From Colin Adams via PJ Tibyan.

“Preaching through Bible Books -  This is from a conference in 2003 called, “Katoomba Christian Conference Centenary (Sydney, Australia).”  D.A. Carson lectured on 12 points in preaching through a book of the Bible.  You can listen to the audio by downloading the message here (left-click).  This is taken from The Gospel Coalition website.

1. 1. (1:38 ) – Read and re-read and re-read and re-read and re-read the book. – It’s a mistake to read the book once and then start reading commentaries (Read it in English and the original language).(3:11) – Ideally start the process early. Give time to re-reading, meditation, and saturation.
   2. (4:58 ) – Eschew the division of head and heart.
   3. (6:14) – Early on attain sufficient grasp of the book that you can succinctly state
      1. what the book is about,
      2. what this book contributes to the canon that overlaps with what other books bring to the canon,
      3. what distinctive things this book brings to the canon. (All these things need to be thought about simultaneously. This is what brings clarity and precision). Scan biblical theologies on the book to get a large scale picture of the book.
   4. (11:10) – At roughly the same time determine
      1. the number of sermons you’ll devote to the book
      2. the large scale outline of the book insofar as it impinges on your text boundaries for each sermon (11:10).
   5. (19:27) – Start working on individual sermon preparation (either in advance or week by week). Ideally work on the text first.
      1. (23:26) – Ideally develop note taking techniques. This keeps your tools sharp and keeps your files for resources for future ministry (writing, preaching, evangelism, etc.);
      2. (29:32) – from these detailed exegetical notes (Note for young preachers: you must determine and discipline yourself to leave stuff out). You need to know what to leave out. The sermon is the best of the material and the highlights of what you learned. The aim is to think through what contributes to the burden of that text;
      3. Work on the text’s structure. Work on it so that it is fresh and appealing and helpful.
   6. (32:27) – Each sermon must simultaneously stand alone and constitute a part of the series.
   7. (33:34) – Remember the different contributions of a Paul House (corpus/book) biblical theology and a Charles Scobie (thematic) biblical theology.
   8. (38:11) – Recognize that there may be special study and focus necessary for certain books (historical, cultural, literary genre, etc).
   9. (42:32) – Ideally try to make your sermon material reflect in some way the genre of the book you are treating.
   10. (44:24) – Remember constantly that this is not an exercise in artistic creation. The sermon is not an end in itself, but it is a re-revelation of God to his people. This means that as you prepare you ought to be thinking about the people to whom you are ministering.
   11. (50:28 ) – ideally keep revising, praying, preparing so that it is not so much that you have mastered the material as that it has mastered you. There is a way of preaching that projects an image of being an expert and an image of being captured by the text.

Notes from Mark Driscoll’s talk on Jeremiah

1. What has God revealed to you ? (Nehemiah 1:1-11a)
2. What must you walk away from to pursue God’s calling? (Nehemiah 1:11b)
3. How will you communicate your vision to others? (Nehemiah 2:1-3)
4. Who must you ask for what resources? (Nehemiah 2:4-10)
5. Count the cost (Nehemiah 2:11-16)
6. Recruit strategic leaders first (Nehemiah 2:17 – 20)
7. What do we do first? Do it well (Nehemiah 3:1-32)
8. Where are the gates? Letting in those who want the Gospel, keeping out the wolves (Nehemiah 3:1-32)
   • Theological
   • Physical safety
9. How will you respond to critics? (Nehemiah 4:1-23)
   • Proximity of critic is painful
   • Have selective hearing
   • Turn critics into coaches
   • Don’t meet with critics in group
10. How to them show the gospel with mercy? (Nehemiah 5-1-19)
    • Criticism follows success
11. How to handle escalation opposition & threats (Nehemiah 6:1-14)
    • Sword and Trowel
12. What generational legacy are you building for? (Nehemiah 7:4-73)
13. How will you connect ground war (small groups, congregational care) and your air war (preaching and teaching) (Nehemiah 8:1-18)
14. Will you courageously call your people to repentance? (Nehemiah 9:1-38)
15. What are your terms for covenant membership? (Nehemiah 10:38-11:36)
    • Participation in small groups, tithing, attendance, etc
16. How will you track who God is bringing and assimilate them? (Nehemiah 11:1-36)
17. Who are your trustworthy priests who can work in the mission while you work on the mission? (Nehemiah 12:1-26)
18. How will you celebrate your wins? (Nehemiah 12:27-47)
    • Conversions
    • Babies
    • Baptisms
    • Building campaigns
19. How much will you demand of your men? (Nehemiah 13:1-22)
20. What closed-hand, practical life issues will you go to war for? (Nehemiah 13:23-31)

From Keith Mathison via Justin Taylor

OLD TESTAMENT:

• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy
• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• 1 & 2 Samuel
• 1 & 2 Kings
• 1 & 2 Chronicles
• Ezra & Nehemiah
• Esther
• Job
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Songs
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi

NEW TESTAMENT:

• The Gospel of Matthew
• The Gospel of Mark
• The Gospel of Luke
• The Gospel of John
• Acts
• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians & Philemon
• 1 & 2 Thessalonians
• The Pastoral Epistles
• Hebrews
• James
• 1 Peter
• 2 Peter & Jude
• The Epistles of John
• Revelation

These are amazingly helpful thoughts from C.J. Mahaney on teaching Proverbs

As the book of Song of Solomon is a unique gift for married couples, the book of Proverbs is a unique gift for parents and children. For preachers looking to use the summer months to preach this unique book, here are a few tools that may be useful.

Preaching Proverbs in Calvary’s Shadow

It can be difficult to balance the call to obedience with the cross-centered life. Yet that is what William Arnot accomplishes in the final chapter of his old commentary on Proverbs, Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth (published in 1873). The final chapter, “Faith and Obedience—Work and Rest,” models this balance well and I commend it to you.

You can read or download the entire commentary for free online. But you can download the isolated chapter I mention as a PDF here (0.9MB).

Thematic Structures

Of importance to the preacher of Proverbs is getting a handle on a few recurring themes and character developments featured in the book (i.e. wisdom, folly, discernment, understanding, knowledge). Derek Kidner’s excellent commentary will certainly help here.

I also recommend a newer commentary on Proverbs by John A. Kitchen (Mentor, 2006). In the appendix of his commentary, Kitchen has written a very useful systemization and summary of the path of the righteous and the path of the fool (pp. 727–736). Kitchen uses three graphics to distinguish the two paths and the several steps along the way.

The explanations behind these charts are developed in the commentary appendix. And the editors of Christian Focus have granted us permission to post the entire appendix here as adownloadable PDF (2.4MB).

Summer Series Outline

Due to its structure, the book of Proverbs is difficult to preach expositionally from beginning to end. The book lends itself to topical exposition, a feature that makes it a suitable text for preaching during the summer months.

Sovereign Grace Church in Fairfax, Virginia, is using the summer to preach a ten-week series on Proverbs. The pastors have divided the first nine chapters by topic (I was honored to participate in the series by preaching the second message).

FEAR GOD (1:1-7)
LISTEN (1:20-33)
SEEK (2:4)
TRUST (3:5)
GUARD (4:23)
DRINK (5:15)
GO (6:6-8)
KEEP (7:1-2)
HEAR (8:1, 32)
CHOOSE (9:6)

The church printed full-color bookmarks to outline the series and, as you will see, to capture the series as an opportunity to encourage and equip the church to interpret the book of Proverbs for themselves. Here is the graphic they used for the series:

As presented by D. A. Carson via Colin Adams via Andy Naselli

Introduction

I have visited many parts of the world in which the challenges to the 21st-century pulpit look rather different. So part of the purpose of the rest of this essay is modest: to stimulate thinking that will help others flesh out this list and modify it for different cultural locations.

Six challenges that DAC fleshes out

1. Multiculturalism
2. Rising Biblical Illiteracy
3. Shifting Epistemology
4. Integration
5. Pace of Change
6. Modeling and Mentoring

Concluding Reflections

Preachers cannot responsibly ignore these things, for they stand between the speaking God and the listening people—people who are not empty ciphers but culturally located men and women who must be addressed where they are, even if our hope and prayer is that they will not remain where they are, but begin by God’s grace the march down the King’s highway, the narrow road that leads to life.

Our motivation to understand and address people in the 21st century is not to domesticate the gospel by constant appeal to cultural analysis, but to prove effective ambassadors of the Sovereign whose Word we announce. For one day the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever (Rev. 11:15). It is precisely because we are anchored in eternity that we are so utterly resolved, like Paul, to address lost men and women who must one day meet their God.

Informative series at the 9Marks blog where the different contributors are sharing about how and why they do sermon introductions.

Kicked off by Deepak Raju

Mike Gilbart-Smith’s response

I have only one real desire for an introduction: that it will impress upon the congregation why we desperately need to hear the message of the particular passage of Scripture we are looking at together.

Of course, we ought to believe that just because it is in the bible. So, I’ll assume the more mature believer will listen anyway. So, I’ll particularly think about one central question that the passage addresses that will be of interest to the immature Christian and the Non Christian. I’ll then think about how to impress upon people the necessity of answering that question, perhaps raise up front the answers that other worldviews will give to that question and then launch into the text and its answer.

I aim to make it engaging, contemporary, transparently relevant, an opportunity to show that I understand that some people disagree with the bible’s answer, and trans-cultural(embracing high culture / low culture / multiple ethnicities). Above all, the question I raise must be answered by the text and be close to the central point of the text.

Mike McKinley’s response

Mike, I think you definitely have the “textbook” answer.  And I’m sure that you’re right. But I’ll admit that I am a bit ambivalent about introductions.  Maybe that’s just because I’m not very good at them.

I write an introduction to my sermon every week.  But 50% of the time I cut it out and just start by reading the text and giving a few words by way of context.  I want an introduction that is meaningful and is high impact.

I feel a little nervous about scrapping the intro altogether. 1) It presumes an interest in the bible that I don’t want to assume the visitor will have. 2) It has the danger of communicating to the Non-Christian that what is coming up is only of interest or relevance to the person who trusts the bible.

I have a default way of doing an intro when I can’t think of anything better to do. I guess I use it about one sermon in four.

I just look at a couple of quotations from different people giving different answers to the main issue we are looking at. So, I haven’t got any great ideas for an introduction for Jephthah for this week. (Judges 10-12).

So I’ll probably find a couple of quotes about ambition, before asking people to examine what they are ambitious for. How much would they sacrifice to see those ambitions come to fruition?

It’s not rocket science. I don’t think it’s insulting. It gets people asking questions about their lives.

It may not be high impact, but isn’t that better than no impact?

Mike Gilbart-Smith again

However, in most of those churches there isn’t a 40 minute sermon, and there isn’t an appetite for it. I do feel that it is kind to help people to see the relevance of what they are going to hear ahead of time, rather than wading into 5-10 minutes of exegesis before they begin to see the relevance of it for their lives.

4 ways in which an introduction can help people all people, however interested they are to listen:

1. An introduction gets people thinking about a topic that will be addressed in the sermon.
2. It helps people to think application from the very beginning.
3. In that way it helps to give shape to a sermon.
4. It disarms the sermon-biber who loves to hear sermons without putting it into practice. I know even from my own quiet times that I must force myself before reading the text to think ‘relevance’ rather than merely ‘comprehension’ before I start to read. An intro is a kind way to help the whole congregation to think that way.

My sermon on Sunday had a brief (3-4 minute) intro. It certainly wasn’t clever. But I think the sermon would have been poorer without it, as it was designed to get people thinking about how they set the whole direction of their life, and therefore people would come to the text with that question.

Thabiti Anyabwile’s weighs in

Now you guys have me thinking about introductions more than I normally do, which probably explains why I’m not that good at them.  Often my introductions are questions that point to the application or the main theme.  So, a couple Sundays ago, we were in Proverbs 5 and I asked questions related to the trajectory of marriage in the Cayman Islands.  The questions traded on the recent passage of a constitutional referendum defining marriage as between one man and one woman.  It was a victory, but the real work of marriage has to do with us heterosexual Christians really loving and serving our spouses as though revealing Christ and the gospel might somehow be connected to marriage.  For those with an hour, the sermon is here.

About the only time I’ve scrapped an introduction has been in response to something happening in the service… say the Lord using a song before the sermon in a particularly poignant or powerful way.  Then I might try to extemporaneously bridge what just took place in the singing with the beginning of the sermon.  Tried that here.  When that happens, it’s usually a gospel appeal of some sort.

But all this talk of introductions reminds me of two reasons for introductions that I don’t think anyone has said yet.  First, I, the preacher, need the introduction.  It helps me settle down into what I’m doing.  It brings me from the participation I’ve just been experiencing with the prayer or the singing to the participation I’m about the share with the word.  Not everyone would need that “lead time,” I’m sure.  But it focuses me in helpful ways.  Second, usually the introduction helps me to remember that I’m speaking to a people and that the sermon (though not a dialogue) has an audience I need to communicate with.  The sermon introduction reminds me of that.

So, I like them.  I don’t think I’m particularly good at them.  Could use even more help with conclusions, labeling the main points in short pithy statements, and illustrating.  Pretty much the whole shooting match.  But these exchanges have been helpful on the front end.  Fa’ rizzle.

Greg Gilbert continues the discussion

I think a good intro acts like the cast of a spear:  It directs the congregation’s mind in the direction you want it to go and sets the agenda for the sermon.  In other words, it puts the congregation’s minds on the ideas you want their minds on.  If you do it well, you can actually get your congregation thinking about, for example, whether a commitment to truth necessarily undercuts love, rather than whatever it was they were thinking about before they started listening to you.

I don’t think it’s useful, though, to use an introduction just to grab attention.  People try that all the time by telling a joke or something that has little or nothing to do with what they are about to preach.  Yes, that grabs attention, but only for as long as the joke is going on.  After the laugh, when you say, alright, let’s talk about love and truth, you lose them again immediately.

Ideally, I’d say, an intro will get your congregation thinking about a certain set of questions, and promise a thoughtful answer to those questions coming up in the rest of the sermon.

Tony Reinke’s 15 Tools for Exegetical Research

1. Commentaries. What commentaries are available on my passage? I’ll begin with the most obvious. If you are a pastor you should have several biblical commentaries at hand. Technical exegetical commentaries are a great resource to better understand the original languages. Expositional and devotional commentaries will also help out. For example, on the epistle to the Ephesians I would consult Peter O’Brien (exegetical), Martyn Lloyd-Jones (expositional), and John Stott (devotional). BestCommentaries is an excellent website to find the best commentaries.
2. Grammar and syntax. What grammatical and syntactical particularities exist in my passage? I have just enough Greek to find my way around the more technical NT commentaries. But I have also discovered that Greek textbooks can provide a lot of help when studying a particular passage. Daniel Wallace’s Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics references thousands of NT passages, pointing to a host of grammatical anomalies that I might otherwise overlook.
3. Biblical theology. Where along the continuum of God’s unfolding plan of redemption does my passage sit? Very often in exegetical preparation I consult the scriptural indexes to the works of Geerhardus Vos, and especially his classic work Biblical Theology. Vos will help you see the development of Scripture. It’s rarely possible to understand a text of scripture without first understanding where it fits in the biblical storyline. This is the work of biblical theology.
4. Systematic theology. Does this passage play an important role in defining a particular doctrine? Consult the scriptural index in Calvin’s Institutes, Wayne Grudem, John Murray,Herman Bavinck, Concise Reformed Dogmatics, John Frame’s The Doctrine of God and The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Every couple of months or so I watch this video by Dr Derek Thomas to be reminded that when systematic theology is done well, you can preach it. Keep one eye on systematic theology as you study scripture verse by verse, and you may be surprised at how much doctrinal ground you can cover from the pulpit.
5. Creeds. Does my passage supply the biblical support for a particular doctrine defined and defended in the classic reformed confessions? Here I will consult the scriptural index of Reformed Confessions Harmonized by Beeke and Ferguson. I am surprised at the tonnage of biblical references underpinning the reformed confessions. Identify how your text has been used in church history. This discovery may shed light on the historical importance of your text, or open up new topical avenues for further study.
6. Apologetics. Does my passage help defend the Christian faith or the Church’s engagement of a fallen world? In seeking to engage non-Christian thought with scripture, it is useful to know which passages are most helpful in the dialogues and discussions. When studying a passage take a look at the scriptural index in books by guys like Cornelius Van Til, Greg Bahnsen, and Scott Oliphint and check if your text has been used and how.
7. Biblical counseling. Does this passage play an important role in any of my biblical counseling resources? Consult the scriptural index in CCEF books along with an electronic search of the CD-Rom version of The Journal of Biblical Counseling 1977-2005. In my research I heavily weigh any references to my text in solid biblical counseling resources. Guys like Powlison, Paul and Tedd Tripp, and Jay Adams will hold your hand and help you understand certain texts in light of marriage, parenting, specific sin struggles, and idols of the heart.
8. Ethics. Does this passage play a role in the study of biblical ethics? Consult the index in Joachim Douma, John Frame’s Doctrine of the Christian Life, and John Murray’s Principles of Conduct. What contemporary ethical issues does this passage address? Euthanasia, abortion, stem cell research, divorce, capitol punishment, pornography, corporate greed, etc.
9. Spurgeon. What did Spurgeon say about this text? While Spurgeon is no model of careful exegesis, he is wise, applicable, cross-centered, and quotable. You can find a list of his sermons arranged by biblical text here. And you can buy the complete works of Spurgeon on CD-Rom for about $20. Apart from flowers for your wife, there is no better reason to slap down an Andrew Jackson.
10. The Puritans. Have any of the primary Puritan authors preached on this passage? Consult Robert P. Martin’s A Guide to the Puritans and the PCA website of Puritan resources. Because of their trusted exegetical integrity, and because their complete works include a detailed scriptural index, I will individually consult the Works of John Owen, Thomas Goodwin, and Thomas Manton. I consult about a dozen Puritans, a list of which can be found in my Puritan Study series I developed a while back.
11. Jonathan Edwards. Where has Edwards developed my text in his theology, books, and sermons? The new Works of Edwards Online website produced by Yale make a search of scriptural references a breeze (note the “Scripture Lookup” feature). And the resource is completely free. Try it for yourself.
12. Single-topic books. Is my text referenced in a topical book or monograph in my library? Here is where flipping through the scriptural index in any number of topical books will come in handy. Flip through the index in books by J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, D.A. Carson, John Piper, John MacArthur, Jerry Bridges, John Stott, etc. I think Knowing God by J.I. Packer could be quoted in half of all the sermons you could preach. Collect 10-30 topical books you really appreciate and use them in researching a particular text.
13. Audio messages. Are audio messages available from respected preachers on my text? A wonderful, but often-untapped resource for exegetical research, are the thousands of free MP3 audio files available online. The Gospel Coalition has a wonderful collection of sermons all organized by scripture reference. As you are likely aware men like John MacArthur and John Piper have produced a wealth of sermons that are easy to locate. Occasionally you will find some gems at SermonAudio or Monergism.
14. Christian classics. What did Augustine or Chrysostom say about my text? Check out the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website. You can run a nifty little scriptural passage search of all their resources here. Always worth a look.
15. Google. For fun, throw a “hail Mary” and run a search string on your particular passage. You will not always find exegetical gems—but sometimes you will. Google search your text, say, “John 1:1-18” and see what you find. Also try the same search string in Google Books. It’s impossible to know what you will find—or if what you find will be worthy of your time to read—but it’s worth a shot.

Wise words from Michael McKinley, who replanted Guilford Baptist Church in Sterling, VA, via the 9Marks Blog. As I also am not Spurgeon, and am seeking to plant a church, this advice is of great value.

1. Preach God’s word — It really is as powerful and effective as it says it is.  I knew this intellectually and theologically, but now I know it experientially.  As a church planter there are temptations to  spend your time doing all other kinds of things (publicity, planning, etc), but your #1 priority is preaching the word.  As a sending church, you can set this expectation up front with your church planter.  Don’t put pressure on him (and help him not to pressure himself!) to do other things.
2. Mission — The point of planting a church is the extension of the gospel in the world (and with it, God’s glory).  We don’t need more institutional churches, America is littered with them.  What we need more gospel witnesses.  And so the goal of church planting is mission, not programs.  Tim Chester put words to my experience in this talk.  God is the great missions director.  So we didn’t have a particular strategy for mission in Loudoun County; we’ve simply prayed and began to do a few things and then walked through the doors that God has opened for us.  And he has been faithful.
3. Take Care of Your Family — Everyone will love you for killing yourself for them.  No one will applaud you for taking care of your wife.  Beware your heart.  A sending church can help with accountability and connection so that the planter isn’t out there alone.
4. Develop Leaders — With all of the outreach and assimilation work to be done, it can be easy to forget to take time to develop leaders.  But if the church grows, you’ll need them.  A sending church can make this process easier by sending leaders with the planter.
5. Stay Patient and Realistic — Too many guys beat themselves up over the fact that growth seems to happen slowly.  Be realistic!  You’re not Spurgeon, and that’s OK.  The best case scenario for 99% of us is that we are faithful to the gospel, God in his kindness lets us see some real and enduring fruit from our labors, and we don’t do anything that disgraces the gospel.  That’s a win.

A pastor in Oklahoma wrote to me this week to ask why I typically ask people in my congregation (or elsewhere) to stand for the reading of the Scripture, and whether I encourage others to do so as well.

I don’t encourage others to do so, and never have. I don’t think it is an essential aspect of biblical preaching or of Christian worship. But I have found it helpful to me in my ministry and here’s why.

There is a biblical foundation for it. Nehemiah tells us the people of God all stood as Ezra opened the Word of God to them (Neh. 8:5). Likewise, our Lord Jesus stood when he read the Word in the synagogue in Nazareth, sitting down afterword to preach (Luke 4:16).

Russell Moore gives us insight into a practice that he doesn’t encourages, but that is beneficial for him.

I learned, however, of ancient practices of reading the Scriptures while standing only after I started doing it. Truth is, there is no soul-rattling theological rationale for my practice here. It is, in many ways, a habit formed early in my ministry.

I was taught to preach in large part by a man named Argile Smith, who had served as interim pastor of my home congregation and as my preaching professor at New Orleans Seminary. Brother Argile (or “Dr. Smith,” depending on where I was when I said it) always had the congregation stand when he read the text, and I did likewise.

That said, the Lord has used the habit for good in my own sanctification. I don’t have the congregation stand for their benefit, at least not directly, as much as for mine. I’ve found that having the congregation stand with me, in reverence for the Word, is a visible, tangible reminder to me that it is not I who am there to instruct these people. I am instead part of the congregation being addressed by the Holy Spirit speaking through the Scriptures.

Standing alongside the people as we read the text is a cue to me of both the gravity of the moment and the fact that I am not only speaking but being spoken to by the Word of Christ.

There are many (probably most) preachers who can preach without this kind of persistent reminder, and that’s why I don’t think there’s anything “holy” or even necessarilly advisable about the practice. But I’m a weaker brother who needs the weekly pattern of a picture of sermonic submission and solidarity.

Whatever the case, it’s both biblical, practical and beneficial. Here is an example Partner Booklet from Jonathan Dodson at Austin City Life.