Example of Pastoral Preaching

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This is not a great title, but I did not have a better one. I want to point you to the sermon preached at our church yesterday by Lee Tankersley on Luke 6:17-49. Lee always does a good job with the text, but this Sunday, due to the nature of the text, the pastoral struggle was particularly evident. I am not sure if it shows up in the manuscript as much as it does in the audio, but Lee stressed his concern on the one hand not to interpret the text so as to open his people to being taken advantage of and on the other hand not wanting to insulate us from the piercing of the text. This is the heart of a pastor and not merely a preacher. This is evidence of one who realizes his task is not merely to craft an interesting oration but to teach people how to live, indeed to mold lives according to the Word of God. The struggle under the weight of this task is apparent in the sermon.

While people’s styles are different, this is the manner in which preaching must be approached. We are to preach to the people right there in front of us, really expecting that they will take seriously what we say and act on it. And we are responsible then for how we teach them to live. I encourage you to take some time to listen to this example of one brother doing just this.

Love Your People By Giving them Good Hymns

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For some time I have been contemplating posting something on this topic. I am regularly reminded of the great value of good, rich songs in corporate worship. We have such a treasure of them. I admit I have a bias for grand, old hymns, but there are also some new ones I really like. The point though is to give our people songs that nourish their souls. The songs we sing shape our thoughts and lives perhaps even more than sermons, because we sing them regularly. Let us then give them really good ones that capture and explain the message we are preaching. Great hymns are gospel songs which deal explicitly with sin, the cross & resurrection and the hope of heaven. They move us away from the glib assertions that all is well right now to the reality of our struggle with sin and death, all the while anchoring us in the hope of the gospel. This is real world stuff, and I know how much I need it, how much it ministers to my soul. I am so blessed to be in a church which uses them.

So, love your people, aid them, teach them, cherish them, protect them, encourage them, support them, fight for their souls by giving them good, gospel-centered songs.

I will list here just one example (of hundreds). I mention this one because we sang it again yesterday and it always means so much to me.

“Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken”
Jesus, I my cross have taken,
all to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition,
all I’ve sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still mine own.

Let the world despise and leave me,
they have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
And while Thou shalt smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me,
show Thy face and all is bright.

Go, then, earthly fame and treasure!
Come, disaster, scorn and pain!
In Thy service, pain is pleasure;
with Thy favor, loss is gain.
I have called Thee, “Abba, Father”;
I have set my heart on Thee:
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather,
all must work for good to me.

Man may trouble and distress me,
’twill but drive me to Thy breast.
Life with trials hard may press me;
heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me
while Thy love is left to me;
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me,
were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Take, my soul, thy full salvation;
rise ‘er sin, and fear, and care;
Joy to find in every station
something still to do or bear:
Think what Spirit dwells within thee;
what a Father’s smile is thine;
What a Savior died to win thee,
child of heaven, shouldst thou repine?

Haste then on from grace to glory,
armed by faith, and winged by prayer,
Heaven’s eternal day’s before thee,
God’s own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
swift shall pass thy pilgrim days;
Hope soon change to glad fruition,
faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

– Henry F. Lyte, 1824, revised 1833
(and, yes, we sing all the verses!)

The World of Columbus and Sons

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The World of Columbus and Sons , by Genevieve Foster
(1965; reprint, Beautiful Feet Books), pb., 406 pp.

This is a fascinating book! Rather than simply telling about Columbus’ travels, Mrs. Foster portrays Columbus against the backdrop of the political, cultural and social setting of his world. Thus the story covers not simply 1492 but begins in 1451 and goes through 1537. Similarly, the book addresses not simply Spain and the New World, but also the royal families, wars and politics of practically all of Europe as well as the East. This is a large task- hence the 400 pages.

I was skeptical about whether this would be a book to read aloud, doubting that it would hold my boys attention and that they would be able to keep up as the narrative shifted from country to country with all the interconnections between royal families. In fact, less than a quarter of the way through I decided to shift to another book. However, to my surprise, my boys were very disappointed and pleaded for us to continue reading this book! They admitted it was sometimes difficult to keep some of the connections between royal families straight (as it was for me!); nevertheless, they said it was fun to listen to and to see how all these things connected and set the stage for Columbus’ life.

I, personally, found this book to be very informative particularly in the development of Europe in this period. Nowhere else have I seen a book that relates, for example, DaVinci, Michelangelo, Erasmus and Luther to the work of Columbus! If you can’t read this to your kids, but are studying this period read it yourself. Mrs. Foster writes well so it is an enjoyable read.

I don’t know the theological orientation of Mrs. Foster but she is fair in her portrayal of Christianity, willing to point out the glaring errors of Medieval Catholicism but also praising faithful people in the time. She is basically favorable towards Luther. At one point she says that Moses was a priest and warrior and as a result he was denied entrance into the Holy Land. This is not the reason he was denied entry! I was pleased that my sons noticed the error and my oldest suggested (as I was thinking) she may have been thinking of David who was not allowed to build the Temple.

In summary, we strongly recommend this book. Though it is long it provides an overall view of this entire period covering various countries, wars, art and all the key explorations in this era. The integrated view that results is very helpful.

Pilgrim’s Progress

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I am finally catching up with the rest of Christendom in reading Bunyan’s classic. I have read various children’s editions and felt I knew the story from the abundant allusions one comes across. Nevertheless, I had never read it and finally have begun to do so. I am approaching the conclusion now and have really enjoyed this edition. Of course you can find various renditions, but this one has been very helpful. The language has been slightly updated to ease reading, but it is not a heavy handed revision. You can still sense the 17th century language, with many archaic words and phrases retained with bracketed explanations. Bunyan’s marginal notes have been moved to footnotes and the editor has added a few more explanatory notes. I do wish the editor had made clear which notes were original to Bunyan and which had been added, though of course one can readily compare another edition.

This edition would be great for a group study or for a gift. I hope to post soon some reflections on church and pastoral ministry from the reading.

A Note to Reformers

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“I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the greatest pope” – Martin Luther

In our work of reforming the church in our day, this statement from a great Reformer is a good reminder to us. There are errors within our churches which grieve us deeply because we believe they grieve God deeply. We do see insidious encroachment of paganism within the people of God as was described in the book of Judges where people practiced paganism in the name of Yahweh. These things should and do bother us. They even discourage us at times.

However, we must remember that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, and our greatest battlefield is not out there anywhere but in our own hearts. Let us not become so engrossed with the planks in the eyes of the church out there that we become ignorant or careless about those in our own eyes. We must continue to be aware of our own need for being personally reformed according to the Word of God and growing in holiness. This will guard us from arrogance and infuse us with graciousness and mercy as we do the necessary task of pointing out error. One cannot truly labor for the purity of the church while bypassing the pursuit of personal purity.

The Place of Solemnity and Ritual in Worship

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Having pointed out something alarming in the Episcopal Church yesterday, let me today point out a great article from an Episcopal priest. I read this article back in November and have been meaning to comment on it since. The article, subtitled “An Episcopal Priest on Casual Ministers & Reverent Marines,” appeared in the November issue of Touchstone. I thought this was a powerful piece, and I encourage you to read it. It is only 1.5 pages in the print magazine. The article grew out of the stark contrast observed at a funeral between the presiding minister and the Marines involved.
The author noted:

The care and dignity of the military rite put the Christian rites to shame. I don’t believe that the priest was intentionally irreverent or unprepared. But by comparison with the marines’ reverent ritual, the chapel service and the committal seemed slapdash.

The author then made six observations. I will highlight three:

1. It is hard to be casual and solemn at the same time.

2. It is hard to be solemn if you are in a hurry.
Haste says that something else is more important than what you are doing at present:
The trend … in the last forty years has been to shorten the services, to streamline things, so that people don’t get bored. … The mentality says, “We know you have more important things to do, so we’ll get through the worship as quickly as possible.”

3. Ritual still has power, even in a culture that in many ways despises it.

My point is not to embrace all of Episcopalian liturgy but to highlight the importance of solemnity and meaningful acts in our worship. Breeziness may be hip, but it is not well suited for arresting the attention of a flighty culture with eternal verities.
I encourage you to read this article and consider the way in which you lead the people of God in worship.

First Voyage to America, From the Log of the Santa Maria

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First Voyage to America, From the Log of the Santa Maria
By Christopher Columbus (Dover, 1991), pb, 91 pp.

This is a very interesting book. The text is taken directly from the surviving notes of Columbus’ log on this famous voyage. To have the actual text of Columbus’ recollections, his own statements about his thoughts, motives, fears, etc. is quite an opportunity. However, it is not a great read just straight through. We started it but shifted to another book. This could be a good book to dip into or to use as a resource.

New Episcopal Bishop’s View of Christianity

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Today’s issue of USA Today has an article on Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, whose installation has caused a fissure in Anglican life. The article is interesting in what you see of her vision of what ministry is about. Perhaps the most striking part is at the end. Another bishop affirmed her saying:

“She’s profoundly faithful to the central claims of the church and the
Scriptures. People who say she’s not are making that up.”

Then we have this from Schori:

She sees two strands of faith: One is “most concerned with atonement, that Jesus died for our sins and our most important task is to repent.” But the other is “the more gracious strand,” says the bishop who dresses like a sunrise.
It “is to talk about life, to claim the joy and the blessings for good that it offers, to look forward.
“God became human in order that we may become divine. That’s our task.”

Whatever that is, it is not faithful to the central claims of the Church and Scripture (1 John 4:1-6). This only serves to remind us of the need to faithfully teach our people the Scriptures in this day.