aBeLOG
Welcome to the aBeLOG, a series of (hopefully!) fortnightly posts on all matters homiletical. I intend to touch on whatever grabs my attention regarding preaching—issues contemporary and ancient, ideas hermeneutical and rhetorical, personalities conservative and liberal, publications antiquarian and avant-garde. Essentially, I’m going to follow my own homiletical olfactory instincts up rabbit trails and after red herrings. Comments are always invited and appreciated.
Genesis 33:1−20
Faith in God is marked by seeking and extending forgiveness, thus restoring relationships with others, and also with God.
The previous pericope depicted Jacob finally receiving God’s blessing. That would have been a blissful ending to the turbulent story of the patriarch. However, one more thing needed to be accomplished: reconciliation with Esau.
And so, as younger brother comes before his older sibling, Jacob prostrates himself seven times (33:3)—a mark of great respect
Genesis 32:1−32
Remembering that God fights for him/her, the child of God lives life with confidence and fearlessness.
Jacob’s encounter with the angels of God and the “camp of God” (Gen 32:1–2) reminds him (and the readers) of the continued presence of God and the protection of God, as he moves with his caravan closer to a rendezvous with Esau, who, when we last heard of him, had been harboring homicidal inclinations towards his heel-grabbing younger brother (27:41). Jacob, no
Steven Lawson: How I Preach
Steven Lawson: And this is How I Preach …
[Steven Lawson is President and founder of OnePassion Ministries, equipping preachers to usher in a new reformation in the church. He is passionate about preaching, having served as pastor for over three decades in Arkansas and Alabama, most recently at Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile. Speaker, author, teacher, itinerant minister, and, yes, a Dallas Seminary grad. He is one who has thought a lot about preaching
Genesis 31:17−55
Remaining in the will of God ensures protection from potential consequences of sin even in one’s own camp.
Jacob had been asked by God to “arise,” “leave,” and “return” to his homeland (31:13); and here he begins the long act of obedience (31:17–18). In the statement about “all the property he had gathered,” there is an echo of his grandfather’s migration from Haran to Canaan: he too collected “all the property he had gathered” (12:5), as he set
Preaching!
Quick note …
I am preaching at Stonebriar Community Church, north of Dallas, in Frisco, on August 7 and 14 (9:00 am and 10:45 am).
[For other speaking events, see here.]
Articles!
For those interested in some of the esoterics (!) of preaching, here are two recent articles (as downloadable pdfs) published in Dallas Seminary’s journal, Bibliotheca Sacra.
‘‘Pericopal Theology’’ and
‘‘Christiconic Interpretation’’
(Two more articles to follow in subsequent issues of BibSac.)
These articles are derived from the Griffith-Thomas Lectures (2015) delivered at Dallas Seminary. For videos of these, see here.
Other
Preaching!
Quick note …
I am preaching at Northwest Bible Church, here in Dallas, on July 10, 17, 24, and 31 (9:00 am and 10:35 am).
Doing Judges, featuring Ehud, Barak, Gideon, and Samson, respectively.
Full of gore, guts, and potty humor.
Should be fun!
[For other speaking events, see here.]
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.