Part I-Monday PM, sermon due for 3/8, PM Service
First step should go without saying, but it will be mentioned, because it can't go without doing: If you don't pray, don't preach.
Next, gather resources and fire up tools.
Resources: Bible, available in print commentaries, scratch paper, any notes already made on the passage.
Tools: Bible study software, which I use for multiple translation access as well as cross-references (I'm using Bible Explorer 4.0, because it works); I typically write with OpenOffice; I like having itunes playing in the background, and sometimes listen to podcasts of other preachers on the same passage; I have Firefox open to websearch for other ideas
(why do I say 'fire up tools'? Because my laptop is slow, it takes a while to get those open.
Okay, passage is 1 Samuel 6, which is a 21-verse narrative block.
Oops-critical step: what type of text am I preaching? This is a narrative portion of Scripture. There will be direct truth, but I have to study this to see what meaning God is conveying. A good background on this is Hays/Duvall's Grasping God's Word or Fee/Stuart's How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. (No, I don't get kickbacks from old professors. They probably don't want to be mentioned by me anyway...)
Ok, Old Testament Narrative. Understanding the meaning of the text is important. We have to realize that this is not just a handbook for copying, otherwise there is no value here unless we are Philistines and have come into possession of the Ark of the Covenant. (if you happen to have the Ark of the Covenant, email me. With pictures, thanks.)
To understand OT Narrative, we'll pull the following resources: Expositor's Bible Commentary, since I have the volume necessary for 1 Samuel, Free/Vos' Archaeology and Bible History for background, Broadman Bible Commentary on 1 Samuel.
I've got my printed NASB (with 95 update), and have access to an NASB Study Bible for those notes. If I need it off the shelf, I've got KJV, KJV-1611, NRSV, and NIV. Bible Exporer's got NLT, ESV, and some other translations I don't read. (like Spanish. putting Hebrew I don't know into Spanish I don't know accomplishes more not knowing.)
Already, that's assembled.
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