What Goes Into A Sermon?

Have you ever wondered what books and reading material go into sermon preparation? Getting ready for our upcoming series on "Journey With Jesus" I've looked into a number of resources relating to Jesus's life, ministry, and historical and cultural context. It's been an awesome journey for me to learn some new things and gain some new insights into the life of Jesus! I hope that it will be the same for you.

Here are five resources I'm working with that I think you'll enjoy if you decide to pick them up on your own. They should be available through interlibrary loan (at the Jackson Downtown Library), at Union's Library, or at their pastor's research center on the 3rd floor of Jennings Hall on Union's campus.

I'm listing the resources in order of my recommendation. So #1 would be the MOST recommended. But they all represent a different take (some scholarly, some more popular) on the "all important question" that Jesus posed to Peter, "Who do you say that I am." My prayer is that you will use the coming seven weeks to come to your own response to Jesus's question.

1. Living Jesus by Luke Timothy Johnson. Johnson is a NT professor at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. I read this book several years ago and it stands as one of my all time favorites. Johnson, an excellent scholar, dismisses much recent academic discussion about what Jesus said and did - vis a vis the Jesus Seminar - and focuses on the Jesus that was confessed by the early Christians and continues to give power and life to Christians today. The main idea he considers is this. What does it mean for Christians to believe that Jesus is still alive? Think about it. If Jesus is still alive, then he influences, exercises power, and reigns as Christ - as Johnson believes, every bit as powerfully today as he did 2000 years ago.

2. New Testament History: A Narrative Account by Ben Witherington. Witherington is NT professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. In spite of its title, this book is a VERY accesible history of the first century, focusing obviously on Jesus and his followers. Witherington includes several "sidebars" that give more in-depth information on topics like "Qumran and the Essenes", how ancient letters were written, what first century Jerusalem was like, and "Miracles and History" (a look at whether how Jesus's miracles are read from a scholarly point of view - Witheringon concludes that we "read them" as the early Christians did!). This book has provided a lot of background context information to my understanding of Jesus's ministry.

3. The Crucified God by Jurgen Moltmann. Moltmann is retired professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Tubingen in Germany (and seems to keep on publishing!). This was one of the books we had to read in seminary but still very readable by one of the premier Christian theologians of the 20th century. In it, Moltmann draws our attention back to the reformation idea of theologia crucis - a theology of the cross. He says, "The knowledge of the cross is the knowledge of God in the suffering caused to him by dehumanized man, that is, in the contrary of everything which dehumanized man seeks and tries to attain as the deity in him." In other words, in man's hunt for greater power and glory, God still sides and redeems in the places where are found the outcast and broken. In fact, if you want to know who God really is... look to the cross of Jesus.

4. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was an early-mid 20th century theologian who was killed by the Nazis after they discovered Bonhoeffer's involvement in a plot to assasinate Hitler. This book is every bit a deep devotional commentary on the Sermon on the Mount. Bonhoeffer disallows any "pollyanish" understanding of Jesus's message and understands Jesus as calling us to experience grace as costly (because a hefty price has been paid) and not as "cheap grace." It is in this book that Bonhoeffer makes his classic statement, "When Jesus bids a man to come, he bids him to 'come and die.'" Wow. Of course, this has Romans 6 written all over it. But it's true. Who has ever really experienced new life in Jesus without first burying the old one?!?

5. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis. Thomas A Kempis lived 1380-1471, spending much of his life in a Dutch monastery. This book stands as one of all-time classics of Christian devotional literature. It would be a perfect book to complete a thirty-day spiritual "retreat" taking one or two chapters a day (they're short chapters). One of the best parts of this book is the imagined conversations between "The Disciple" and "Christ" where the disciple poses questions to Jesus about how to give up earthly attachments and enjoy the blessings of discipleship. For example...
CHRIST: If you listen to Me, and follow my words, you shall find true peace.
THE DISCIPLE: What must I do, Lord?
CHRIST: Keep guard over your whole life, your actions and your words. Direct all your efforts to the single purpose of pleasing Me: seek and desire Myself alone.

These are just five of the resources that have influenced my thoughts on our upcoming sermon series. There are many more. There are some that perhaps you can recommend as well. Why don't you? Feel free to comment to this post below and add those book you have found meaningful in your own "Journey With Jesus."

A Cloud By Day

Some of you have asked for the poem I read in our worship service a couple of weeks ago, so I'm posting it to the website. Enjoy!

A CLOUD BY DAY

A cloud by day, a fire by night.
And still I wander.

The mana comes with the dew
And we offer sweet prayers
Of Thanksgiving.

By afternoon time
We have forgotten.
And can be heard arising
From our camp the
Bitter lament.

Oh, that I might return
To the order, the routine
The ritual and comfort, the
Predictable expectation
Of slavery.

So nice to be told
Who I am and who I am
Expected to be.
Thought is a chore
And freedom becomes
Increasingly
An irresponsible vision
Dying with each
Passing moment.
I can no longer
Afford the luxury.

In my dreams though
Lights dance
Amorphously
Images of people I have
Known and loved
Words spoken in kindness
And intimacies – so
Sweetly and softly made.
The dreams flicker away
As the fire fades
And once more appears
A cloud by day.

The Joy of Sam!

I’m not sure what the connection is that two amazing guest speakers at Promise Church recently would share the same name – “Sam.”

Sam Thomas, president of Hopegivers Intl, challenged us three weeks ago to include ministry to the world as an integral component of our missionary vision. Sharing stories of Christians in India who face what must seem like insurmountable opposition to talk about Jesus, Dr. Thomas indicated that the Western version of armchair religion comes off sometimes as trite and without real substance. “The blood of martyrs is the seed through which Jesus becomes proclaimed.” Indeed, Dr. Thomas has met and ministered with real life martyrs.

Sam Da Silva, a professional psycho-therapist and counselor from Ontario, presented a very similar challenge – but from the standpoint of experiencing authenticity. “Too often as we worship, we want to move from one element to the next as quickly as we can. Imagine what happens when we just sit with a chorus for a while allowing the Spirit to do its work.” The message? Worship with all the senses as God’s spirit ministers to all three parts of the self – Body (Soma), Soul (Psyche), and Spirit (Pneuma) – all three Greek words appearing significantly in the New Testament. Risk our need for “clean” and “controlled” and allow God to do a new and unexpected thing!

Their experience is confirmed by my own. In conversations with countless people in Jackson/Madison County – churched and “unchurched” alike – I’ve come away hearing described a thirst for authenticity. People are leaving “church as usual” in droves. Some are dropping out of church altogether. Many hop from church to church, looking for some optimal and heightened form of religious experience. The challenge of “the Sam’s” to all of us is this. Authenticity begins with the deep longing to live as a servant of God no matter what the cost. In fact, what we know is that once God has “pricked” the heart of a person, there’s no going back. Either the longing is satisfied with authentic expression of faith or the person spends a life-time trying to meet the longing through a myriad of inadequate resources.

James writes, “Consider it all joy (emphasis mine), my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2 NASB)

So here’s the test. What are we doing to push the envelope of our faith? Faith isn’t being tested unless something is risked – usually some notion of our comfort and security. Notice that James observes that such risks can be experienced with “all joy” or “pure joy” as the NIV translates. This risk, when it finishes it work, makes us perfect and complete. The longing is filled. We know God as we were designed to know and relate to Him.

There are so many opportunities for us to step out of the comfortable and into the “pure joy.” So many opportunities for risk. So many opportunities for deep growth and relationship. What are we willing to risk to know that pure joy with God? What are we willing to test to have a truly authentic experience of Jesus-like servanthood? How would you answer that question in your own life?

RADIO: What We're Saying in June!

FINANCIAL PEACE!
Are you looking for Financial peace in your life? This is Pastor Jay at Promise Church. Beginning Tuesday, June 7 at 6:30pm we’ll be offering Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University at the Promise Church. Financial Peace University is a 13 week course designed by acclaimed author Dave Ramsey to help you set realistic financial goals that help you get the most out of your financial life. You can register on the web for Financial Peace University at www.promisechurch.info or give us a call at 664-LIFE. That number is 664-L-I-F-E.

JAZZ!
Hey, this is Pastor Jay from Promise Church. I’m a LOVER of jazz music. From the soulful sounds of John Coltraine to the swinging bebop of Dizzy Gillespie, I like it all. You may ask why are you talking about jazz on a rock station? To make this point. God doesn’t care how loud the music is we listen to or how soft. Or whether you like jazz, rock, or classical. God cares only for the condition of our heart. He cares about our heart so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to teach us a new way of living – a way filled with love, with forgiveness, with compassion. Are you ready for a heart change? Check us out on the web at www.promisechurch.info.

TRY SOMETHING NEW!
This is Pastor Jay at Promise Church. You know, I like change. I get bored with the same ole, same ole. Same old music. Same old schedule. Same old work. Relationships going the same old way. Sometimes same ole gets so old that we’re just ready to break out and try something new. So what’s keeping you? At Promise Church we don’t believe in same old religion. We believe that God wants to do something brand new in your life today, in fact, right now. So what’s keeping you? Check us out on the web at www.promisechurch.info or give us a visit on Sunday mornings at 10:30 at 935 Old Humboldt Road.

LOOKING FOR A FAMILY?
I love my wife. In fact, I don’t know if I could get through the day without a kiss and a hug and someone to say that no matter what happens, it’s going to be okay. This is Pastor Jay at Promise Church. We believe that no one should go through the week without someone telling them that in spite of life’s difficulties, with God’s help… guess what? …. It’s going to be okay. In fact, God’s design for the church is that we belong to a family that builds us up. Are you looking for that family? Check us out on the web at www.promisechurch.info or give us a visit on Sunday mornings at 10:30 at 935 Old Humboldt Road.

ABUNDANT LIFE
“I came that you might have life and have it abundantly.” These are the words of Jesus. Jesus didn’t say he came to make you feel worse about yourself. He didn’t come to say he wanted to beat us up for not living up to some human standard. Nope. Jesus said he wants us to have abundant life. At the Promise Church we want you to have that life too. Life filled with hope, with love, with the Promise of God. Do you hunger for that life too? Check us out on the web at www.promisechurch.info or give us a visit on Sunday mornings at 10:30 at 935 Old Humboldt Road.

RADIO: What We're Saying in June!

FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY
Are you looking for Financial peace in your life? This is Pastor Jay at Promise Church. Beginning Tuesday, June 7 at 6:30pm we’ll be offering Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University at the Promise Church. Financial Peace University is a 13 week course designed by acclaimed author Dave Ramsey to help you set realistic financial goals that help you get the most out of your financial life. You can register on the web for Financial Peace University at www.promisechurch.info or give us a call at 664-LIFE. That number is 664-L-I-F-E.

JAZZ!
Hey, this is Pastor Jay from Promise Church. I’m a LOVER of jazz music. From the soulful sounds of John Coltraine to the swinging bebop of Dizzy Gillespie, I like it all. You may ask why are you talking about jazz on a rock station? To make this point. God doesn’t care how loud the music is we listen to or how soft. Or whether you like jazz, rock, or classical. God cares only for the condition of our heart. He cares about our heart so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to teach us a new way of living – a way filled with love, with forgiveness, with compassion. Are you ready for a heart change? Check us out on the web at www.promisechurch.info.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW!
This is Pastor Jay at Promise Church. You know, I like change. I get bored with the same ole, same ole. Same old music. Same old schedule. Same old work. Relationships going the same old way. Sometimes same ole gets so old that we’re just ready to break out and try something new. So what’s keeping you? At Promise Church we don’t believe in same old religion. We believe that God wants to do something brand new in your life today, in fact, right now. So what’s keeping you? Check us out on the web at www.promisechurch.info or give us a visit on Sunday mornings at 10:30 at 935 Old Humboldt Road.

A HUG AND A KISS
I love my wife. In fact, I don’t know if I could get through the day without a kiss and a hug and someone to say that no matter what happens, it’s going to be okay. This is Pastor Jay at Promise Church. We believe that no one should go through the week without someone telling them that in spite of life’s difficulties, with God’s help… guess what? …. It’s going to be okay. In fact, God’s design for the church is that we belong to a family that builds us up. Are you looking for that family? Check us out on the web at www.promisechurch.info or give us a visit on Sunday mornings at 10:30 at 935 Old Humboldt Road.

“I came that you might have life and have it abundantly.” These are the words of Jesus. Jesus didn’t say he came to make you feel worse about yourself. He didn’t come to say he wanted to beat us up for not living up to some human standard. Nope. Jesus said he wants us to have abundant life. At the Promise Church we want you to have that life too. Life filled with hope, with love, with the Promise of God. Do you hunger for that life too? Check us out on the web at www.promisechurch.info or give us a visit on Sunday mornings at 10:30 at 935 Old Humboldt Road.