Posts Tagged ‘Billy Sunday’

The Power of a Parent’s Faith (Sermon on Moses’ Parent’s Faith)

Posted: January 8, 2013 in Hebrews 11 Sermon, Sermons
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Charles Blondin was the French tightrope daredevil in the late 1800s who was the first to tightrope across the Niagara Falls. He made that treacherous trip 17 times in his life. He crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope extended over 1000 feet at a height of 167 feet above the deadly falls. Each time he crossed, he was more dramatic. He crossed blindfolded, on stilts, pushing a wheelbarrow, and one time he stopped half way across cooked an omelet on a portable stove and then ate it.

On Sept 15th, 1860, Blondin performed his most amazing feat. Before he walked across the three inch manila rope, he asked the crowd of over 10,000 people, “Do you believe I can carry a person on my back across the rope?” The crowd shouted back, “Yes we believe you can!” Then Charles responded, “Who will volunteer?” And the crowd grew very, very silent.

Blondin pointed to a man in the crowd and said, “How about you?” The man replied, “Hardly, you don’t think I am going to risk my life do you?” The man turned, walked away and disappeared in the crowd. Charles pointed to another man, “How about you?” And that one man stepped out of the crowd and said, “I believe, in fact, I have no doubt at all.” Charles said, “Will you trust me?” The man replied, “I will!” The man climbed on Blondin’s back and the two proceeded across the rope.

Children wrapped their arms around their mothers’ legs; women peeked from behind their parasols and several fainthearted passed out. When the two reached the other side the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. The man on Blondin’s back was Harry Colcord, Blondin’s manager. Colcord knew how expert Blondin was and fully trusted him with his life.

Blondin asked his spectator crowd a very important question that you and I need to hear and answer: “Do you believe?” Did they believe when they enthusiastically shouted, “Yes we believe”? No! Only one out of over 10,000 believed when he separated himself from the unbelieving onlookers and actually acted and climbed on Blondin’s back.

Faith is not saying with great emotion, “I believe.” James says, “The demons also believe and tremble.” Faith is acting on what God’s Word says. James asks, “What does it profit, my brothers, though a man say he has faith, and have not works? Can that kind of faith save? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, ‘Depart in peace, be you warmed and filled’; notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body; what does it profit?” True Bible faith does not stand around with his hands in his pockets. Faith acts, gives, and volunteers.

Moses by faith acted on God’s Word. Thankfully Moses had parents who had faith in God. Faith is a family affair in Hebrews 11.

Enoch started walking with God after his baby boy was born in Hebrew 11:5-6. Noah won his family to the Lord in Hebrews 11:7. Jacob, as a grandparent, blessed his grandsons in Hebrews 11:21. Now we read about the sway of Moses’ parents had on him in Hebrews 11:23.

Moses’ life is divided up into three 40-year periods. Stephen in Acts 7, refers to all three of these stages in Moses’ life. These are actually three phases in the growth of Moses’ faith.

1. The first 40 years in Egypt were years of Preparation.

2. The next 40 years on the backside of a desert were years of Humiliation.

3. The last 40 years were back in Egypt leading Israel out of Egypt and were years of Moses’ Completion of God’s task.

I. The Years of Preparation (Hebrews 11:23-26)

A. The Parent’s Faith in Preparation

1. Moses first prepared in the School of Faith (Hebrews 11:23) (Stephen fills in some details)

Christian parents know God’s Word (Acts 7:17-19).

The parents of Moses knew according to Genesis 15:13, the 400 years of bondage in Egypt were almost up (Acts 7:6). The Pharaoh who knew not Joseph saw Israel’s growing population as a threat to national security and proposed a way to reduce their numbers. Kill the babies. It was in this genocide that Moses was born. In the Exodus account, only the mother is emphasize showing the great influence a godly, believing mother can exert on her children. Augustine writes about the Christian influence of his Christian mother, Monica. The Wesley brothers had Susanna. If you have a godly mother you need to thank God and her.

Christian parents see the potential in their children (Acts 7:20a).

Moses was beautiful to God. They had faith to see the potential in him. They by faith saw the mighty oak in the little acorn.

Christian parents train their children for God (Acts 7:20b-21) at home.

Moses’ parents disobeyed man in order to obey God. Pharaoh wanted all boys thrown in the sacred Nile to be eaten by the sacred crocodiles as an act of pagan worship to appease the gods. Then they made a paper ship and placed Moses in it near where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed each day so she could find him.

Older sister was there with her memorized lines. Billy Sunday said just as soon as Pharaoh’s daughter saw baby Moses that an angel gently pinched him so his whimpers would touch the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter. In the providence of God, Moses was trained by his believing mother. Moses never departed from what he learned at home at his godly mother’s knee.

2. Moses was next prepared at the Secular University (7:22).

Moses was very likely being groomed to be the next Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s daughter, Hatsheput became Pharaoh for twenty years. Moses was trained at what has been called the Harvard of Ancient Egypt in chemistry (their knowledge about mummification still astounds us), math (their expertise in building the pyramids is still a wonder of the ancient world), history, leadership, legislation, and the military. In His providence, God used this secular education. Moses as a historian wrote the history of Israel in the first five books. As a statesman, he led 3 million Jews. As a legislator, he wrote the 613 laws of Israel’s constitution. As a general, he led Israel against enemy nations like the Amalikes.

Someone said, “Behind most men of faith there are parents of faith.”

B. The Child’s Faith in Preparation (Acts 7:23; Hebrews 11:24-26)

1. Moses refusal of faith (Hebrews 11:24-25)

Moses refused this important position of being possibly the next pharaoh (Hebrews 11:24) .The corporation you work for may offer the corner office on the top floor with a six-figure salary, but if it means sacrificing your family and involvement in your local church it is not worth it. Moses refused the wealth (Hebrews 11:25-26). The pleasures of sin in verse 25 are the treasures of Egypt in verse 26. Kent Hughes said the pleasures of sin are like a Chinese meal, no matter how much you eat, you are still hungry two hours later. Egypt was the wealthiest nation on earth. The gold plated tomb of King Tut discovered later revealed this. Jewish legend, according to Alexander McClaren, tells us of the very crown that was intended to be place on his Moses’ head. For this refusal of wealth to serve God, expect reproach.

2. Moses was reproached for his faith (Hebrews 11:26)

The same reproach Christ would receive from the religious but lost nation of Israel, Moses would suffer from the nation of Egypt. Dave Ramsey teaches to get out of debt you have to live like nobody lives so you can live like nobody lives. But you can also expect reproach when you are living off of beans and rice and rice and beans to get out of debt.

3. Moses could give up the vast treasures of Egypt because “he had respect unto the recompense of the reward” in eternity future.

Jesus instructed us how we can also allow the future to transform our living now to living for eternity: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:20).

Faith focuses on investing for the future i.e., eternity by sending our treasures on ahead. You can’t take it with you but you can send it on ahead when we invest our earthly treasures in God’s work.

6 Marks of Leadership, Mark Six, “The Leaders Handles the Opposition of Selfishness” Part 2

Posted: April 6, 2012 in Six Marks of Leadership
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This classified advertisement appeared in a rural New York newspaper: “Farmer, age 38, wishes to meet woman about 30 who owns tractor. Please enclose picture of tractor.”

I often wondered if this selfish farmer got pictures of John Deere tractors from desperate women.

Nehemiah was also dealing with believers who valued possessions over important relationships.

In Nehemiah 4-6, leaders handle opposition:

1. In Nehemiah 4, the leader handles opposition from without i.e., Sanballat, etc.

2. In Nehemiah 5, the leader handles opposition from within i.e., greedy believers.

Billy Sunday said, “The devil would rather cause a fuss between believers than sell a barrel of whiskey.” That was saying a lot for the preacher who almost single handedly produced the prohibition movement.

Nehemiah describes the bad economic times for God’s people in Nehemiah 5:1-5.

There was high inflation. A famine had driven prices sky high. There were high taxes and interest. Wealthy Jewish believers were exploiting poorer believers. The rich believers were loan sharks.

How do leaders respond to crippling selfishness? Nehemiah shows us how to deal with greedy believers.

1. Leaders deal with selfishness with anger at the sin (5:6)

Nehemiah was not angry at Sanballat, Tobiah, or Greshem who were threatening from the outside. He was angry at the fifth column internally defeating the work. The enemies that will paralyze our personal relationships and local ministries are not the ACLU, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court with their anti-marriage rulings and decisions. The greatest threat comes from our bent to have it our way.

Nehemiah was angry at God’s people for disobeying Scripture that forbad usury or charging high interest on loans to God’s people: Exodus 22, Leviticus 25, and Deuteronomy 23.

2. Leaders deal with selfishness with self-control (5:7a)

Nehemiah “consulted with himself” or had a committee meeting of one. Before he hauled off dealt with this sin in selfish anger, he “sinned not.” He got composure with God’s help and then he rebuked the sin.

3. Leaders deal with selfishness by rebuking the sin (5:7b-13)

Nehemiah rebukes this sin privately and then publically.

In private, he tells the guilty leaders, “You should love your brothers. Be a brother not a broker.” In public, he rebukes the poor testimony their selfishness had produced in the unsaved community. Contrast the selfishness in Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day with the unselfishness in the early church and the powerful impact these generous believers had on their city in Acts 4:32-33.

To their credit, the believers Nehemiah reprimanded, repented in 5:10-13.

To guarantee that the guilty were not just responded emotionally, Nehemiah called the priest to witness their promise to repay with interest which they had wrongfully taken. Because this was not just a business transaction, the priest was called not the Notary Public.

Next, Nehemiah informed the repenting believers, if they did not fulfill their pledges, lawyers who sue would not be called, God would be summons who would judge them.

Finally, when the witnessing congregation heard all Nehemiah had accomplished they shouted “Amen” not a second and a motion. This was not a business meeting. This was a revival service.

4. Leaders deal with selfishness by set a generous example (5:13-19)

Nehemiah did not take his Persian Perks like his predecessors had. He generously shared his wealth with the needy in Jerusalem by feeding over 150 people daily.

Nehemiah set an example for the greedy to follow. Jesus who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) set the ultimate example of unselfishness. Paul describes Jesus’ sacrificial coming to earth to die for our sins: “For you know of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich.”

We can also defeat the internal rotting of  greed by getting angry at selfishness and sinning not,  by checking our own emotions lest we fall prey to selfish retaliation, by privately and if necessary publically exposing greediness, and by modeling sacrificial leadership like Nehemiah and more perfectly Jesus Christ.

Pastor/People Relationship in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14

Posted: January 24, 2012 in Sermons
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Billy Sunday once said, “I would rather preach than anything on earth. If President Harding should telegraph me tomorrow, and say, ‘Bill, will you change jobs with me?’ I’d say ‘Nothin doin, Warren.’”

Paul felt the same as Sunday as he expressed in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14. Paul started the church at Thessalonica on his second missionary journey in Acts 17. In less than a month, he had won sinners to Christ and organized them into a local assembly. Problems were inherent in the young church that had mushroomed. Three of those problems are called by Paul in 3:10 “that which is lacking in your faith.” Paul identifies these deficiencies in chapter four.

Paul used the same word for deficiencies or “what is lacking” that Matthew used when he described James and John “mending” their nets. The fishermen knew if they did not repair their torn nets then the fish would get away. Charles H. Spurgeon desired for his church, Metropolitan Tabernacle, to be a “soul trap.” If a sinner got inside his church for a service, Spurgeon wanted the gospel to be so powerfully preached that the sinner would be trapped and would trust Christ as his Savior. But sin or spiritual deficiencies cause the gospel net to have holes so that the sinners will get away. Those spiritual deficiencies must be repaired and Paul is going to identify the problems and tell us how to fix them.

1. Immorality (4:1-8) because many of the Thessalonians were saved out of immoral paganism (1:9).

2. Idleness (4:9-12) because perhaps they had misapplied Paul’s teaching of the return of Christ. They had quit their jobs and were living off of handouts.

3. Sorrow (4:13-18) over some of their loved ones who had died since Paul had been with them and taught on the return of Christ. What would happen to their loved who died in Christ at the coming of Christ was their concern.

Since most of the people in the church were all saved at the same time there seems to have been the problem of submitting to pastoral leadership since they were all new converts. Paul addressed this sensitive relationship in 4:12-14.

First, Paul Deals with the Congregation’s Relationship to their Pastor in verses 12-13.

To begin, Paul admonishes them to “know” their pastors. Be aware of what is involved in the ministry. Realize that in just the area of sermon preparation much time is required if the pastor is to properly feed the flock of God and have a long term ministry.

Next Paul encourages the congregation to “esteem” their pastors. Paul lists three reasons congregations should appreciate their pastors:

1. Because pastors “labor among you.” Paul will later tell Timothy, “If any man desire the office of a bishop, he desires a good work” (1 Timothy 3:1). One church member said to his pastor, “You pastors have it made. You make a full-time salary and all you have to work is 30 minutes on Sunday morning, 30 minutes on Sunday evening, and 30 minutes on Wednesday evening.” That church member has no clue to what is involved in pastoring. The great preacher and teacher of preachers, Stephen Olford, once a year would take a service and explain to his congregation what was involved in the preparation of one sermon.

2. Because pastors preside “over you.” God has given the pastor the oversight of a congregation (1 Peter 5:2). He is to “equip the saints to do the work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). The easy way out for the pastor is to do the work of the ministry himself rather than go through all the trouble of training others. But that is not God’s way. First, the pastor will burn out and the work of God will suffer. Next, the people of God will never be blessed by God for serving and using their God given gifts.

This is one of Henry Blackaby’s worthy goals leaders should maintain: Leading to Spiritual Maturity. When we lead our people to spiritual maturity they can since God’s will and ministries will originate with them rather than top-down (Spiritual Leadership, 130).

3. Because pastors “admonish you.” Paul reminded the Galatians, “If I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (1:10). That means pastor must preach the Word which means we must reprove, rebuke, and exhort.

Finally, Paul commands congregations to “be at peace among yourselves.” Someone said, “Mom cannot cook a delicious meal in the kitchen if she is always having to separate fusing kids.” The same is true with pastors. A gift a congregation can give their pastor is gift if cooperating with one another in the work of God.

Second, Paul Deals with the Congregation’s Relationship with Each Other in verses 14-15.

Not only does the congregation have a responsibility to their pastor but to each other. In Matthew 18:15-17, when a church member has been  offended by another church member, the offended church member doesn’t first go to the pastor but to the offender. This is the point Paul is making in this section. The church at Thessalonians had three major problems which the pastor was not to solve, according to Paul’s instructions, but the congregation.

Congregations have the responsibility to “warn them that are unruly” who is the Idle from 4:9-12.

When these freeloaders show on our front porch asking for an handout, we are not to call the pastor, we are to tell them, ”Get a job!” This is the first step in Matthew 18:15-17.

Congregations have the responsibility to “comfort the fainthearted” who are those sorrowful from 4:13-18.

Church members who have experienced the death of a loved ones can much better comfort one another than pastors who have not. We buried my wife’s mother on Christmas Eve years ago. My wife can sit down and weep with you if your mother has passed. She can comfort much better than I can because my Mom is still living.

Congregations have the responsibility to “support the weak” who are those saved out immoral paganism and still struggling in 4:1-8.

Paul did not say support the wicked or those still living in immorality. But rather support the weak or those who want to be free from this sinful addition.

Someone said, “The perfect church is always 1000 miles away.” What looks like perfect churches from a distance are not once we get inside. There are no perfect churches but there are blessed churches that follow Paul’s guidelines for the a proper relationship with the congregation and their pastor.

I read this story about a man who seemed to be a A MIS-FIT PASTOR. His case had been solemnly discussed by his many conscientious church members, and the conclusion seemed inevitable—he just was not a man big enough for the fine church he was trying to serve. So a committee waited upon him from the elders of the church,  and in as kindly a way as they could, they told him of his shortcomings and that the only sensible verdict was that he was not cut out for as big a job as the responsibility of this important church.

It looked like the end for the discouraged pastor, but wait! Instead of dismissing him, the committee informed him that their decision was that they would meet in earnest prayer together for him until God did whatever was His will for the poor, ‘misfit pastor’. They were faithful—the prayer group got more and more under the burden and the power of God was more and more evident ni their own lives, and in the pastor’s. Out of that experience, this ‘inadequate’ pastor emerged to become the great Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman. Multitudes eventually owed their salvation to the work that the Lord did through this man of God! How much credit in heaven will go to him, and how much to the ones stood behind him in prayer?

Six Marks of Lay Leadership: Mark Six “The Leader Handles the Opposition of Selfishness” Nehemiah 5

Posted: February 18, 2011 in Uncategorized
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This classified advertisement appeared in a rural New York newspaper: “Farmer, age 38, wishes to meet woman about 30 who owns tractor. Please enclose picture of tractor.”

I often wondered if this selfish farmer got pictures of John Deere tractors from desperate women.

Nehemiah was also dealing with believers who valued possessions over important relationships.

In Nehemiah 4-6, leaders handle opposition:

1. In Nehemiah 4, the leader handles opposition from without i.e., Sanballat, etc.

2. In Nehemiah 5, the leader handles opposition from within i.e., greedy believers.

Billy Sunday said, “The devil would rather cause a fuss between believers than sell a barrel of whiskey.” That was saying a lot for the preacher who almost single handedly produced the prohibition movement.

Nehemiah describes the bad economic times for God’s people in Nehemiah 5:1-5.

There was high inflation. A famine had driven prices up. There high taxes and interest. Wealthy Jewish believers were exploiting poorer believers. The rich believers were loan sharks.

How do leaders respond to crippling selfishness? Nehemiah shows us how to deal with greedy believers.

1. Leaders deal with selfishness with anger at the sin (5:6)

Nehemiah was not angry at Sanballat, Tobiah, or Greshem who were threatening from the outside. He was angry at the fifth column internally defeating the work. The enemies that will paralyze our personal relationships and local ministries are not the ACLU, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court with their anti-marriage rulings and decisions. The greatest threat comes from our bent to have it our way.

Nehemiah was angry at God’s people for disobeying Scripture that forbad usury or charging high interest on loans to God’s people: Exodus 22, Leviticus 25, and Deuteronomy 23.

2. Leaders deal with selfishness with self-control (5:7a)

Nehemiah “consulted with himself” or had a committee meeting of one. Before he hauled off dealt with this sin in selfish anger, he “sinned not.” He got composure with God’s help and then he rebuked the sin.

3. Leaders deal with selfishness by rebuking the sin (5:7b-13)

Nehemiah rebukes this sin privately and then publically.

In private, he tells the guilty leaders, “You should love your brothers. Be a brother not a broker.” In public, he rebukes for the poor testimony their selfishness had produced in the unsaved community. Contrast the selfishness in Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day with the unselfishness in the early church and the powerful impact these generous believers had on their city in Acts 4:32-33.

To their credit, the believers Nehemiah reprimanded, repented in 5:10-13.

To guarantee that the guilty were not just responded emotionally, Nehemiah called the priest to witness that promise to repay with interest what they had wrongfully taken. Because this was not just a business transaction, the priest was called not the Notary Public.

Next, Nehemiah informed the repenting believers, if they did not fulfill their pledges, lawyers who sue would not be called, God would be summons who would judge them.

Finally, when the witnessing congregation heard all Nehemiah had accomplished they shouted “Amen” not a second and a motion. This was not a business meeting. This was a revival service.

4. Leaders deal with selfishness by set a generous example (5:13-19)

Nehemiah did not take his Persian Perks like his predecessors had. He generously shared his wealth with the needy in Jerusalem by feeding over 150 people daily.

Nehemiah set an example for the greedy to follow. Jesus who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) set the ultimate example of unselfishness. Paul describes Jesus’ sacrificial coming to earth to die for our sins: “For you know of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich.”

We can also defeat the internal rotting of  greed by getting angry at selfishness and sinning not,  by checking our own emotions lest we fall prey to selfish retaliation, by privately and if necessary publically exposing greediness, and by modeling sacrificial leadership like Nehemiah and more perfectly Jesus Christ.

The Crisis of Revival, Part 2

Posted: April 20, 2010 in Sermon Illustrations
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The Charles Finney Revival

The connection between crises and revivals continues to be observed when the two revivals, the Frontier and the Second Great Awakening, were followed by another crisis in America, the War of 1812. The War of 1812 was followed by the Charles Finney Revival between 1830 and 1860. This revival was also called the New Measures Revival because of the new methods employed, such as, the anxious bench, the mourner’s bench, public invitations, the singing of sacred songs and cottage prayer meetings.

The Fulton Street Prayer Revival

After the Finney Revival came the crisis of 1857 which produced a financial panic in America similar to the Great Depression. The result of this crisis was a weekly prayer meeting which started in New York City in a church on Fulton Street at 12:00 noon. This prayer meeting spread up and down the Eastern Seaboard and it is said one half million souls were prayed into the kingdom of God

The D. L. Moody Revival

The Civil War in America was the next crisis. In the Civil War, a great nation was deeply wounded, in many cases a brother fought against his own brother and homes were shattered.  After this deeply emotional and traumatic crisis came the preaching on the love of God by D. L. Moody in the 1870’s and 80’s. Moody’s preaching on this grand theme was like a healing anointment for our suffering nation.

The Billy Sunday Revival

The Spanish American War followed the Moody Revival. After this crisis came the dynamic Billy Sunday. Sunday did not preach or orate but exploded when he got behind the pulpit. Sunday’s message was separation from sin, worldliness and Booze. The result of Sunday’s preaching was the closing down of many liquor stores and the 18th Prohibition Amendment. Sunday would go into a city and find out what its problems and sins were and then he would preach accordingly. He would pick up the language and sayings of the people and use them in his sermons so as to better identify with the people.

Once in a community of lumbermen he noticed how the lumbermen would go deep into the forest to cut wood and would sprinkle sawdust along the way in order to find their way back. At the end of the work day, the lumbermen would holler, “Let’s hit the sawdust trail and go back home.” In the next service under the large Billy Sunday Tabernacle which had sawdust as a covering for the floor, Sunday in his invitation, exhorted wicked lumbermen to “Hit the sawdust trail” and make their way back to God. From then on Sunday employed the phrase in his meetings and had saw many come to Christ.

Are we willing to experience and even pray for a personal, church wide or even national crisis to see God’s hand mightly move among us to the renewal of God’s people and the salvation of the lost to the glory of His name?

An Expose of Emerging Church Preaching, Part 4

Posted: November 20, 2009 in Emerging Church, Homiletics/Preaching
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What unifies the doctrinally divergent EC is the passion to impact culture. This passion is driven, in part, by the philosophy of liberal postmillennialism where the church will build the Kingdom of God which is followed by the return of Christ. The premillennial view of Christ’s return is that Christ will return and establish the culture altering Kingdom, not the church.

Tony Jones after poking fun of pretribulational rapturists like Tim LaHaye who say “when things ‘down here’ become bad enough, Jesus will return in glory.’ But those of us represented in this book take the contrary view. God’s promised future is good, and it awaits us, beckoning us forward. We’re caught in the tractor beam of redemption and re-creation, and there’s no sense fighting it, so we might as well cooperate” (Tony Jones. An Emergent Manifesto of Hope. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007, 130).

The mandate of the church is not to impact culture but to “make disciples” in Matthew 28:19-20 by winning people to Christ, baptizing them, and teaching God’s Word. Will fulfilling the Great Commission impact culture? The answer is that culture will to some degree be impacted by fulfilling the Great Commission. Historically this has been the case. One of the most colorful of all preachers was Billy Sunday. Sunday’s most famous sermon was “Booze” and the common result of Sunday’s city wide campaigns was the closing of saloons (Robert A. Allen. Billy Sunday Home Run to Heaven (Milford: Mott Media, 1985), 87).

His preaching impacted culture. But the church’s commission is not to impact the culture.

When impacting the culture drives a church, however, then there is the potential for what has happened in the EC: Culture impacts the church. For example and in contrast to Billy Sunday, EC preacher Mark Driscoll (though to his credit, he has distanced himself from the EC) endorses Protestant Pubs: “I personally long to return to the glory days of Christian pubs, where God’s men gather to drink beer and talk theology” (Mark Driscoll. The Radical Reformission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004, 147).

Mark Driscoll encourages his men to brew their own beer. According to Driscoll, it is not a sin to drink but it is a sin to drink light beer (Driscoll, 139).

Part of Driscoll’s leadership training of the young men in Seattle includes “how to study the Bible, get a job, invest money, buy a home, court a woman, brew beer, have good sex, and be a pastor-dad to their children” (Driscoll, 184).

It has been claimed that Sigmund Freud enjoyed telling his followers a story of a pastor who visited an atheist insurance agent who was on his death bed. The family had asked the pastor to share the gospel with their dying loved one as they waited in another room. As the conversation continued longer than expected there was hope that the pastor was being successful in his mission. When the pastor finally emerged from the bedroom it was discovered that the agent had not converted to Christ but he had been able to sell the pastor an insurance policy.

Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Seminary, after providing this example applied it to our discussion. “In rejecting the very real defects of fundamentalism during the past few decades, evangelicals have begun to take very seriously their responsibilities to the larger culture – and with some obvious signs of success. The questions we must face honestly are these: Have we sold a new policy to the culture – or has the culture sold us a policy” (Richard J. Mouw, The Smell of Sawdust (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), p. 64, quoted in Gary E. Gilley, “The Kingdom of Emergent Theology-Part 1” http://www.svchapel.org/Resources/articles/read­_articles.asp?ID=139).

The verdict is in: Culture has sold the EC a policy. McLaren has the philosophy of the liberal postmillennialists who sees the goal of the church to impact the globe. McLaren has contextualized the message of the gospel as well as the lifestyle of Christianity. McLaren’s gospel is social.

“African and African American Christians (Black theology) and Latin American Christians (liberation theology, integral missiology) have been hitting these themes with intelligence and passion for decades, but few of us listened to their spokespeople, whether it was Dr. King or Desmond Tutu, Gustavo Gutierrez or Rene Padilla. Eco-feminist theology—articulated by authors like Sallie McFague and Mary Grey….In many ways all of these voices echo what earlier Christian leaders (from Charles Finney to Walter Rauschenbusch…had been saying: the modern Western understanding of the gospel was too often truncated, shallow, thin, bland, anemic, privatized, personalized, polarized, and compromised” ( Brian McLaren. An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, Church Emerging: Or Why I Still Use the Word Postmodern but with Mixed Feeling. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007, 147-148).

While Driscoll exposes the heresy of the McLarens, he states, “we must help cultivate a kingdom counterculture where we live” (Driscoll, 170) and “we seek to build our kingdom culture” (Driscoll,184).

Culture is mostly neutral and not worldly for Driscoll. Many aspects of culture can be used in building the kingdom culture, according to Driscoll. Consequently, culture has impacted his ministry.

In my next post I will state the views of John McArthur and Tim Challies concerning the impact of culture on Driscoll and his ministry.

“THE FACTUAL DATA” Sheet for Sermon Preparation: (For Pauline Epistles Genre, Part One)

Posted: November 6, 2009 in Homiletics/Preaching
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I got the idea for “The Factual Data” sheet from reading that Warren W. Wiersbe’s homiletic teacher, Lloyd Perry used a generic “Factual Data” sheet for sermon preparation. I have adapted “The Factual Data” sheet to the different genres of Scripture instead of one size fits all approach.

1. The Epistle is the dominant literary form or genre in the New Testament (21 of the 27 books are epistles).[1] Jeffery D. Arthurs does a great job in Preaching with Variety at showing how the uniqueness of each genre should influence not only the form of our sermons but how we preach them. I will only highlight some of his points for preaching Pauline Epistles and especially the book of Ephesians. 

  a. Epistles are closest to the sermon and therefore preachers feel the most comfortable preaching epistles.[2]

b. Epistles were formal, public letters written mainly to churches something like our letters to the editor.

c. Epistles are direct address like sermons. They are like listening to one side of a telephone conversation.

d. Epistles, like sermons, used theology to solve problems. The imperative (we must be united in Ephesians 4:1-17) is grounded in the indicative (there is unity in the Trinity in Ephesians 1:3-14). The standard of living is high but the motivation is sufficient and from God.

e. Epistles like sermons use other forms like proverbs (Gal 5:9), hymns (Phil 2:6-11), lists (Rom 1:29-31), rhetorical questions (Rom 8:31-35), extended metaphor (Eph 6:10-17). The listener never knows what is coming next. So should we preachers use a variety of material in our sermons. Sometimes when I am nearly through preparing a sermon, I will list the illustrations on a separate piece of paper just to see if there is plenty of diversity in them.

f. Epistles like sermons were written to be heard (1 Thess 5:27; Col 4:16; Philemon 2). Even private reading was done orally (Acts 8). The letters were even dictated to the scribe. Therefore repetition was important (“one” is use 14 times Ephesians) and concrete language (“Macedonians” 2 Cor 8:1-7) or family (Eph 2:20). Therefore as preachers we should repeat.

1) Repeat the key sentences your audience needs to remember (“to the praise of the glory of His grace” Eph 1:6, 12, 14).

2) “These sentences are like the pegs of your tie rack. Take away the pegs and you have only a colorful jumble. With the pegs, the ties hang straight and can be examined.”

3) What are these key sentences that must be repeated? Proposition, main divisions, etc.

4) To preach for the ear, we must preach in koine or the common language of the people. Billy Sunday was a master at this. Once when preaching near a lumberman’s camp, he learned that when the lumbermen went deep into the woods to cut down trees they would sprinkle saw dust to find their way out of the forest. At the end of the workday the foreman would shout, “Let’s hit the sawdust trail and go back home.” When Sunday learned about this tradition, at the end of his sermon the next night at the invitation, with sawdust on the floor of the Billy Sunday Tabernacle, Sunday exhorted the unsaved to “Hit the sawdust trail and come back home to God.”

2. Let the form of the Scripture influence the form of the sermon. When preaching on Romans 11:33-36, a glorious hymn inserted abruptly into the flow of the Paul’s argument, let the form of the doxology influence the form of your sermon. You would not preach the doxology like a argument from Galatians. Craddock attempts to capture the mood:“Let doxologies be shared doxologically, narratives narratively, polemics polemically, and parables parabolically. In other words, biblical preaching ought to be biblical.”[3]

a. If the texts uses word picture, use pictures in your sermon (A soldier from images in Google transferred to your Powerpoint  on Eph 6:10-20).

b. If the text is autobiographical, use a first person sermon (Paul Borden has an excellent first person sermon 2 Cor 11:16-12:18 in expositapes: tape number 2290, Denver Seminary).

c. If the text has debate (Gal 1:11-24), use a debate after the sermon.

d. If the text is dialogue (which epistles are: one half of the conversation), use dialogue.

1) Habakkuk is all dialogue. Jesus used dialogue when He asked 153 questions. Paul did the same in Acts 17:2 (Paul….reasoned [Gk. dielegeto] from which we get our English word dialogue).

2) Let the audience ask the preacher questions following a sermon.

3) Preacher asks the audience real questions or rhetorical questions.

4) Have main divisions stated as questions.

5) Use drama with dialogue. There are many ways the preacher can allow the form of the text to mold the form of his sermon and Jeffery D. Arthurs’ Preaching With Variety is a very useful tool. In my next post, I will provide “The Factual Data” Sheet, Part 2 which will help the preacher Observe, Interpret, and Apply his passage. I will deal with what I call Macro Hermeneutics, which establishes the context of the text, and Micro Hermeneutics, which helps analyze the content of the text.

[1] The nonepistolary books are the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation. Hebrews and 1 John are hybrids, sharing many characteristics of epistles, but omitting an address to specific groups. Acts and Revelation contain embedded epistles as do OT historical books. See 2 Sam 11:14-15; 1 Kgs. 21:8-10; 2 Kgs 5:4-6; 10;1-3: Ezra 4:9-12, 17-22; and 6:3-12” (Jeffery D. Arthurs, Preaching with Variety ,Grand Rapids: Kergel, 2007) 152, 217.

[2] Both are created to address specific circumstances; both argue ideas and employ ‘support material,’ such as illustrations and quotations; both are markedly aural. No wonder preachers often feel at home in the epistles. Poetry, narrative, parable, and proverbs tend to hide their rhetoric, using induction and imagination for persuasion, but the epistle flies its rhetorical flag for all to see” (Ibid., 152).

[3] Fred Craddock, As One Without Authority, 131.

Week 1: The NEW Bible Institute on Ephesians: The Introduction

Posted: September 17, 2009 in Ephesians Class
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This book study of Ephesians is important because we are studying a doctrinally significant New Testament Epistle. The New Testament Epistles are God’s final word on doctrine. Let’s consider some examples.

1. The doctrine of the Church. This doctrine is not in the Old Testament. Paul will explain this new doctrine in Ephesians 2:11-3:13.The doctrine of the Church is a Biblical mystery or a truth heretofore not revealed but now revealed by God.

2. The doctrine of the Rapture. There is no rapture in the Old Testament. Christ gave some teaching on the rapture in John 14:1-6. Paul gives the fullest description of the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

3. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The last word on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is in the Epistles. Before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit did not permanently indwell believers nor were believers baptized by the Holy Spirit.  Jesus said, “For he dwells with you, and shall be in you…. at that day (Day of Pentecost in Acts 2) you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me (Baptism of the Holy Spirit), and I in you (Indwelling of the Holy Spirit)” (John 14:17 and 20). Paul gives the last phase of progressive revelation on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:9: “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” and the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:13.

Reading Schedule for Book Study of Ephesians

Week 1 Assignment: ”The Introduction” and “The Trinity” Read pages vii-36 in MacArthur and Eph 1:1-14 (Read and comment on the following  4 lessons: Introduction, Eph 1:3-5, Eph 1:6-12, Eph 1:13-14).

After The Introduction there are three lessons on Ephesians 1:3-14 and the Trinity’s involvement in our salvation are divided into three parts:

1. God the Father’s Election 1:3-6. I also added a video of MacArthur on Charles Spurgeon.

2. God the Son’s Redemption 1:7-12

3. God the Holy Spirit’s Sealing 1:13-14

I am dividing this week’s assignments into four different posts because of the length. After the Introduction lesson go to Election under Catergories. In this post I will discuss God The Father’s Election in Ephesians 1:3-6.

For the second post go to Unlimited Atonement under Catergories. In this post I will discuss the extent the of Christ’s atonement touched on in Ephesians 1:7-12. In this post are some important links. The first link is to a sermon by Mark Driscoll and second is a link to a PDF of Paul Hartog’s new book on Calvin’s view on unlimited atonement.

For the third post go to Sealing of the Holy Spirit under Catergories. In this post, I will discuss God the Holy Spirit’s Sealing in Ephesians 1:13-14.

Week  2 Assignment: “Salvation by Grace through Faith” Read Pages 37-63 in MacArthur and Eph 1:15-2:10. Read and comment on the two posts for week two. At the end of this post is the second post: “Our Spiritual Inheritance.”

Week 3 Assignment: “The Church” Part 1 & 2 and “God’s Call to the Ministry verses God’s Call to Ministry” Part 3. Read pages 65-98 in MacArthur and Eph 2:11-3:13. Read and comment on three posts: Eph 2:11-13 “The Church: Part 1 ” Eph 2:14-18 “The Church: Part 2″ and Ephesians 3:1-13 “God’s Call to the Ministry verses God’s Call to Ministry:” Part 3.

Week 4 Assignment: Read and comment on “Paul’s Prison Prayer” and “Orthodoxy verses Orthopraxy” and “Five Marks of a Healthy Church” Read pages 99-162  in MacArthur and Eph 3:14-4:1-16.

Week 5 Assignment: “Stop Living Like Unbelievers” Part 1 & 2 Read pages 163-191 in MacArthur and Eph 4:17-32.

Week 6 Assignment: “Walking in Love” and “Walking as Children of Light” Read pages 193-214 in MacArthur and Eph 5:1-14.

Week 7 Assignment: “Walking in Wisdom” Read pages 307-319 in MacArthur and Eph 6:1-4.

Week 10 Assignment: “Slaves and Slave Owners”: Read pages 321-329 in MacArthur and Eph 6:5-9. Read and comment on the four posts.

Week 11 Assignments: “How to Resist the Devil”: Read pages 331-344 in MacArthur and Eph 6:10-13. Read and comment on the Parts 1-3.

Week 12 Assignments: “How to Resist the Devil”: Read pages 345-373 in MacArthur and Eph 6:14-17. Read and comment on Parts 4-7.

Week 13 Assignments: “The Spiritual Warfare of Prayer”: Read pages 375-385 in MacArthur on Ephesians 6:18-24. Read and comment on the two posts (Parts 1-2) for our final lesson. Read and comment on the two posts.

Introduction to Book Study of Ephesians

Knowing the category of Paul’s Epistles helps to interpret them. From the chart, you access below, we see that Paul wrote Ephesians when he is in his first Roman Imprisonment which lasted two years. The probable order is Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and lastly Philippians. We think Philippians is last because unlike in his other Prison Epistles, Paul is anticipating a soon release (Philippians 2:24).  Click http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net/References/NT/Pauline/Pauline_Letters-Chronology.html for a chart on Paul’s Epistles.

The book of Acts furnishes background for ten of Paul’s Epistles

I like to mark in my Bible in Acts where Paul was when he wrote the Epistles and then go back and study the historical setting of each epistle.

Acts 14:28: After Paul’s first missionary trip, he writes Galatians at Antioch. See map of Paul’s first missionary journey.

Click http://www.apostlepaulthefilm.com/paul/journeys.htm for some neat animated and interactive maps of Paul’s missionary journeys. Just click on the map you want to view. You can also click on different cities for more information.

Acts 18:5: During Paul’s second missionary trip, he writes 1st Thessalonians at Corinth. See map of Paul’s second missionary journey.

Acts 18:11: During Paul’s second missionary trip, he writes 2nd Thessalonians (perhaps 12 months after 1st Thess. at Corinth).

Acts 19:21: During Paul’s third missionary trip, he writes 1st Corinthians at Ephesus. See map of Paul’s third missionary journey.

Acts 20:1: During Paul’s third missionary trip, he writes 2nd Corinthians at Macedonia.

Acts 20:2: During Paul’s third missionary trip, he writes Romans at Corinth.

Acts 28: During Paul’s 1st Roman imprisonment, he writes Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians, See map of Paul’s journey to Rome.

Background to Prison Epistles

Paul was in prison when he wrote these Epistles. Paul alludes to his prison experience in Ephesians 3:1; 4:1, Colossians 4:18, Philemon 1:1, and Philippians1:12-13. The question is “From which prison did Paul write the Prison Epistles?” There are three views.

1. Caesarea: Paul spent two years in prison at Caesarea (Act  24:27). One reason we do not  believe that this is the prison experience from which Paul wrote the Prison Epistles is because Philip the evangelist was in Caesarea and Paul does not mention him (Acts 21:8).

2. Ephesus: Paul indicated that he was “in prison more frequent” (2 Cor. 11:23). Proponents of this view say Paul is referring to short imprisonments as at Philippi (Acts 16). Supporters from the churches in Philippi could have more easily communicated with Paul at Ephesus.  A longer imprisonment seems to fit Paul’s circumstances better than a short one. Paul’s imprisonment at Rome was two years.

3. Rome: The traditional view (Phil. 1:13; 4:22). Paul refers to the Roman Praetorian guards and Caesar’s household he had won while in this imprisonment thus pointing to a Roman imprisonment.

Introduction to Ephesians

In the last decade of the fourth century the golden-mouthed Chrysostom of Constantinople states in the preamble to his homilies on Ephesians that this letter is full of Paul’s sublime thoughts and doctrines which he scarcely utters elsewhere but plainly declares here.

John Calvin considered Ephesians his favorite letter and he preached a series of forty-eight sermons on the book. J. Armitage Robinson considered Ephesians as “the crown of St. Paul’s writings.”

The two major divisions in Ephesians reveal Paul’s advanced theology.

1. Ephesians 1-3-Theological Unity (In this first division are three major doctrines)

A. Trinity (1:3-14)

B. Salvation (2:1-10)

C. Church (2:11-3:12)

2. Ephesians 4-6-Practical Unity

1) “Therefore Walk” in Unity (4:1-16)

2) “Therefore Walk” not as the Unsaved (4:17-32)

3) “Therefore Walk” in Love (5:1-6)

4) “Therefore Walk” in the Light (5:7-14)

5) “Therefore Walk” in Wisdom (5:15-6:9)

What about Romans? When we think of a doctrinal Epistle we usually think of Romans. Romans is Paul’s most doctrinal letter on Salvation or more specifically Justification. Ephesians, however, written after Romans refines and develops doctrines like the church and the Trinity that get little attention in Romans.

F. F. Bruce considered Ephesians the “quintessence of Paulinism” because it “in large measure sums up the leading themes of the Pauline epistles, and at the same time the central motive of Paul’s ministry as apostle to the Gentiles.”

Basic Bible Study Questions to Ask and Answer in Preparation for a Book Study

1.  Who Wrote Ephesians?

a. Paul: He identifies himself (1:1; 3:1). There is internal evidence (Paul refers to himself as prisoner and apostle) and external evidence (Ephesians was excepted by the early church as Pauline).

b. An apostle: He identifies his ministry (apostle means “sent one”).

1) Paul was sent to Ephesus in Acts 18:18-20:1 in AD 56 on his 3rd Missionary Journey.

2) There was a revival at Ephesus under Paul’s ministry about which you can read in Acts 18:18-19:22.

3) There was a riot at Ephesus because Paul’s ministry cut into the profit of the idol makers when the idolaters got saved and turned from their idolatry (Acts 19:23-20:1). Most of Paul’s persecution came from Jews but in Ephesus, his persecution came from the business community who were profiting from idolarty. Billy Sunday’s evangelistic campaign were so successful that nearly all of the saloons closed down and the owners threatened to kill Sunday (Click for Sunday’s famous “Booze Sermon” that him into so much trouble http://billysunday.org/sermons/booze.php3).

c. A prisoner: (3:1; 4:1) Paul now writes this Prison Epistle from Rome in Acts 28.

2. To Whom Did Paul Write? There are major two views

1. Did Paul write the opening verses without “in Ephesus” because he intended Ephesians to be cyclical (that is, sent to many churches not just Ephesus) and each church could insert its own name in the blank? Here are three arguments for “in Ephesus” not being in the original autograph.

A. “In Ephesus” is not found in 3 early Greek manuscripts (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and a 2nd century papyrus).

B. No personal greetings. If Ephesians had been written specifically to the Ephesians, surely Paul would have included a personal greeting since he labored there for over two years.

C. No treatment of local church problems. Most of the letters that Paul writes deal with church issues.

2. Did Paul write to the saints “at Ephesus” and later “at Ephesus” was dropped by a scribe? This is the preferred view for me.

A. “In Ephesus” is found in the great majority of older Greek manuscripts.

B. There are no personal greetings in Ephesians but there are no personal greetings in Galatians, etc (Perhaps greetings were left to be conveyed byTychicus as stated in 6:21 when he personally delivered the letter to the Ephesians).

C. There is no treatment of local church problems because Paul was writing about the Body of  Christ or the universal church and not the local church and it’s problem and because perhaps Paul intended for Ephesians to be read by other churches after the Ephesians had read it. According to Acts 19:10, Paul’s ministry at Ephesus was regional and maybe he wanted to minister with this letter to the churches he indirectly planted in Asia. Some believe the seven churches in Revelation 1 & 2 were started as a result of Paul’s ministry at Ephesus (Click for a unique study of the Seven Churches in ancient Turkey http://sevenchurches.org/).

D. No manuscritpts have been found with “in Ephesus” omitted and some other city inserted.

There Are Practical and Doctrinal Emphases in Both Sections

 There is an interesting blend of the practical and the doctrinal throughout the book. Paul sets a good example for teachers and preachers of the Word. We should when communicating God’s Word include the practical application of doctrine. This helps us avoid sermons that are mostly explanation or mostly application or mostly illustration.

1. “Walk” is used in both sections (2:1-2; 4:1)

2. “Love” is found in both sections (1:4; 4:2)

3. “Holy Spirit” is found in both sections (1:13; 4:30)

4. “Body of Christ” is found in both sections (1:22-23; 4:12, 16)

5. “Mystery” is found in both sections (3:9; 5:32)

6. “Satan” is found in both sections (2:2; 6:10-20)

There are Some Major Doctrines in Ephesians. We will highlight these doctrines as we make our way through the book and study them in their specific context.

1. End times (1:10; 21; 2:7; 4:30; 5:27). For example, Paul refers to the millennium in 1:10 because this future event will be the nearest thing to Unity on earth this side of eternity which fits Paul’s theme for Ephesians.

2. Salvation (1:3-14; 2:1-10)

3. Church (1:22-23; 2:11-22; 3:1-12)

4. Trinity (1:3-14; 1:17; 2:18; 2:22; 3:4-5; 3:14-17; 4:4-6; 5:18-20)

5. Reconciliation (“one” is mentioned 14 times 2:14-18; 4:4-6)

3. What is the Theme of Ephesians? The combination of two subthemes (Unity and Love) helps see the overarching theme of the book

1. Unity

a. “Unity” (Gk. enotas) only used in Ephesians (4:3, 13).

b. The term “one” which speaks of unity is used 14times in Ephesians.

c. There are two major doctrinal examples of unity. The Trinity is mentioned 8 times (1:3-14; 1:17; 2:18; 2:22; 3:4-5; 3:14-17; 4:406; 5:18-20). The Trinity is the perfect example of unity. The three Persons of the Trinity have always been in agreement. The other major doctrine is the Church or the Body of Christ in whom believers are “one” positionally. Paul will exhort us to be as practically united as we are positionally. We are one in Christ, so let’s act like it in our relationships with other believers in our families and local churches. Paul has already stressed this new truth in Galatians 3:28.

2. Love (Biblical Unity is accomplished when believers love one another)

a. “Love” is used 20 times in the short epistle to the Ephesians. “More than 1/6 of his references to ‘love’ appear in this small epistle” (Bible Knowledge Commentary, Harold W. Hoehner, page 614).

b. God’s love or Christ’s love is used 8 times (For example, 2:4). One time the believer’s love for Christ is mentioned (6:24). The only reason we love God is because He first loved us.

c. Believers’ love for each other is used 11 times (1:15; 4:2). The stress with these references is on our love for one another which is the result of our love for Christ. John put forth this truth strongly: “We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:19-20).

“Possibly Paul, realizing they (the Ephesians) were starting to forsake their first love, wrote this epistle to encourage them to love both God and their fellow saints” (Bible Knowledge Commentary, page 614). They did eventually lose their first love inspite of all Paul’s concern as the following sequence shows. May God helps to stay close to Him so that we do not follow this digression.

1. Paul admonished the elders from Ephesus in Acts 20:28-30 in A.D. 58 to beware of false teachers and professing believers who would draw believers away.

2. Paul wrote Ephesians in A.D. 62 and stresses “love.”

3. Paul wrote 1 Timothy in A.D. 63-66 to Timothy in Ephesus and emphasized love in 1:5.

4. Finally in Revelation 2:1-7, a letter is written in A.D. 95 to the Ephesians believers who had left their first love for God.

The height of spirituality is to love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. May the study of this epistle aid us in loving Him and others for whom His Son died.

Theme: Only Love for God and One Another can Produce Unity in the Church

Now go to Election under Catergories. In this post, I will discuss God The Father’s Election in Ephesians 1:3-6.

For the next  post go to Unlimited Atonement under Catergories. In this post I will discuss the extent the of Christ’s atonement touched on in Ephesians 1:7-12. In this post are some important links. The first link is to a sermon by Mark Driscoll and second is a link to a PDF of Paul Hartog’s new book on Calvin’s view on unlimited atonement.

For the last post this week go to Sealing of the Holy Spirit under Catergories. In this post, I will discuss God the Holy Spirit’s Sealing in Ephesians 1:13-14.