Every sermon you and I preach teaches listeners how to read the Bible. Like it or not, the way you handle a text like Proverbs 8 shows people how to interpret a text. I began by stating that in Proverbs 8, Lady Wisdom tells her story. I talked about how the writer personified wisdom as a woman in order to present the idea of the text in a compelling, moving way. I guided the congregation through the four sections of the chapter: an introduction to Lady Wisdom (1-11), LW’s description of her companions (12-21), LW’s discussion of her presence before and at creation (22-31), and LW’s appeal (32-36).

Throughout the sermon, I described poetic images such as LW standing beside the city gate (3) and poetic language such as “delight - rejoicing - rejoicing - delight” (30-31). I also talked about the relationship between this chapter and Colossians 1:15-20. For the record, I argued that Proverbs 8 is not a prophecy of Jesus Christ or a literal description of the second member of the Trinity. I contended, though, that the presence of LW in Proverbs 8 prefigures or anticipates Jesus’s role in creation.

I never said, “pay attention to the flow of thought when reading the Bible” or “look for poetic language patterns” or “wrestle with how an Old Testament text fits into the larger story of the Bible.” But I modeled all these things in my sermon. I’m not claiming that people take a hermeneutics class every time they hear us preach. What I’m suggesting is that people who listen to our sermons week after week will eventually “catch” our view of the Bible and our methodology for reading it.

What do your people learn about reading the Bible when they hear you preach?