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.
Preaching is Theological
Nehemiah’s narrative describes the assembly of God’s people who had returned from exile; in the assembly the word of God was read and made clear so that they might renew their covenant with their God. In previous blogs I’ve noted how this paradigmatic gathering undergirds many of our assumptions about preaching. Here’s another implication of Nehemiah’s account: preaching is a theological activity of a special kind.
All the people
Preaching is Biblical
In the account in Nehemiah, of the post-exilic gathering of God’s people to renew their covenant with Yahweh, there is no question that the Word of God is given prominence. Preaching is to be biblical: there is this one book that must be preached in the assembly of the people of God. No more. No less.
And all the people gathered as one …, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had given to
Preaching is Pastoral
In Nehemiah 7:73b–8:18, when the people assemble for the reading and explication of the divine law, it is the leaders of the assembly that are at the forefront of this endeavor. Thirteen named leaders of the community stand by Ezra the protagonist, on his right and his left, as Ezra does his thing. The leaders of the assembly thus are the prime activators of the reading of the God’s word for God’s people.
Ezra the scribe stood at
Adam and I: An Interview
Abe’s Editorial Note: The other day I had the privilege of being interviewed by one of my former students, Adam Cavalier. This young man (and his wife Magan), after graduating from DTS, headed out to parts Far East to be a light for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What a pleasure it is, to see the Cavaliers diligently doing the Lord’s work! Though I had only a small role to play in Adam’s life, it is a delight to see any
On Commentaries … and a New One
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. But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
Ecclesiastes 12:10–12
Qohelet notwithstanding,
Preaching is Ecclesial
The Bible is, without doubt, the church’s book and, therefore, the arena of action of its exposition is the congregation of God’s people of all time, the church, “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Thus the primary locus for the preaching of Scripture is the church, the assembly of God’s people, a setting that provides the direction and thrust for its interpretation.
Then Ezra the priest brought the law before
Preaching is Communicational
The reading of the law in Neh 7:73b–8:12 is considered one of the oldest descriptions of the formal, liturgical employment of Scripture in the gathering of the people of God (which happened sometimein the 430s B.C.E.). This event forms the climax of the Ezra-Nehemiah books, and the missions of the two protagonists, Ezra and Nehemiah, converge precisely within this enterprise: for the first time they are mentioned together in this section (Neh 8:9).
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. 