Another discipline for taking your preaching to the next level is to keep the focus God-centered rather than human-centered. I know, it sounds like a ‘given.’ But the temptation is to dwell on the needs of people rather than to address those needs in the context of God’s majesty. I’ve faced this challenge recently while preaching through Proverbs. In two days, I’m preaching Proverbs 30:24-38. How will I preach God-centered sermon from this text which contain no direct reference to God? Likewise, if I’m in a N.T. epistle, I must wrestle with how to preach from the ‘imperative’ section of the book so that God’s supremacy and glory dominates the sermon.
There are two components of every biblical text which I discipline myself to identify every time I prepare a sermon. Once I discover these, I’m well on my way to a God-centered sermon. The first is what Haddon Robinson calls “the vision of God.” The second is “the depravity factor.” Robinson calls this second component “the human factor,” while Bryan Chapell labels it “the fallen-condition focus (FCF).” I’ll talk about the first in today’s post, and the second in my next post.
The vision of God is the aspect of God’s character which serves as the focal point of the text. For example, Revelation 4 presents God as the Creator, while Revelation 5 presents God as the Redeemer. John 10 presents Jesus as the good shepherd. The book of Esther presents God as sovereign. This vision may appear clearly in the particular text you’re preaching. If not, you will find it find it somewhere in the context.
Once you identify this vision of God in the passage, Robinson counsels you to ask: “What is the function of this vision of God? What implications for belief or behavior did the author draw from the image?” When I preach a text, I’m trying to demonstrate that human responses to problems, temptations, opportunities, or challenges emerge from a vision of God’s supremacy and majesty. It’s not about me having a happy marriage as much as it is about me glorifying God through my marriage. That, of course, is when the greatest level of satisfaction will take place.
In my next post, I’ll talk about how a text’s “depravity factor” contributes to the preaching of God-centered sermons.
Posted by Steve Mathewson at 7:59 AM on August 31, 2007
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Good reminder. I was fortunate enough to learn early on that what you are talking about also applies to biblical narratives. Too often we give the impression in our teaching that Ruth, or Esther, or David, or Joseph are the heroes of the story (and, yes, they are). But we frequently fail to make clear that the real hero in all of those stories is God himself. Come to think of it, we do the same with the eleventh chapter of Hebrews (no thanks to a horrible chapter division). We make note of all the "heroes of faith" in chapter 11 and stop there forgetting to continue on to chapter 12 to the "Hero of heroes", Jesus.
Posted by: Mark Mathewson on August 31, 2007
Beware of keeping your sermons so "God-centered" they're impossible to relate to or to apply!
Remember, the goal of preaching is changed lives, not full heads.
A few powerful suggestions:
1. A message prepared in the head reaches heads; a message prepared in your life reaches lives. Ask God to do something in your life related to the passage you're going to preach.
2. The unfolding of God's word brings light (Psa. 119:130). Therefore, simply unfold the passage of scripture word by word, and God will do what He says He will do: "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire . . ." (Isa. 55:11) And He will give light to the hearers.
3. Never underestimate what God can do with a passage of scripture, no matter what your opinion of the passage. "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord." (Isa. 55:8) And, "The word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword." (Heb. 4:12)
I heard about a man who came to faith in Christ after hearing the "so-and-so begat so-and-so and he died," chapter read aloud. Asked what triggered his response, he said, "I had never thought about the certainty of my death until I listened to that (passage)."
Remember, it's not what you think about a passage that matters; it's what the Holy Spirit plans to do with it that matters. Be faithful like Ezra, "(Ezra) read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading." (Neh. 8:8) What was the result? "For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law." (Neh. 8:9)
When was the last time your hearers dissolved into tears and began tearing their garments?
Posted by: Rob on September 1, 2007