The Evangelical Homiletics Society met in fall 2000 on the campus of Reformed Theological Seminary in Oviedo, Florida, and professors and pastors delivered 20 papers — some heavy on the theoretical side, others on the practical. Each year I come away from these conferences with a heavier preaching toolbox. What follows is the second installment of my attempt to compile some of the more practical help gleaned from three of the papers (click here for part 2).

Biblical Storytelling and the Didactic Passage

Dale G. Durie
Crown College, St. Bonifacius, Minnesota

Abstract: This paper explores how biblical storytelling can be used to bring to life the vibrant story that lies just beneath the surface of many an epistolary passage. It presents a brief case for the use of biblical storytelling in a sermon derived from a didactic passage, touches on sources for storytelling, and offers abuses to avoid.

It is clear from the fourteen uses of the word imagination (or imagine) in this paper that Dale believes imagination to be one of the keys to finding the story hidden beneath the surface of the letters of the New Testament. Dale writes, " Biblical storytelling, for this author, is tying our imaginations to the things gleaned from 'a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context,' so as to develop and tell a story that sets up, teaches, and/or applies the idea of that passage " (p. 2). Dale suggests that in order to interpret the Epistles accurately " it takes both logic and imagination to reconstruct those original 'occasions' and purposes as precisely as possible " (p. 2).

Here are Dale's suggested sources for crafting a biblical story from a didactic passage:

The life situation of the author (p. 2)
The apostle Paul, for example, writes his letters while experiencing a variety of circumstances, least comfortable of all being in prison. A description of Paul's situation can add to an understanding of key Pauline passages.

The life situation of the recipients (p. 3)
We can find story elements in the circumstances of the lives of those to whom the New Testament letters were written.

The purpose of a passage (p. 3)
Out of our understanding of the author's situation and the original readers' circumstances comes an understanding of why this particular section of God's Word was written. " Why are these concerns addressed? What caused this account, these facts, or the recording of these ideas? As the specific purpose of a passage comes into focus a story begins to unfold. "

The place of a didactic passage in God's story — the Bible as a whole (p. 4)
Elements of a story emerge when we can see how the theology in the New Testament letters tells the " rest of the story " of what God began to do in an earlier era. Dale also encourages us to look for " imagesthat can be woven into a narrative " (p. 5). " Everywhere we turn in the Bible we find concrete pictures and recurrent patterns " (p. 5). An example is given from Galatians and Paul's references back to the Genesis narrative of Abraham and his two sons. Often, the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament will lead to narrative elements within the letters.

Probe deeperinto the argument (p. 7)
Dale cites the work of James Cox on Ephesians 2:8-10. The teaching that salvation is by grace through faith contains a story of all of us who try to get to God on our own merit.

The impact after the revelation (p. 8)
We can imagine story elements from an analysis of how the original readers may have responded to the teaching. At times we do know some of the situations of the early churches. At other times we can only imagine how they might have responded ( " what it would have looked like if it did or did not happen " [p. 9]). Based upon our teaching of the Scriptures, we can imagine what obedience or disobedience will look like.

For the full article, e-mail Dale Durie at ddurie@netzero.net.

Preaching as Lectio Divina: An Evangelical and Expository Approach

David A. Currie
Pastor, The Anchor Presbyterian Church (Penns Park, PA); and instructor in church history, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston
Susan P. Currie
Associate for spiritual formation, The Anchor Presbyterian Church (Penns Park, PA)

Abstract: Drawing from the perspectives of both a preacher and a spiritual director, this paper argues that preaching should model multiple ways for people to hear God speak through Scripture, tapping the collective wisdom of the whole Church, particularly the contemplative tradition. The authors suggest three primary ways of incorporating lectio divina into expository preaching: (1) Prospectively, as a means of allowing God to speak to the preacher more intuitively before employing the classic historical/grammatical interpretive method of sermon preparation, which can then test and reshape the intuitive insights for preaching; (2) Introspectively, as a means of developing occasional first-person sermons that model a Loyolan approach to lectio divina, in which the imagination places one in a narrative and explores how a biblical character experienced God at work; and (3) Retrospectively, as a means of applying exegetical insights from the sermon through post-sermon reflection questions facilitating an ongoing listening/response to God.

The Curries define lectio divina ( " divine reading " ) on page 4 as " a prayerful, deep, attentive reading of the Scriptures. " They point out that practicing this divine reading can have a profound effect on a pastor's own spiritual life prior to our normal first-phase of sermon preparation. On page 5 the Curries state, " Lectio divinapreempts the mental default of expository preachers who tend to immediately begin standing over a passage to dissect it into preachable units instead of first standing under it to hear the living voice of God. If we seek to speak for God, we must let God have the first word. That means silencing the inner voice that shouts 'That'll preach!' as we begin reflecting on a passage so that we can hear the Spirit's still, small voice echoing from the Word. Classic spiritual disciplines related to lectio — such as silence, reading a passage slowly and repeatedly, reading a passage aloud, and journaling — help preachers grow in attending to the Word of God in a way that primarily shapes the soul, not the sermon. Preachers more than anyone need to make this shift, lest they become deafened by the mechanics of exegesis. "

The Curries suggest that one way to help a congregation practice lectio " is to make reflection questions available to the congregation, encouraging them to read them over in the week ahead " (p. 7). These reflection questions are often developed in the early stages of your study of a passage. " For example, if the sermon text was Psalm 42, the reflection questions could include 'How do you feel that God has forgotten you? When you thirst for a sign of his presence, what would that presence look like? What can you praise God for right now? How could those be signs of God's presence?' " (p. 8). Notice that these types of questions can be effectively used during the delivery of the sermon.

David and Susan also suggest giving your congregation an opportunity to " listen right after the sermon for what God's voice might be saying to them A simple question printed in the bulletin such as, 'What seemed, in the sermon or in the Scriptures, to speak directly to you? Hold it before God, and listen to what he might be trying to say further,' can encourage such reflective listening " (p. 9).

For the full article, e-mail David and Susan Currie at the.anchor@att.net.

Preaching for Life-Change: Dovetailing The Message with the Change Process

Dave Gibson
Senior Pastor, Christ Community Church

Abstract: Most preachers want to change lives. However, if we misunderstand how people actually change, we will preach in ways that do not motivate and enhance transformation. If our sermons are to be catalysts for change, we must first understand the process, and then formulate sermons to begin and enhance that process of change.

Dave suggests, " What we actually believe about how people change will have a profound effect on how we prepare and how we preach " (page 1). After listing several inadequate theories of how people change, Dave lists the following " elements of an adequate theory of change " (pp. 5-8). The list provides us with a helpful checklist we can refer to in order to develop and deliver sermons that God can use to transform us and our listeners:

For the full article, e-mail David Gibson at hoot@srv.net.

For information on the October 2001 Evangelical Homiletics Society convention, click here: http://www.EvangelicalHomiletics.com/meetings.html

Randal Pelton is pastor of The People's Church in Somerville, New Brunswick, Canada.