Comments on: Our Place in the Hearing of and Preaching of the Word http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/ "Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you...” Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:49:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 By: Aaron Tweeton http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1914 Aaron Tweeton Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:22:24 +0000 http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1914 How do you overcome the fear of "reading in" to Scripture or handling it wrong? In my family devotions where I'm a novice, I generally just read the Word and then stop and pray. How can I be sure I won't lead my family into error? How do you overcome the fear of “reading in” to Scripture or handling it wrong? In my family devotions where I’m a novice, I generally just read the Word and then stop and pray. How can I be sure I won’t lead my family into error?

]]> By: Nathan White http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1915 Nathan White Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:07:47 +0000 http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1915 Aaron-- Great question. In fact, I was already thinking of this question and of things similar, and will probably write a full treatment of it soon. But briefly, let me clarify a few things: First, the simple reading of the scripture is an excellent thing, don't be mistaken. And God can and does work through the reading alone. But the quotes I shared above are aimed at those who neglect the preaching for the reading, or who place the simple reading above the ordinance of preaching. God has given special place and blessing upon the preaching of the Word, and if we neglect this and say 'I can just read it myself', we've made a grave error. But this does not discount the importance of simple reading, especially in private and in families. Secondly, remember the words in 1st John: <blockquote>"the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him."</blockquote> The Spirit has given true believers wisdom to discern and interpret the Word. I certainly share your anxiety over 'getting something wrong', and with that I would encourage anyone with those fears to stay away from tough passages until the Lord matures, but you can certainly give the proper interpretation of the essential truths of the gospel. Not only that, but your interpretation and exhortation of the simple truths will indeed edify and strengthen others. Lastly, again, the context is in the arena of public worship. And the the blessing of the preached Word spoken of in scripture by implication assumes that the preacher has been given the gift of preaching. It isn't the preaching of just anyone that is blessed by God, but the preaching of those whom Christ has equipped to do so (Eph 4:11). So those who have not been given these gifts should not preach, and would want to stick with reading during private and family worship. Furthermore, these who read only during private worship should give full attention and weight to the preaching of the Word by the ministers God has equipped and placed over them, taking the expounding of the Word by their minister into their homes to feed them during the week. I hope that helps clarify where I (and the men whom I quoted) are coming from. Thanks for the comment, Nathan Aaron–

Great question. In fact, I was already thinking of this question and of things similar, and will probably write a full treatment of it soon.

But briefly, let me clarify a few things:

First, the simple reading of the scripture is an excellent thing, don’t be mistaken. And God can and does work through the reading alone. But the quotes I shared above are aimed at those who neglect the preaching for the reading, or who place the simple reading above the ordinance of preaching. God has given special place and blessing upon the preaching of the Word, and if we neglect this and say ‘I can just read it myself’, we’ve made a grave error. But this does not discount the importance of simple reading, especially in private and in families.

Secondly, remember the words in 1st John:

“the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

The Spirit has given true believers wisdom to discern and interpret the Word. I certainly share your anxiety over ‘getting something wrong’, and with that I would encourage anyone with those fears to stay away from tough passages until the Lord matures, but you can certainly give the proper interpretation of the essential truths of the gospel. Not only that, but your interpretation and exhortation of the simple truths will indeed edify and strengthen others.

Lastly, again, the context is in the arena of public worship. And the the blessing of the preached Word spoken of in scripture by implication assumes that the preacher has been given the gift of preaching. It isn’t the preaching of just anyone that is blessed by God, but the preaching of those whom Christ has equipped to do so (Eph 4:11). So those who have not been given these gifts should not preach, and would want to stick with reading during private and family worship. Furthermore, these who read only during private worship should give full attention and weight to the preaching of the Word by the ministers God has equipped and placed over them, taking the expounding of the Word by their minister into their homes to feed them during the week.

I hope that helps clarify where I (and the men whom I quoted) are coming from.

Thanks for the comment,
Nathan

]]> By: Gordan http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1917 Gordan Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:40:28 +0000 http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1917 Thanks so much for posting this. I confess that it has taken a bit of a load off my shoulders. As a preacher now (after many years as a sermon-listener) I have often felt the need/pressure to provide my hearers with a new nugget, or a hidden treasure uncovered for them; and, I have felt like a failure when all I did was simply re-iterate the old truths that have been well-worn. So this article was a needed refresher for me. Just preach the Word. We learn by repetition. And, I'll say this as well: I know that you can think you're preaching the same thing from one Sunday to the next, and the Spirit will use it in a completely different way. Ours is simply to be faithful to lay the wood around the altar and pray for the fire to fall. Thanks so much for posting this. I confess that it has taken a bit of a load off my shoulders. As a preacher now (after many years as a sermon-listener) I have often felt the need/pressure to provide my hearers with a new nugget, or a hidden treasure uncovered for them; and, I have felt like a failure when all I did was simply re-iterate the old truths that have been well-worn. So this article was a needed refresher for me. Just preach the Word. We learn by repetition. And, I’ll say this as well: I know that you can think you’re preaching the same thing from one Sunday to the next, and the Spirit will use it in a completely different way. Ours is simply to be faithful to lay the wood around the altar and pray for the fire to fall.

]]> By: Nathan White http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1918 Nathan White Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:24:49 +0000 http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1918 Gordan-- We do learn by repetition. That doesn't mean we can't say the same thing in different ways, but it does mean that all of our preaching will somehow be centered on one message (the cross). And BTW, I wrote this article (and the last one) because of my own thoughts/concerns/struggles after preaching a few times lately. We want to preach powerfully, we want to give them something they've never heard before, and that's somewhat good, but it's ultimately the simple things and our trust in the work of the Spirit that produces real growth. Gordan–
We do learn by repetition. That doesn’t mean we can’t say the same thing in different ways, but it does mean that all of our preaching will somehow be centered on one message (the cross).

And BTW, I wrote this article (and the last one) because of my own thoughts/concerns/struggles after preaching a few times lately. We want to preach powerfully, we want to give them something they’ve never heard before, and that’s somewhat good, but it’s ultimately the simple things and our trust in the work of the Spirit that produces real growth.

]]> By: Gordan http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1920 Gordan Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:54:16 +0000 http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1920 Agreed. I think there is a tension involved, though, that will always keep us from being completely "settled" in this. I mean, yes, what's been said above is totally true. But it's also true that we ought to step into the pulpit with earnest expectations, desiring and yearning for the Spirit of the Lord to move mightily among us. Most of the time, this will set us up for some amount of disappointment, I think. But it isn't wrong for the hard-working farmer to look forward with great eagerness to the harvest, even though he trusts that all the growth is from God. Agreed. I think there is a tension involved, though, that will always keep us from being completely “settled” in this. I mean, yes, what’s been said above is totally true. But it’s also true that we ought to step into the pulpit with earnest expectations, desiring and yearning for the Spirit of the Lord to move mightily among us. Most of the time, this will set us up for some amount of disappointment, I think. But it isn’t wrong for the hard-working farmer to look forward with great eagerness to the harvest, even though he trusts that all the growth is from God.

]]> By: Book Review: The Genius of Puritanism | Shepherd the Flock http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1930 Book Review: The Genius of Puritanism | Shepherd the Flock Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:35:59 +0000 http://shepherdtheflock.com/2008/08/01/our-place-in-the-hearing-of-and-preaching-of-the-word/#comment-1930 [...] Are you one who has the perception that the Puritans were high-tower theologians, long-winded, overly cognitive, and dry? The section on Puritan theology surrounding the pulpit will disprove that caricature (Read a previous post I wrote about this section here). [...] […] Are you one who has the perception that the Puritans were high-tower theologians, long-winded, overly cognitive, and dry? The section on Puritan theology surrounding the pulpit will disprove that caricature (Read a previous post I wrote about this section here). […]

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