What’s in a Sermon? Part 3: Context

 What’s in a Sermon? Part 3: Context

Apparently, you’re here for the long-haul on the sermon methodology, so let’s get straight into the first point of the sermon:

Context. Every sermon that I write and preach aims to lead with idea of “context,” which answers this question: How does this passage fit in the Big Picture of God’s Glory?

Why this question? 

Because the typical American Christian will hear dozens of sermons a year, plus Sunday School lessons, Bible studies, radio broadcasts, and more. And it is important that the sermon—because we tend to elevate its value—help us all see that the Word of God is a connected masterpiece and not just a moderately curated collection of one-liners.

(Delete rant about single-verse quips on tweets and t-shirts that miss meaning terribly.)

Context, for the sermon is going to cover important parts of the big picture. That’s going to include where in the Bible your passage is—it’s not a bad idea to give your hearers the run-down on how to get to the book you’re preaching from. In fact, the more we are preaching in environments that are not heavily Bible-saturated, the more we should do that. “We’re in Genesis, which is the first book in your Bible, it’s part of what we traditionally call the Old Testament. If you use one of the pew Bibles, it’s on page 9” may seem like a bad opening, but it points people to the text rather than engages them with your cleverness.

Remember, after all, the sermon is not about your cleverness. You can be clever and creative, and you should be. You ought not be boring.

But that doesn’t mean you need to hit the hook ‘em statement right at the beginning like a speech.

Your time to work on being interesting hits with the context, though: this is where your Biblical study, background research, historical efforts all come into use. Your goal here is set the stage for what this passage would have looked like to the initial audience; what are some of the key facts about when it was written or why it was written. And no, you should not punt this to “It’s in the Bible because God wants it there” without any other discussion. Yes, we accept by faith that God put it there for a reason. Your job in preaching is to help people understand the reason!

You don’t want to spend too much time on context, though, because it’s a sermon, not a history lecture. Trust me: this is an easy mistake to make, especially if you are rushed in your preparation time. Remember this principle: be short, be clear, be moving on to the next point.

Why?

For starters, this is often repeatable background information. If you are preaching a series in Ephesians, then you don’t do the full workup on context every sermon. You can spread it out, make it sequential as you address what Ephesus was like. Touch on covenant development along the way.

Second, you may take some of this material and sink into the rest of the sermon. If there is something specifically applicable about part of the context (presence of an imperial prison, perhaps?) to one passage, fix into discussing that passage and why it is relevant.

You’ll front-load this material, because it’s basic introductory matters and it’s fine if your hearers do not remember it perfectly. After all, you do not remember it perfectly, either, or you wouldn’t need those reference books, would you? The purpose here is for the hearers to get a feel for the situation.

Context is not the part of the sermon that typically connects to life-change, but it helps make the connection from the original direction of the text to the present day. It helps with the footing to make that solid throw downfield.

What’s in a Sermon? Part 2

 What’s in a sermon part 2

So yesterday, when all our troubles seemed so far away, I addressed a bit about the purpose of the sermon. Today, we’re going to get into the content of the sermon. This will take a post or two to cover the approach that I use.

I should also make the observation that there are several good books on preaching out there. Preaching God’s Word by Terry Carter is a favorite, as is Saving Eutychus. There are other works out there, though I would argue (and probably will some other time) that one is better served to learn to preach by listening to good preaching and studying historically good preaching. If everything you know about preaching is drawn from books written in the last 100 years, realize that your learning encompasses 5% of church history. And substantially less of church geography, because it was likely developed in England, New England, or the American South. Lots of years of Christianity before Billy Sunday; lots of Christians from places not called London, Louisville, or Boston. (Not that these points of learning aren’t useful. Just that they are not all-encompassing!)

So, get you one or two books that help guide the preaching preparation process, then do a lot of reading of sermons. Start with the era of the Early Church Fathers and see how they did it. John Chrysostom is a favorite of mine, but there are good ones across that landscape. Read homilies from the Catholic and Orthodox traditions: you may be like me and find the result of Pope Urban II’s sermon at Claremont in 1095 sad, but a preacher would be foolish to suggest it was not an effective message.

(He just got his prep work wrong and launched the First Crusade.)

This leads to another caveat on preaching: one must learn the discipline of Biblical interpretation (or hermeneutics) before you prepare sermons. The first step in sermon preparation is to strive to understand the text well, to internalize what the Lord is saying through His word in that passage. This is not work that a preacher can assign to someone else or simply download from the Internet. You have do the work yourself. You can (and should!) consult others about what you are finding. You should learn from others.

And if you’re like me and sometimes stumble in presentation, then absolutely get some help with that. Learn how to present; read some books looking for good illustrations. Listen to other sermons from good preachers that hold your attention and have done the exegetical work well.

Because what goes into a sermon?

First, good exegetical work. The time put into understanding the Word of God. We’ll cover that next.

Second, relational work: the time time and energy put into understanding your hearers. That will come after we cover the exegetical side.

Third, presentation work: this is the part that makes you go viral on Twitter and it’s the least of the sermon work. It still needs done—and we’ll cover that last.

What's in a Sermon: Part 1

 For those of you who don’t know it, I’m primarily a preacher for a Baptist church. I also do other things, but that is a pretty substantial part of every week. Now, there are dozens upon dozens of how-to preach books out there in the wild, but I thought I’d spend a little time here walking through part of how I do it.

The first thing about a sermon is this: purpose. This where some of what I learned in speech classes comes into play. Speeches come in many shapes, sizes, and forms. Some speeches are to education. Some are to inform. Some are to persuade.

Sermons are primarily intended to persuade, but they are not just a subset of the classic “persuasive speech.” While a sermon is intended to persuade the listeners of a truth, it is also intended to inform and to motivate to action. A sermon will typically also include the desire to inspire and encourage hearers in their faith.

The purpose, essentially, carries aspects of many types of speeches in it. That purpose is driven by the Word of God, because a true sermon is also a very niche type of speech. It is a speech intended to advance the cause of the Kingdom of God and not for anything else. 

It is not intended to motivate for an earthly cause, even if it is a good cause. Political speeches, for example, are not sermons and sermons ought not be political speeches: while I could write a speech telling you who I think you should vote for (NOT THAT GUY!), and I could even use elements of Christianity to support that purpose…but that would not be a sermon.

Within a church, a speech could be made about how to make the budget or why a plan should be adopted, but that speech is not a sermon unless it is actually aimed at the Kingdom of God itself. It may be a good cause speech. It may be a speech about the need for organizational development. It may be a good cause.

After all, no reasonable person would object to someone suggesting we find a way to eliminate cancer or feed the hungry or end war and everyone be nice to each other. Those are not bad ideas, bad causes, bad speeches.

A sermon, though, highlights the Kingdom of God and calls people to live in it. It may include that the Kingdom will be cancer-free, because the Great Physician will heal. It may include that there will be no hunger there, for there will be no more curse on the ground or corruption to keep people from food. It may include that the swords will be plowshares and the spears pruning hooks, because the Prince of Peace reigns over all.

The sermon does not fail to include the responsibilities of the hearers to act, but it puts the focus on acting in response to the Kingdom of God. The sermon aims at results that are seen in the Kingdom. Not in church growth—though that may happen. Not in measurables about this week’s deliverables…

But in people, both individually and collectively, having one more encounter with the Risen Jesus so that they are drawn that much more to be like Him in the core of their being and the actions of their lives.

The day after…

 The day after…

So I’m writing Monday’s blog post on Tuesday morning. Why? 

Because Monday did not go as planned. It frequently does not in the pastoral world. Partly because every pastor is a little bit different and so we all try to tackle Monday in those differences. 

Why is Monday a day to tackle?

Well, in the business world, Monday’s usually your starting point. So you have to fire up from downtime and get to work. That’s a challenge in its own right, getting started progressing through what the new week will bring, seeing what someone might have done over the weekend, restarting on this week’s deliverables, that kind of work.

In the church world, though, Sunday is the main day. Now, for some of you, this is going to sound less spiritual than you’d like, but the big “deliverable” for churches is typically the Sunday activities. There are a lot of other things that go on, that are important, crucial, parts of being the body of Christ in our current context.

But Sundays are a big part of what we do. It’s also become the habit, over the years, of being the one time some folks in the church try to talk to each other or ask about happenings in the church that may be months away. Any way you slice it, there’s a lot going on in the typical Baptist church on Sunday morning.

Monday, then, is a combination of recovery and action based on what happened during that Sunday time. As a result, it’s one of the most unplannable days on the calendar. Sure, I am heavily in favor of schedules and planning. Those make the days turn out functional.

Mondays, though, just don’t fit that. 

Which means that what you schedule on Monday may not get done until Tuesday.

Like this blog post.

Or plans for committee meetings.

Why does this matter? It’s a good reminder of a couple truths.

The first is that the more one can distribute responsibility, the better off an organization is. That applies to the big moments—I know some churches that have only 2 or 3 people handling everything that goes on during Sunday morning, and it’s exhausting—and to the every day. Organizational leaders have to find, develop, empower others to handle the work of the organization. It’s crucial.

The second is to hold plans loosely. You don’t want to have none, thus losing your time into the void. But you also want to know which times are hardest for you to hit with stability and keep your options a bit more open in that timeframe.

Those are the Monday thoughts…that had to flow over into being shared on Tuesday.

Sermon Recap for April 3

 Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded YouTube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougHibbardPodcast

Audible Link is coming soon! Search "Doug Hibbard" to see if it's there yet

Spotify is here: https://doughibbard.libsyn.com/spotify

The video is linked on my personal YouTube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Chaos Comes to Town

 Second day of April. Where are we now?

Well, there should be a useful, thought-provoking post that I can put up but instead I’ve got this: there’s always something that’s going to go wrong.

Look, I hate to be the bearer of that bad news, but it’s fundamentally true. Something is going to go wrong. You just cannot prevent it. You cannot out-think it. You cannot out-prepare it. You cannot simply wish it away as if, by keeping a positive outlook, the bad won’t creep in.

So what do you do with that?

Three steps:

1. Recognize the inevitability of chaos. Chaos comes in; therefore it is likely not your fault that it hit. Did you plan the reasonable things? Did you prepare for normal issues? Were you ready for one injury but not four? Were you hiking in the woods and therefore not expecting electrical shocks? That may sound like an appeal to absurdity, but look—that type of thing does happen and it’s not your fault for being in the woods. Did you plan to rely on someone normally reliable?

See, when you add others in, there’s a chance for chaos there: a reliable person isn’t exempt from flat tires or dead batteries. It happens. The world is not stacked toward easy street; it’s stacked toward chaos.

That means: do not blame yourself if you have prepared for reasonable situations. And use someone else’s definition of reasonable, Overthinkers of the World! Yes, asteroids have hit the earth before but it is not reasonable to expect it again during your golf game.

2. Start with a simple purpose that can be recovered when things go wrong. What was your purpose? For a church event—was it eat perfect food or have fellowship time? Have a defined purpose for what you are doing and when the chaos hits, focus on recovering the purpose not the plan. 

Say that with me again: focus on the purpose, not the plan.

Tomorrow morning, we gather with the church family for our weekly time of worship. Our purpose is to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, feast on the Word, pray together, and have fellowship time. It is not to accomplish the bulletin points—though those fit that purpose. If it goes off the rails, the purpose can still be recovered.

3. Remember that blame is cheap but learning is priceless. Why do you want to know whose fault anything is? To blame them? Lazy move. Almost useless.

To learn and to help others learn? Invaluable move. It helps alleviate the chaos and provides a purpose going forward. One can find fulfillment even when it goes wrong.

Oh, and if someone claims to take the blame but doesn’t take responsibility for learning? Then they are not getting the point.

Chaos happens. Things go wrong. Survive it and thrive with it as best you can. 

Things I have learned since I started blogging…

 February 26, 2008, I started this blog. At the time, blogging was all the rage in both social media and as a side function in church ministry. Several folks made money blogging, a few even got books deals based on their blog popularity. Some are still quite famous for putting together a blog and keeping it going.

Me? I haven’t garnered any money from this project. There for a time, I was signed up for Google AdSense, a program I don’t even know if they still have, but I made exactly nothing and so just deleted that. (If you see an ad here, it’s from the blog-host company, not me.) What I have done, though, is learned a few things. I thought I’d attempt a re-start into this habit by considering those.

To get there, though, let’s review some changes since that February…

First, when I started this, I lived in Southaven, Mississippi, with my wife and three small children (oldest was 6!) We owned a house. I worked for UPS and had just resigned from a bi-vocational (part-time pay) pastorate in Northeast Arkansas. 

Now? We live in Southeast Arkansas. Our youngest child is 15, the oldest is a junior in college, and we don’t own a house anymore. We learned in 2008-2010 the chaos of a bad housing market and in 2021 what a seller’s market looks like. We’ve passed through all the potty training and are almost done with driver training. I don’t work for UPS anymore and now am a full-time pastor.

Second, when I started this I had given up on formal education for me. I was about a third done with a Master of Divinity and thought that was all I would do there. Maybe I would stay with UPS and get a business degree and make lots of money.

Now? I finished the Master of Divinity and learned a lot about the differing educational environments in Christian seminaries. I am one dissertation and presentation short of a Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Heritage and also have two probable next degrees after I take some time off.

Third, wow, did I mention the kids have grown up a lot?

Fourth, we have moved and are on our fifth home since 2008. It’s a lot. Probably too much, to be honest, but you go where you need to and when you need to.

So, what have I learned?

I have learned that even with a broader depth of experience than many of my peers over the years, there is still a lot that I didn’t know. I personally would love to delete every website comment I made prior to about 2015 because I just don’t know if I agree with them anymore—and maybe half the ones since then! I might say the same things; I might say the same things in different ways; some I might completely disown.

I have learned that you can do the best you can and it will still fail. You will still fail. That does not make me a failure, or you one. It means you failed, yes, but what you do is only part of you who you are. 

I have learned that I talk too much and don’t listen enough. And still do.

A key thought, though, is this: I have learned that some folks do not accept that others are allowed to keep learning. It is important that we all keep learning, and it’s important that you let other people learn. Across those last 14 years, I have been rejected for jobs that I am glad I didn’t get; rejected for some I wonder if would have been good; but it’s all water over the levee at this point. There’s only one that still stings: a church in 2010 called a church I worked for in 2000-2002 and took that pastor’s word that I was immature, as if I hadn’t learned or grown in the life experiences across the 8 years since that time.

It bugged me that they then didn’t ask me about it. 

Here’s the rub, because I don’t really want that job (I like the one I have): I wonder how often I’ve done that? Judged someone based off of a long-ago portrait? Now, some character traits show easily and you it’s hard to change, but do we evaluate a person at 40 based on whether or not they were mature at 22? 

Do we in Christian circles judge someone’s theology based on papers they wrote at 24 and before they even knew Greek or Hebrew or what “homoiousious” means? 

Make space in your life to learn, but keep at a close second this truth: allow for the possibility that others have learned, as well. You are not who you were 14 years ago; make no assumptions that the other person is, either.

(Oh, and I haven't learned how to make anything but a flat text blog post.)