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany: Waiting for the Coming. The Pastoral Press, 1993. Asendorf, Ulrich. "Luther's Sermons on Advent as a Summary of His Theology" in A Lively Legacy: Essays in Honor of Robert Preus Edited by Kurt Marquart et al. CTS Press, 1985. Babin, David. Week In-Week Out: A New Look at Liturgical Preaching. Seabury, 1976. Bainton, Roland. Martin Luther's Christmas Book. Augsburg Publishing House, 1997. Bainton, Roland. Martin Luther's Easter Book. Augsburg Publishing House, 1997. Bass, George. "An Introduction to Liturgical Preaching" Response (Easter 1978), 29-32. Bass, George. The Renewal of Liturgical Preaching. Augsburg Publishing House, 1967. Baughman, Harry F. Preaching From the Propers. Board for Publications Of the United Lutheran Church of America, 1948. Beckwith, Roger. "The Origin of the Festivals of Easter and Whitsunday" Studia Liturgica 13 (1979-1980), 1-20. Bergerm Rupert and Hans Hollerweger (editors). Celebrating the Easter Vigil. Pueblo Publishing, 1983. Bobb, Barry and Hans Boehringer (editors). Proclaim: A Guide for Planning Liturgy and Music. CPH, 1994. Bonneau, Normand. The Sunday Lectionary: Ritual Word, Paschal Shape. The Liturgical Press, 1998. Bornmann, Carl. "The Church Year as a Context...
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...interesting person. B. The Person of john the Baptist: He was a preaching man. 1. vs. 1-2 2. John preached in the wilderness of Judea. 3. John’s message was that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. C. The Person of John the Baptist: John was a man that was prophesied about. 1. vs. 3 2. Isaiah 40:3-5 contains the prophecy about John the Baptist. D. The Person of John the Baptist: John was a very peculiar man. 1. vs. 4 2. He wore a garment of camels hair 3. He wore a leather belt around his waist. 4. He ate of locust and wild honey. E. The Person of John the Baptist: John was a popular man. 1. vs. 5 2. People from Jerusalem, Judea, and the region about the Jordan came to see him. F. The Person of John the Baptist: John had a penetrating message. 1. vs. 6 2. The people who came to see him were baptized by him. 3. The people who came to see him confessed their sins. G. Conclusion: Summary and application from this passage: Are there any peculiarities in about the way you serve God? What is it about your faith that may seem unconventional but it still resonates with others? II. Lesson Two: Luke 3:7-20; the Preaching of John the Baptist. A. Introduction: The preaching of John the Baptist was challenging, convicting, concentrated, and costly. B. The Preaching of John the Baptist: John’s preaching was challenging. 1. vs. 7-9 2. John called the people vipers (children...
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...Socrates was a Greek philosopher who is known to be one of the greatest founders of western philosophy. Socrates practiced philosophy by preaching in his local market place which caused the citizens of Athens and the authority to become angry towards his views and ways of spreading his philosophical thoughts. Socrates used both analytical and constructive ways to discover the general principles in philosophy. The Oracle of Delphi strongly believed that Socrates was the wisest man in all of Athens which caused Socrates to attempt to prove him wrong. Socrates tried to prove the Oracle wrong by making up his own method to finding the general principles of philosophy, which is called “the socratic method”. The socratic method is the process of...
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...Dance) and Seated Buddha Preaching the First Sermon in the Deer Park, the artwork appear foremost similar but they have subtle differences in design while having tremendous amount of difference in meaning. It is thoroughly important for one to be able to recognize these differences because they are not the same artworks although there are shared characteristics. One major and obvious commonality Shiva Nataraja and the Seated Buddha Preaching the First Sermon in the Deer Park share is they are both sculptures. They feature a human figure who is appears to hold importance. The importance of both figures has a religious and spiritual basis. Influence of an Eastern culture is clear. The figure are smooth and almost simplified. The faces of the sculpture appears serene. Their eyes almost closed and slight smiles create a peaceful emotion. Both figures have a sense of balance to them and a three point pose. The sculptures are done in material that gives an organic feel such as sandstone and copper. Rings appear behind both figures and their meaning is the same. The rings...
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...many leaders, two leaders stood out more than any other and had the greatest impact on the Great Awakening. These two leaders were Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. The revival had begun with Jonathan Edwards in Northampton, Massachusetts. Edwards came from Puritan, Calvinist roots, but emphasized the importance and power of a personal religious experience. Edwards’s role in the Awakening was major and crucial in many ways. First, Edwards was a very prominent and effective preacher who not only used his faith as inspiration for his sermons but also from earlier writings of John Locke and Isaac Newton in the English Enlightenment. (Williams, p. 143) Through his research and practice, Edwards had developed a new way of preaching. His new way of preaching was to target the emotions of the congregation in order to have a better and more affectionate spiritual result. One of the tools that Edwards use to accomplish this was to create a very vivid...
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...African American Religion in America in the 1800's Introduction The act of religious revivals took place in the middle of the eighteenth century. The religious revival quickly swept over the colonies of America. The impact of the religious revival was it resulted in the doctrinal change as well as stimulated and provoked social as well as political thoughts. It was able to have a permanent effect on the religion of America. The act or the revival was also termed as the Great Awakening. This act made Christianity as a religion extremely personal to everyone. It also fostered an intense sense of religious belief and reclamation. It also encouraged and introduced the concept of self-analysis according to the theological perspective and induced a sense committal to the newly established benchmark of personal morality. Consequently, the Second Great Awakening also occurred in the early 19 century. The movement began in the 1800’s. It introduced a set of reforms which was aimed at removing the evils from the society (www.encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com). The impact of the Great Awakening The First Great awakening eventually led to a major change and a revolution took place. In the lower county, the Baptist in the northern side and the Methodist preachers aided in converting whites and blacks into Christianity, enslaved them as well as gave them freedom. The blacks were given a warm welcome and were asked to play an active role in the congregations as well as become preachers...
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..."The False Promise of the Prosperity Gospel: Why I Called Out Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer." Web log post. Huffington Post: The Blog . Huffingtonpost.com, 21 July 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2017. Henderson explains prosperity gospel from the point of view of a pastor and member of the Evangelical Christian community. He explains the dangers of Osteen’s misunderstanding of the gospel which preaching to millions of viewers. He provides examples of Osteen’s prosperity gospel from his book Your Best Life Now and denounces Osteen for taking advantage of and falsely teaching millions who a poor, desperate, and searching for help. Hladky, Kathleen. (2012), I Double-Dog Dare you in Jesus’ Name! Claiming Christian Wealth and the American Prosperity Gospel. Religion Compass, 6: 82–96. doi:10.1111/j.1749- 8171.2011.00325.x Hladky attributes the rise in prosperity gospel, also known as the faith movement, to television ministries, which, like prosperity gospel, promise that, “God grants all his faithful followers physical health and financial prosperity; second, believers claim their divine right to wealth and health through positive confession...
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...INTRODUCTION As certain as it maybe that salvation is desired, there is a receivable tension which seems to occur and be present between these two doctrinal truths: salvation for the believer and damnation for the unbeliever. Confession of spending time agonizing periods of time when studying the Words of God is for all and some penetrating the new analysis, which would resolve our difficulties with the perplexing problem of knowing for certain that there is a need for salvation for all. The following passages will analysis of the preaching stylishness of the Senior Pastor (Dr.) Kelly Burris, at Kempsville Baptist Church, on Sunday, 18 January 2015, during the morning worship service to all persons that attended members, victors’ of the Church...
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...argument very clear and simple. He believes that using a strategy of fear and guilt is not the way to properly bring someone to salvation. I would have to agree without a doubt that he is correct. Scaring someone into believe and believing after being enlightened by truth are two very different things. In this essay I will discuss the authors main points that are discussed and my thoughts and reactions to them. In this rhetorical review Brain Jackson speaks of two points. First, Johnathan Edwards methods of how he portrays his beliefs and his psycho-aesthetic assumptions in reference to his preaching. Next he discusses George Ratliff’s documentary of...
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