From One Degree to Another

Phil Auxier's Blog

Connect

Simeon Trust Workshop This Week

by

banner-wisdom-literature

This week, I’m participating in the Simeon Trust Workshops on Biblical Exposition.  I love the aim of this conference: The purpose of the workshop is to increase the participant’s confidence and ability in rightly handling God’s Word. We also want each person to leave convinced that God’s Word is powerful and eager to teach it to their people.

Would you pray this would be productive for me as I seek to be a better preacher.

A Heart Warmed with Divine Things

by

Building on a post I introduced last week from Andrew Fuller‘s sermon “Spiritual Knowledge and Love Necessary for the Ministry” (again, available as a free PDF if you email me), I wanted to show you how Fuller compels ministers to act by wrapping up this first section.  A quick reminder: under the first heading Fuller is helping us see that in the great work of preaching the Gospel, we need to understand the character of God, Christ, as Mediator, human nature as God intended, human nature depraved and finally how human nature is sanctified by the Spirit.  It’s so easy for many pastors to say “Yes” to this.  Fuller feels this and right at this moment, says:

“You will need also, my brother, a heart warmed with Divine things, or you will never be ‘a burning and a shining light.’  When we are thinking or preaching, we need to burn, as well as shine. When we study, we may rack our brains, and form plans; but unless ‘our hearts burn within us,’ all will be a mere skeleton–our thoughts mere bones; whatever be their number, they will be all dry–very dry; and if we do not feel what we say, our preaching will be poor dead work.  Affected zeal will not do.  A gilded fire may shine, but it will not warm.  We may smite with the hand, and stamp with the foot, and throw ourselves into violent agitations; but if we feel not, it is not likely the people will–unless, indeed, it be a feeling of disgust.  But suppose there be no affectation, nor any deficiency of good and sound doctrine; yet if in our work we feel no inward satisfaction, we shall resemble a millstone–preparing food for others, the value of which we are unable to appreciate ourselves.  Indeed, without feeling, we shall be incapable of preaching any truth or of inculcating any duty aright.  How can we display the evil of sin, the love of Christ, or any other important truth, unless we feel it?  How can we preach against sin, without feeling a holy indignation against it?  It is this that will cause us, while we denounce sin, to weep over the sinner.  Otherwise, we may deal in flings and personalities; but these will only irritate; they will never reclaim.  O! if ever we do any good in our work, it must be the effect of love to God and love to men–love to the souls of men, while we detest, and expose, and denounce their sins.  How could Paul have pursued his work with the ardour and intenseness which he manifested, if his heart and not burned with holy love” [1]

Sorry about the long quote there, but it is so needed even in our day and age.  The reason we don’t preach with power is due, in part, to not having our own hearts affected by spiritual life.  So, what Fuller is calling us to here isn’t just some fakity emotional thing.  He’s calling us to have our hearts so burn as we consider the realities we preach that we do, indeed, burn AND shine.  I can tell the difference in my own preaching when my heart is affected by what I’m preaching and when it’s not (and, obviously, Fuller’s point is the people I serve can tell this too).  There are many applications but here’s a couple of summaries:

For Pastors: wrestle with truth until you burn and have something to preach, then, unleash.

For Church People: pray that your pastor’s heart would be affected by his study.

I have one more insight from this sermon that really affected me, coming soon…

—–

[1] Andrew Gunton Fuller, “Knowledge and Love Essential To Ministry” in The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller: Memoirs, Sermons, Etc., ed. Joseph Belcher, vol. 1 (Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 1988), 480-481.

Review of Alec Motyer’s Preaching…

by

Here’s a review of Alec Motyer’s book Preaching?: Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching:

I’m happy to give a very favorable review to Alec Motyer’s Preaching.  For one, as a pastor in a local church with responsibilities to preach each week, I find that any encouragement I can get to refine this skill is helpful.  On a deeper level, though, because of what I believe about God’s Word, preaching isn’t just a ho-hum, random activity for me.  Each week, I want to communicate the message that God has for His people.  It’s because these dual realities exist that I give a favorable review to Motyer’s work. 
This book is readable; it’s accessible.  The book doesn’t read like a heady expositional preaching textbook (which can be helpful, as well).  The content is laid out in an engaging way.  You almost anticipate what the next chapter should be and Motyer delivers the content that’s needed in light of the importance that goes with the work of preaching.
Another thing I loved was how each chapter is thoroughly Biblical.  There are numerous illustrations from the Bible itself.  It’s almost as if this book is a thrilling Biblical theology of expositional preaching at times.  As God’s Word is held out to help the reader, connections are made to the act of preaching.  It seems to me that this methodology allows the Holy Spirit to help teach us how to go about preaching through the Holy Spirit given gifts of this author.  This makes this little book of preaching of great value to the preacher as it flows out of our Bible reading.
Finally, the book ends with that grand capstone: Christ.  There’s a tension each preacher feels in wanting Christ to be seen and glorified yet realizing that each specific text might not explicitly call for a Gospel appeal.  Motyer makes some helpful inroads for helping preachers navigate this tension. 

So, for these reasons, I commend this work.  It will be helpful for pastors seeking to honor God in the preaching event.  It will assist lay leaders in understanding the importance of the preaching text.  And, for all, it will help us marvel at the grace that’s give by our great God in communicating through the medium of His Word.  

Ash on Preaching (5)

by

Continuing my series of posts, appreciating Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching, here are two quotes from p.64 on why we need preaching:

Every Scripture calls us today in some manner to repent and believe afresh, for the Christian just as much as the non-Christian.

If teaching is like a signpost which explains clearly to us where we ought to go and how to go there, preaching is like a friendly but firm shove from behind to get us started on actually going there and to keep us moving.

I coupled these together so that the push mentioned in the bottom quote would have a context. But, what a picture this is and what grace from God to give us preaching for such a reason. I hope you are encouraged as you consider listening to God’s Word this coming Lord’s Day.

Ash on Preaching (4)

by

As I’ve mentioned Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching really affected me, so I am blogging some thoughts/quotes that stuck out to me. Another one is found on p.61:

We need repeated preaching, because by nature we will never repent and believe. We will ‘move on’ from the simple gospel of daily repentance, daily taking up the cross, daily faith, to a supposed higher life, a more sophisticated life, some kind of super-spiritual life in which repentance and faith are too ordinary and simple to be practiced. This is what will happen unless we sit under faithful preaching.

What really stuck out to me in this was how I need preaching. We don’t tend to think in those ways. Many of us think that our Bible reading is sufficient and what Ash is communicating here is that while that is good, the preached word wields a power that the Spirit uses to keep us centered in the things that really matter. I know I need this. I need sermons I am preparing to affect my heart so that I don’t keep up the same. We need preaching. It matters for our “todays”.

Ash on Preaching (3)

by

Continuing my series of posts on Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching, we come to a quote on p.57…

This has implications for the size of churches. It places a question mark over the ambition of church leaders to see their churches grow and grow, and suggests that planting new churches or reinvigorating smaller existing churches may reap relational dividends in terms of how well those with pastoral oversight can know their people.

This quote comes in a section where pastors are encouraged to be with a specific people week by week, spending time with people. Ash’s point is not against church growth, but on a deeper level, calling readers to realize that by knowing our people and their knowledge of us, we can preach in ways that engage our people better.

This is yet another reason why I believe pastors should be moving all the time, seeking to pad their resumes or getting more money at a bigger church. Check your motives. God may call us to faithfully give His Word to a group of people for good reasons. We should do this with joy, honoring our Master. Be faithful to this calling.

Ash on Preaching (2)

by

I mentioned in a previous post how much I’ve enjoyed Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching and promised to post some thoughts on Chapter 2. Here’s the second installment.

On p.55, Ash writes:

The more deeply converted I am, the more appetite I will have to sit under the preached word, and the less concerned I will be to have the opportunity to participate in a dialogue, to get my word in edgeways, to make my views known and get myself heard.

If what we believe about God’s Word is true, then He is the most important speaker. He is the One we would do well to listen to. Remember the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter, James and John were talking about tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. The voice came from heaven: “This is My Beloved Son; Listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7) I know I am guilty of wanting to give my opinion to hastily on many issues. Our concern should be to hear what God has to say.

That’s why this quote from Ash stuck out to me. As I grow in grace, what should characterize me more and more is the desire to listen to Him, not my opines. Come this Lord’s Day to your local church eager to hear God speak.

Ash on Preaching (1)

by

You might remember that at T4G, we were given quite a stack of books.

Over last weekend, I was able to finish…
God the Peacemaker – Cole (an excellent book on the atonement I was reading when I attended T4G)
What is the Gospel? – Gilbert (Gospel 101 so to speak)
Fear Not! – Duncan (an overview and sound theology of death and afterlife)
What Does God Want of Us Anyway? – Dever (short summary of the storyline of the Bible)
Sticky Teams – Osborne (another good book I brought with me to T4G with practical tips on keeping your leadership team cohesive)

After getting through all of these, I dove into Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching. Ash trains preachers and this book is a helpful reminder for keeping the Word of God, specifically preaching, at the center of the church’s life.

For a few posts, then, I am going to interact with chapter 2 – “Preaching That Transforms The Church” because in this one chapter I found much that will help me prepare sermons for listeners. Chapter 1 was helpful is showing why preaching must be the core. Chapter 2 gets us into how this preaching can be effective.

So, with all of that intro, here’s the first quote that struck me, from the section entitled “The Stubbornness of People”:

And so I find myself slipping into what has been called the Socratic fallacy, that if I persuade them with rational argument (like Socrates), if I get my arguments clear and educate them, then education will change them. If I teach them the Bible, they’ll get it. I ought to know better, because I know my own heart. (p.52)

What I found so helpful about this is how he went on to talk about Moses (this chapter’s a sermon from Deuteronomy) and how he knew the people. He anticipated their reactions (their unbelieving fears, their pride, and their stubborn guilt). I find that often I am guilty of thinking that if I can get correct information out there that will change them. While it is important the we preach the text accurately, we must lay the ax at the root of the tree and not address surface things. We must go after the heart. The quote stood out to me because my heart is the same way. It takes more than education alone for heart change. It takes God’s Spirit causing my heart to awaken.

What I take away from this is that “preaching is more than merely educating and engaging the mind.” Preaching is holding out the word accurately so that the Spirit can take the truth and wield it for life-change in the heart of another.