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.
John Koessler: How I Preach
John Koessler: And this is How I Preach …
[John is a fellow Evangelical Homiletics Society (EHS) member, and a fellow teacher of preaching (at Moody Bible Institute). Prolific writer, insightful preacher, with an enviable dry sense of humor, John’s writing and speaking are well worth attending to. Even the papers he presents at EHS, the book reviews and articles he writes for the Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society and other journals, and his radio
Genesis 17:1−18:15
God’s blessing upon oneself and one’s associates is conditioned upon a faithful walk before God, a commitment remembered by a formal act of dedication.
It is now thirteen years after the events of Gen 16, and Abram must surely have been wondering when the promise of Yahweh regarding descendants would be fulfilled. The statement of the man’s age, ninety-nine, begins and ends this section (17:1, 24), adding to the tension of the story. More than two decades had passed
Michael Quicke: How I Preach
Michael Quicke: And this is How I Preach …
[Michael and I connected at the Evangelical Homiletics Society several years ago. This Britisher (with both Cambridge and Oxford pedigrees) is a perspicacious writer on matters related to preaching. Before his fourteen years at Northern Seminary, he was principal of Spurgeon’s College, London—the largest Baptist seminary in Europe—for about a decade, tenth in line to C. H. Spurgeon himself! Michael’s pastoral heart, international
Another New Commentary!
This is a rehash of an old post, to announce my new commentary that’s just come out: Ephesians: A Theological Commentary for Preachers.
I’m frequently asked by my students about commentaries I employ in my preaching prep.
The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.
Genesis 15:1−16:16
Mature faith even in unfavorable circumstances enables the believer experience blessing and bring blessing to others.
Taking the patriarch outside to view the night sky, God unambiguously asserts that Abram would have innumerable seed. Yahweh who “brought forth” Abram from Ur (15:7), could surely “bring forth” a heir from Abram’s body (15:4), as he illustrated by “bringing out” Abram to view the night sky (15:5). To this Abram responds with faith (15:6). But
Dennis Johnson: How I Preach
Dennis Johnson: And this is How I Preach …
[Dennis is a scholar, and a thoughtful one at that. On matters relating to centering sermons on Christ, he comes from a venerable Reformed tradition. He has been teaching practical theology in Westminster on the West Coast and is a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church of America. We shared a podium at last year’s Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society and I felt his perspective on preaching related matters
Genesis 13:1−14:24
Correction of faithless behavior and return to faithful obedience to God’s demand, trusting in God’s sovereign timing to keep his word, results in divine blessing.
There is a clear sense in which Abram’s departure from Egypt in Gen 13 is a positive event—a return to the sphere of divine blessing, for there are allusions to the exodus of the Israelites from that land: Abram “goes up from Egypt” (13:1; and Exod 17:3; Num 20:5; 32:11; etc.); he is enriched in Egypt
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. 