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 30:25−31:16
God sovereignly works to bless his children, as they work responsibly, even in adverse conditions.
A change of mind for Jacob comes with the birth of Joseph (30:25); he desires to return to his homeland. It was probably the entire sequence of events—especially the futile machinations of the female “Jacob,” Rachel, until she surrendered and then was remembered by God—that brought Jacob to his senses. It was time to make some amends; it was time to go home. Later,
Jimmy Draper: How I Preach
Jimmy Draper: And this is How I Preach …
[Jimmy Draper is a well known figure in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). He has served as its president in the past, and has led its publishing arm, LifeWay Christian Resources. Hailing from a pedigreed family of ministers and seminary graduates, Jimmy was prominent in the conservative resurgence of the SBC. He has pastored churches in Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma since the late 50s (and he is still interim-pastoring!),
Genesis 29:31−30:24
Highhandedness precludes God’s blessing, but faithful submission to God brings it about.
Jacob now has two wives, Leah, the unloved, and Rachel, the loved (29:31). Though unloved, Leah is the one producing children, one in almost every verse in 29:31–35. The naming of each son is poignant, as she hopes against hope that her husband’s unloving attitude to her will change. But what is significant is that Leah then stopped bearing (29:35; also 30:9). We have to wait
Philip Ryken: How I Preach
Philip Ryken: And this is How I Preach …
[Philip Ryken is the eighth and current president of Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, and a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary and Oxford University. He joined the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in 1995, and succeeded James Boice as its Senior Minister in 2000. He has been at Wheaton for the last six years (where his father, Leland Ryken, still teaches), succeeding
Genesis 29:1−30
God’s blessings do not preclude the possibility of appropriate discipline for misdeeds.
Jacob is fleeing from his brother, Esau, whom he had deceived. We find him here in Haran, the land of his uncle. He happens to arrive at the well where shepherds from Haran congregate. Which also happens to be the place where Rachel, Laban’s daughter, waters her flock. And it also happens that she arrives at that opportune moment. And it happens that Jacob finds the strength to move
Pete Briscoe: How I Preach
Pete Briscoe: And this is How I Preach …
[Pete Briscoe is the Senior Pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship, a multi-site church in North Dallas; he is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Born in the UK, to a family of preachers, he came to the US when he was seven, and he followed the path of his parents into ministry. I used to attend Bent Tree when I lived (and practiced) close to its location and have always enjoyed Pete’s preaching. So here he is,
Genesis 28:10−22
God’s guaranteed promises call for a response of trusting worship.
Jacob is on the run from his brother who has developed homicidal tendencies after being cheated of his blessing. The deceiver is headed to his uncle’s house. Jacob’s arrival at the “place” is apparently no accident: the verb indicates that Jacob “encountered/struck” the place (28:11). The narrator records what Jacob’s eyes see, with a threefold repeat of “behold!” (28:12, 13, 15), escalating
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.