As a teacher in a seminary but as one who does not teach preaching classes—I’m a historian—I see and hear student preachers but I don’t get to do much about it.
homiletics
Kevin DeYoung Reviews "Why Johnny Can't Preach"
One of the minor problems with living on the West Coast is that the publishers all seem to be on the East Coast and books seem to get here last. In the meantime we continue to enjoy the sunshine and Kevin’s review . . . Continue reading →
Why Johnny Can’t Preach (1)
I am a fan of T. David Gordon. He writes well. He speaks plainly. He doesn’t mince words. With some writers it’s quite possible for five people to read them and come away with five different conclusions about what the writer is . . . Continue reading →
Why Johnny Can’t Preach (2)
Between the first post and this one I listened to the excellent interview with David at Reformedforum.org. In the first chapter Gordon lays out his case that “Johnny Can’t Preach.” The first line of evidence is anecdotal. His experience (and that of . . . Continue reading →
Why Johnny Can’t Preach (3)
Part 2. The next section of the book is an analysis of one aspect of the problem: Johnny doesn’t read well. This problem has been diagnosed for many years. I see it frequently. The rise of electronic texts, which is valuable in . . . Continue reading →
Why Johnny Can't Preach (5)
Part 4 So far Gordon has focused on the form of preaching. In chapter 4 he turns to questions of content. He says, “…in addition to the cultural matters that have concerned me throughout, I also believe that preaching today almost entirely . . . Continue reading →
Why Johnny Can't Preach (6)
Part 5 The situation is not hopeless. In the history of the church, those times when she has prospered are those times when, in the midst of a low point, she has engaged in reflection and self-criticism (95). What is needed here . . . Continue reading →
Chaos Takes T David's Advice
At Creed or Chaos
Office Hours Talks to Dennis Johnson
Office Hours this month talks with Dr Dennis Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary California. Dennis is one of the original faculty members at WSC and has taught New Testament as well Practical Theology and served as Academic Dean for . . . Continue reading →
Any Text Without A Context is Pretext for a Prooftext (Updated)
So said my homiletics (preaching) prof, Derke Bergsma. I don’t know if that aphorism was original to Derke (he often quoted R. B. Kuiper to us in class, e.g., “Men, there are three points to every sermon, the text, the text, the . . . Continue reading →
Calvin as Theologian of Consolation (Pt 5)
Part 4: Consolation And Pastoral Ministry IV. Consolation Preached In part one of this series we considered Calvin’s interpretation of several biblical passages on consolation. In part two we looked at how he harvested a theology of consolation from his exegetical work. . . . Continue reading →
Preaching Genesis 1
We’ve been blessed by the ministry of pastor Chris Gordon at Escondido URC. He’s also the proprietor of the Gordian Knot and the host of the Abounding Grace Radio program, currently broadcast in the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix, and San Diego. Recently, he . . . Continue reading →
How to Understand and Preach Romans 7
My impression is that, over the last few decades, the historic Reformed reading of Romans 7 has taken one on the chin, as it were. Perhaps that’s not so. I’ve not done a survey to see how pastors are reading and preaching . . . Continue reading →
Advice To Young Preachers
Time was that church historians also taught church polity and what is sometimes called pastoral theology. This was, I suppose, because we used to recognize that the study of the history of the practice of the church gives a certain insight into . . . Continue reading →
One of the Dirtiest Little Secrets About Preaching
One of the dirtiest little secrets about preaching is that many preachers are using what we used to call in radio “a service.” There are, or at least there used to be, businesses that sell jokes and one liners and gags and . . . Continue reading →
On Catechetical Preaching
The reason this is a wonderful practice is that this type of preaching demonstrates the unity of Scripture. In reality, different texts from various authors and generations testify to a unified body of truth. This manner of preaching ensures that we develop . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Walking With Jesus Through His Word
For some bible readers the Scriptures seem to be bits of unrelated material. For those who memorize Scripture from flash cards, a good thing to be sure, Scripture can seem disconnected. Others read Scripture as if it were entirely united around God’s . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Preaching The Whole Counsel Of God
If you are a regular listener to Office Hours then you are probably a regular listener to sermons. If not, perhaps we should talk about that. You might be a preacher of sermons. Either way, at least 52 times a year, for . . . Continue reading →
Preaching And Application
Application in preaching is a thorny issue. There is no real question among Reformed folk whether preachers should apply the text of Scripture to the congregation. Most Reformed preachers agree in substance with William Perkins on application. The basic principle in application . . . Continue reading →
Preaching As For The Free
One of the privileges of editing the Classic Reformed Theology series for Reformation Heritage Books is that I get to work closely with significant Reformed texts and shepherd them through the process from translation (e.g., from Latin to English) to publication. Currently . . . Continue reading →