Tag: excerpt

“Invitation to Philippians: Building a Great Church through Humility” by Donald R. Sunukjian

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Invitation to Philippians by Donald SunukjianBook Details:
• Author: Donald R. Sunukjian
• Publisher: Weaver Book Company (2014)
• Format: paperback
• Page Count: 113
• ISBN#: 9780989167147
• List Price: $14.99
• Rating: Highly Recommended

Blurbs:
“These model sermons remind us that exposition should be interesting, relevant, and at the same time thoroughly biblical.”
—Erwin W. Lutzer, Senior Pastor, The Moody Church

“Sunukjian is one of the best at wedding solid biblical exposition with creative and relevant applications. His artful use of imagination and penetrating questions in connecting the listener to the text is an invaluable guide for faithfully preaching the ever true and practical Word of God.”
—Mark L. Bailey, Professor of Bible Exposition and President, Dallas Theological Seminary

“The best way to learn how to preach well is to copy the masters. Sunukjian’s Biblical Preaching for the Contemporary Church series puts into print a wealth of biblical expositions that are worth imitating.”
—Greg R. Scharf, Professor of Pastoral Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Overview:
There is nothing like great preaching. A gifted man expounding the riches of God’s Word and applying God’s truth to our everyday lives is something every Christian needs. Good preaching breeds good preachers, and what better way to learn how to preach than by listening to a master of the craft preach and studying how he does it.

Invitation to Philippians is a demonstration of effective preaching. Now reading a sermon is not the same as experiencing one, but the warmth and conversational tone that pervades this book make it the next best thing. The book includes eleven sermons through the book of Philippians along with a brief introduction. Each sermon is situated with an introduction that draws the reader in, and then chuck full of poignant application and a clear explanation of the main thrust of the passage at hand.

Donald Sunukjian is a master preacher, and has written a widely used text on preaching: Invitation to Biblical Preaching: Proclaiming Trugh with Clarity and Relevance (Kregel). His comments on the text are relevant and timely, and illustrate well both how to emphasize the point of the text and also how to capture and maintain the attention of one’s audience.

Occasionally he builds in dramatic effect, such as using a step-stool to illustrate Christ’s coming down to our level. His sermons are very engaging and interesting — almost to a fault. The only critique I would have would be that the text and arguments of the text could be emphasized more and greater attention could be paid to parallels and other Scriptures which support the preacher’s point.

Excerpt:
This excerpt comes from the section on 1:27-30.

When we stand for the truth and cannot be scared off, even though we suffer for it, it’s a proof to us that we are genuinely saved and that we belong to God.

Why is this the case? Why does our standing firm and suffering for the truth become a proof to us that our salvation is secure?

Because suffering is God’s way of identifying those who are his. Suffering is God’s way of confirming those who belong to him. Suffering is God’s recognition, God’s assurance that you are living worthy of heaven’s kingdom.

[After pointing to 2 Tim. 3:12 and Acts 14:22, he continues:]

Suffering is God’s way of identifying those who are his. Suffering is God’s gift of assurance that you truly belong to Christ: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. (1:29-30).” (p. 47-48)

Evaluation:
This book is easy reading and would serve as a touchstone for planning a sermon or teaching series on Philippians. I know it has challenged me to spend more time thinking about how I present my sermons and what engaging illustrations and poignant applications I can offer. Spending time to work on this side of preaching more promises to bless readers and help ensure the main point of the text is caught not just taught. I recommend this work and trust that other titles in the Biblical Preaching for the Contemporary Church series will be as helpful for pastors, teachers and eager students of God’s Word.

Series Description:
This six-volume series by veteran preacher and teacher of preachers provides a model of preaching using a combination of solid scholarly study, fidelity to the meaning and intent of the biblical author, oral clarity, contemporary relevance, humor, and creativity. “Pastors who plan on preaching through any of these biblical books,” says Sunukjian, “could be drawn to these sermons as models or as stimulating prompters for their own messages.”

About the Author:
Donald R. Sunukjian (Ph.D., UCLA; Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is Professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, where he has taught preachers since 1996. Before that, he taught preaching at Dallas Theological Seminary for more than ten years. He has also served as senior pastor for fourteen years and is the award-winning author of Invitation to Biblical Preaching: Proclaiming Truth with Clarity and Relevance (Kregel), which is a leading textbook on the craft of preaching. Sunukjian has conducted pastors’ conferences in most metropolitan centers of the United States and maintains a regular preaching schedule.

Where to Buy:
• Christianbook.com
• Amazon.com
• Direct from Weaver Book Company

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by the publisher for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

Quotes to Note 40: Spurgeon on Election

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

I’ve done 40 Quotes to Note posts, over the years now, and I have yet to post a quote from Charles Spurgeon! Perhaps I haven’t because he is so quotable, everyone else quotes him. But I stumbled across this quote again as I was teaching through my Sunday School series on Reformation doctrine again this Fall.

The above graphic was produced with the help of Logos 6’s visual copy feature. Highlight text from a work in Logos and easily create a quotable graphic as you see below with just a few clicks! To learn more about Logos 6 click here.

Logos gives the source of the quote as: Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel: 1874 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1874), 44. I originally found it in Joel Beeke, Living for God’s Glory (Reformation Trust, 2008), 60. Beeke’s source was: Spurgeon, C.H. Spurgeon Autobiography, Vol. 1: The Early Years, 1834-1859 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1962), 166.

Quotes to Note 39: Alec Motyer on the Church

~ Bob Hayton

Alec Motyer has spent his life studying the riches of Isaiah, and I’m almost finished enjoying the fruits of his study so helpfully laid out in Isaiah By the Day: A New Devotional Translation (Christian Focus, 2011). In each of the daily readings in this book, Motyer presents his translation with commentary and offers a devotional in line with the text of that day’s passage. I came across a jewel of a quote about the Church, with special focus on denominations and how each local church is to be a picture of the whole Church. I thought it was a great way to look at things and offer it hear for your benefit as well.

The truth remains the same today: the Lord’s earthly people are themselves the temple in which he lives by his Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16), the locus and display of his holiness and beauty. Well may we mourn that our sinfulness, divisiveness, our failure in biblical distinctiveness, and our manifest lack of holiness have marred the image. Who, looking at today’s church–denominational or local–can see the likeness of Jesus? And this is not a matter only of denominational failure, though that is all too plain. The Bible knows nothing of our “denominationalism,” and if Isaiah’s wording promts us to put our hand to reform and renovation then its proper focus is the local church to which we each belong. When we look at the merest sliver of a crescent moon we don’t say, “Oh, there’s part of the moon.” We say “Look, there’s the moon.” In the same way each local church, however small–or in the eyes of onlookers, insignificant–is meant to be a mirror and image of the whole, an earthly replica of the heavenly reality where Christ is all. We should be able to look at the fellowships to which we belong and say, “There is The Church,” bearing the two oustanding marks of holiness and beauty: obeying the command, “Be holy because I am holy” (Lev. 19:2), and displaying the beauty of Jesus in all its gatherings, relationships and individual characters.

~ excerpted from p. 306, on Isaiah 63:15-64:12.

For a sample reading from this helpful book by Motyer, see this post.

If R.C. Sproul, Sr. Were Marooned on an Island…

~ Bob Hayton

A fun Monday morning post. Recently I read R.C. Sproul, Sr.’s little booklet, What is Baptism? (Crucial Questions Series). The booklet is a helpful look at baptism, for people from a variety of perspectives. I found his defense of infant baptism helpful in understanding the other position, but not over the top or vitriolic. It also was not the central point of his book.

Anyway, the reason for this post is an intriguing reference Sproul made to his favorite verse – Genesis 15:17. He went on to give an answer as well to the age-old question, what book would you want with you if you were marooned on an island?

I often tell people that if I were marooned on an island and had only one book, the book I would want with me, of course, would be the Bible. If I could have only one book of the Bible, I would want to have the book of Hebrews because of the way in which it so richly summarizes all the teachings of the Old Testament and relates them to the finished work of Christ in the New Testament. But if I could have only one verse of the Bible, I would want Genesis 15:17.

[Kindle locations 151-153]

Genesis 15 is the story of Abraham’s covenant. God has promised great blessings to Abraham and his children, but Abraham wants a guarantee. He is told to cut sacrificial animals in half and wait. Then we see “a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch” pass through the pieces. This is a theophany, this is the Shekinah glory of God passing through the pieces — making the covenant unilateral. “Abraham saw a divine manifestation passing between the animal pieces and immediately understood the significance. God was enabling Abraham to know for sure that His promises would come to pass… only God passed through the pieces because He alone was making promises. He was instituting His covenant with Abraham [Kindle locations 165-166, 172].” As Hebrews says in 6:13-14, God could swear by none greater (in making his promise to Abraham), so “he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you’.”

What a great thought to treasure today. God’s gospel promises to us are unilateral. God has sworn by himself, as there is none greater. He gave his own Son for our salvation. If he did that, how can he not also with him give us everything that we need — indeed all that pertains to life and godliness (Rom. 8:32 with 2 Pet. 1:3-4).

What would you want on a desert island? Gen. 15:17 would be good. Hebrews would be better. I agree with R.C. Sproul, Sr. on this one!

Robert Stein on the Language of Prophecy

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

I wanted to share an important excerpt from Robert Stein’s helpful book on biblical interpretation. This helps in understanding the prophetic genre, and makes good sense of Peter’s quote of Joel 2 in Acts 2.

An additional proof for his claim comes in the recognition that the prophets often maek use of language from the covenant curses in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. They are using a specific language intentionally – the language of covenant. They are not just describing a foreseen future in strictly literal terms.

Much of the terminology found in prophecy makes use of customary imagery used in this genre. For instance, in the judgment prophecy found in Isaiah 13:9-11 we read:

“See, the day of the LORD is coming — a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger — to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.”

Because of the cosmic imagery found in this prophecy, many interpreters assume that it is referring to the end of history. Yet it is clear from Isaiah 13:1… and 19… that the prophecy concerns the Babylonian empire of the sixth century B.C. The Babylonian kingdom that destroyed Jerusalem and the Solomonic temple, this empire that sent the cream of Judean society into exile, was about to experience divine judgment.

Yet this judgment is described in cosmic terminology. Such terminology, however, was part of the imagery and symbolism available to the prophets when they sought to describe God’s intervention in history and his sovereign rule over the kingdoms of this world (cf. Dan. 2:21; 4:17,25,34-35; 5:21). Such imagery was not meant to be interpreted literally. The sun was not actually going to be darkened; the moon would not stop giving its light; the stars would not stop showing their light. “What” the author willed to communicate by this imagery, that God was going to bring judgment upon Babylon, was to be understood “literally.” And that willed meaning, God’s judgment upon Babylon, did take place. This prophecy was fulfilled with the rise and rule of the Persian empire over the territories once ruled by Babylon, and the later readers of this prophecy knew that this prophecy had indeed been fulfilled. Babylon had been judged just as the prophecy proclaimed, and it was God’s doing just as the cosmic imagery described. The imagery, itself, however, was understood by the prophet and his audience as part of the stock terminology used in this kind of literature to describe God’s intervention into history.

In Acts 2:14-21 Peter and Luke interpreted the events of Pentecost in a similar way as they saw in it the fulfillment of the prophetic message of Joel:

“Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my SPirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'”

These cosmic signs did not literally take place at Pentecost, even though what the author willed to convey by those signs did. God did enter into history and bring about the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. God in fulfillment of his promises gave to the church the blessed gift of the new covenant….

There have been attempts to deny that the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 was fulfilled at Pentecost. Usually this is due to a misunderstanding of the figurative nature of this cosmic terminology. Some have suggested that Luke and Peter believed that Pentecost was “kind of like” what Joel prophesied but not its actual fulfillment. Such a manipulative interpretation of this passage of Acts, however, is impossible in light of Peter’s words in Acts 2:16: “this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.” Furthermore such interpretative gymnastics are unnecessary when we are willing to accept what the author meant by the use of such terminology. We need only note other passages to see how widespread the use of such cosmic terminology is in the Bible (Isa. 24:23; Jer. 4:28; 13:16; 15:9; Ezek. 32:7-8; Joel 2:10,31; 3:15; Amos 8:9; Hab. 3:11; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25; Rev. 6:12). (Attempts to see Mark 15:33; Matt. 27:45; Luke 23:44-45 as the fulfillment of this prophecy also err. They do not explain the signs of Acts 2:19 and most of 2:20. Second, and more important, they err because Peter and Luke associate the fulfillment of these signs with what is happening then and there on the day of pentecost.

— Excerpt from A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible: Playing by the Rules by Robert H. Stein, (Baker Academic, 1994), p. 91-93