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.
2 Timothy 4:1–22
The people of God solemnly preach God’s word at every opportunity, despite opposition and suffering, as they follow the example of godly leaders, asserting their lifelong faithfulness to God and to their ministries, confident of ultimate deliverance and eternal rewards.
It is apparent that the entire pericope is written with much emotion, expressing the characteristics of the apostle’s “last will and testament.”
While there are five second person imperatives in 4:2—“preach,”
Tough Question: Imprecate?
Here’s another “Answer to a Tough Question” that I did for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary recently: What do Christians do today with the imprecations of the Psalter?
[And for more details, go to the Introduction in the first volume of my commentary on the Psalms: Psalms 1–44 here.]
2 Timothy 3:1–17
God’s people follow godly models, trusting in divine deliverance from inevitable persecution, and continuing in Scripture that edifies, making them capable and fully equipped for good works.
In 3:1–5, Paul creates a worst-case scenario of the “last days” with the eighteen vices listed, making it one of the longest such lists in the NT. The items run together in a conjunction-free structure, to paint a general picture of evil in the future. If there is a theme to
Tough Question: Genesis 22
Here’s an “Answer to a Tough Question” that I did for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary the other day: Why did God command Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? (On Genesis 22.)
[If you want to dig into the details, go here.]
Coming soon …
FYI, another tome from the pen of your faithful blogger!
Coming soon … (i.e., should be available for order/purchase in May 2025).
This is essentially a biblical theology of sanctification, setting all that I am doing with preaching and its hermeneutics (interpreting the biblical text for preaching, application, life change) within the larger arena of Christian growth and the development of Christlikeness. Even if you are not all that keen on preaching, this will,
2 Timothy 2:14–26
God’s people, his possession, obtain honor by pursuing righteousness and being beneficial for God, ready for good works, even correcting opponents by clearly and graciously expounding the word.
Dealing with the immediate need to counter false teachers, this passage is an explication of the Christian leader’s character in the face of opposition, particularly with regard to doctrine and grounding in Scripture. Yet there is hope for those apostates, for Timothy is to “remind
Devotional on Psalm 21
Here’s a devotional I did online for my church (Ninth and O Baptist Church: they call it a “Devotionable”) the other day. On Psalm 21.
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. 