David Daniels: How I Preach
David Daniels: And this is How I Preach …
[David is currently the senior pastor of a large church in the DFW Metroplex. I had the privilege of being one of the readers of his DMin dissertation done at Dallas Seminary, and I enjoyed his creativity, intellect, and imagination. It might interest you to know that he wrote on how to induct principles of visual design into the craftsmanship of a sermon (he talks about it below). Interesting stuff. David’s church is thriving
Selfies!
Talking about sharks ….
A new study has revealed that there have been more deaths from selfies than there have been from shark attacks. Yup, selfies overtake shark attacks as a cause of death!
So think twice before you selfie. Getting that right angle for that right shot can have fatal consequences.
There have, as of now, been 12 deaths due to selfies this year. And only 8 from shark attacks.
The most recent casualty of the former activity occurred inside, of all places,
Good!
Eugene Finney. A most fortunate guy. For having had a dangerous encounter with a shark.
Yup, the man had a potentially fatal run-in with the species of deadly beast—a rendezvous that, paradoxically, ended up saving his life.
Mr. Finney was visiting his parents in Huntington Beach, in ye olde state of CA, with his girlfriend and two kids, Temple and Turner (aged 10 and 6) in tow.
The family hit the beach at the beach midmorning, and Eugene and Temple decided to go for a
Giant!
All kinds of interpretations of the David v. Goliath story have abounded in church history.
Let me offer a new one ….
The story points to three elements: the stature, resources, and experience of the main protagonists—the giant and the youth.
The Giant
Goliath’s stature is fearsome: nine feet nine inches tall (17:4).
And then there is the list of his resources, the longest description of military gear in the Old Testament (17:5–7). This huge enemy is therefore
Seen!
The diesel deception!
A couple of weeks ago the German car giant Volkswagen, that owns not only VW brand, but also Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Škoda, and motorcycles under the Ducati name, came under fire for their nefarious acts.
Apparently, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), some of the VW and Audi diesel vehicles (specifically, the Jetta, Beetle, Golf, Passat, and the A3) sold in the U.S. had devices that could detect
Still!
Everyone used to tell me to sit still. I was always a fidgeter. Twisting, turning, drumming, tapping, fretting, fuming, stamping, shuffling, itching, raring, chafing, champing, ….
Now I can tell them all: Fidgeting is good for my health.
So think twice before you admonish your kids to quit fidgeting: It is good for health.
At least, that’s what studies from the University of Leeds and the University College, London, suggest. “Sitting Time, Fidgeting, and All-Cause Mortality
Vision!
“What could be more full of meaning?—
for the pulpit is ever
this earth’s foremost part;
all the rest comes in its rear;
the pulpit leads the world. …
Yes, the world’s a ship on its passage out,
and not a voyage complete;
and the pulpit is its prow.”
So wrote Herman Melville in Moby-Dick a century ago.
I agree. With the pulpit for a prow, humanity is led by preaching into a unique world, an ideal world, God’s world, where it may dwell with him. That makes
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.