Tag: quotation

Book Excerpt: Albert Mohler on “Wee Little Preaching”

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

R. Albert Mohler Jr. is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is known as a preacher and enjoys his role of cultivating preachers. Mohler has a new book out on preaching from Moody Publishers this year with the title He is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World. One of his chapters focuses on “preaching the Bible’s big story.” In it he stresses the need for preachers to situate the text they are focusing on within the bigger picture of God’s redemption story. He uses a particularly poignant example playing off of the children’s Sunday School song that starts with the line, “Zaccheus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.”

…One of the great problems with much evangelical preaching today, and one of the reasons so many saints are not growing to completeness in Jesus Christ, is that so many of our pulpits are filled with what you might call “Zaccheus sermons” — or to put it more bluntly, wee little preaching.

Every Sunday, far too many preachers read a wee little text, apply it in wee little ways to their people’s lives, and then tell everyone to come back next week for another wee little story.

That tendency to isolate our sermons to one tiny piece of biblical text is a major problem, and it also explains why so much evangelical preaching is moralistic. It is easy to pick out a familiar story, make a few points from it about what people should and should not do, and then be done with it. But that kind of preaching will leave a church weak and starving, because the Christians who sit under it never find themselves in the big story of God’s work in the world. If we as preachers want to see our people growing to maturity in Christ, we must give them more than a diet of wee little morality sermons. We must place every text we preach firmly within the grand, sweeping story of the Bible. (p. 89-90, emphasis added)

…Our people can know so much, and yet know nothing, all at the same time. They can have a deep repository of biblical facts and stories, and yet know absolutely nothing about how any of it fits together, or why any of it matters beyond the wee little “moral of the story.” (p. 95)

…We want our people to leave the preaching event asking the right questions. If our preaching is too small, their questions will be equally small. If we neglect the big story — the gospel metanarrative — they will be satisfied with small questions and will live on small insights. They may take home an insight, a story, a principle, or perhaps an anecdote. We should not be satisfied with that. They should not be satisfied with that. Our ambition — our obsession as preachers — should be nothing less than to preach so that the congregation sees the big story of the gospel, the grand narrative of the gospel, through every text we preach. (p. 102-103)

I say “amen” to Mohler’s assessment on this. I’ve heard too many “wee little” sermons in my day. May God grant the rising generation of preachers the wisdom to unpack God’s Word for us in such a way as to highlight the Gospel story and the grand narrative of Scripture!

You can pick up a copy of this new book by Mohler from Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, or direct from Moody Publishers.

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

Quotes to Note 45: Herman Bavinck on Yearning for God’s Word

~ Bob Hayton ~ Leave a comment

Herman Bavinck is best known as a Reformed theologian from the early 20th Century. His four volume Reformed Dogmatics has been widely respected and embraced in the English speaking Reformed community. I am currently reading a small book he wrote on the importance of public confession of faith that has been reissued with a new English translation by Hendrickson Publishers.

In an almost Spurgeon-esque way, Bavinck’s writing abounds with Scriptural allusions and references. Here is a gem from this book, focused on the role of the Word of God in the believer’s life.

…it is a true mark of spiritual life when our heart yearns after and longs for that word. It is completely natural, just as one who is hungry longs for bread, the thirsty for water, and the sick for medicine. Just as naturally, the one who is spiritual with a holy longing reaches for the word of God and for Christ, who is offered in that word. Those who are spiritual never grow beyond that word. Unlike the mystic’s dreams, the word is not used as a ladder to ascend to a certain height, and then to spread one’s own wings and support oneself. Anyone who tries to do so will soon fall to earth broken. Anyone who refuses food will soon starve. Anyone who does not heed the word of Christ does not love him [1 John 5:3]. Anyone who rejects medicine has no need of a physician.

But the spiritual person, as long as one lives and with all one’s soul, feels bound to that word as the means of communion and fellowship with God, because God has bound himself to that word. It is only in the proportion one is planted in that word that one grows and becomes stronger. As ivy to a wall, the spiritual person holds fast to the word. As one leans upon a rod or a staff on a pilgrimage, so one leans on the word. One becomes increasingly attached to it, and increasingly devoted to it. The spiritual person’s love for the word becomes stronger, considers it ever increasing in value, and always finds in it a rich treasure for both heart and life. For the one who is spiritual, it becomes increasingly God’s word, a word that comes to that person from God, a letter from one’s Father sent from heaven, to be a guide to the Father’s house. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” [Ps. 119:105]. “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” [Ps. 119:97].

Therefore parents must feed their covenant child, even from early childhood , with this word….

~ Bavinck, Herman, The Sacrifice of Praise (Hendrickson Publishers, 2019), translated and edited by Cameron Clausing and Gregory Parker Jr., pp. 24-25.

Pick up a copy of this book from Westminster Bookstore, Christianbook.com, Amazon.com or direct from Hendrickson.

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

Quotes to Note 44: John Calvin on the Theme of 1 Peter

~ Bob Hayton ~ Leave a comment

One of my favorite books in the Bible is 1 Peter. Earlier this year I was privileged to fill the pulpit at our church and the text of my sermon was 1 Peter 1:3-12 (you can download that sermon for free here). In studying for that message I came across a gem from John Calvin in his commentary on 1 Peter. I share the quotation here for your benefit.

The design of Peter in this Epistle is to exhort the faithful to a denial of the world and a contempt of it, so that being freed from carnal affections and all earthly hindrances, they might with their whole soul aspire after the celestial kingdom of Christ, that being elevated by hope, supported by patience, and fortified by courage and perseverance, they might overcome all kinds of temptations, and pursue this course and practice throughout life.

Hence at the very beginning he proclaims in express words the grace of God made known to us in Christ; and at the same time he adds, that it is received by faith and possessed by hope, so that the godly might raise up their minds and hearts above the world. Hence he exhorts them to holiness, lest they should render void the price by which they were redeemed, and lest they should suffer the incorruptible seed of the Word, by which they had been regenerated into eternal life, to be destroyed or to die. And as he had said, that they had been born again by God’s Word he makes mention of their spiritual infancy. Moreover, that their faith might not vacillate or stagger, because they saw that Christ was despised and rejected almost by the whole world, he reminds them that this was only the fulfilment of what had been written of him, that he would be the stone of stumbling. But he further teaches them that he would be a firm foundation to those who believe in him. Hence he again refers to the great honour to which God had raised them, that they might be animated by the contemplation of their former state, and by the perception of their present benefits, to devote themselves to a godly life.

~ Calvin’s Commentaries, vol. 22 [Baker], Commentaries on the Catholic Epistles, p. 21-22

Calvin captures the heart of Peter’s theme in 1 Peter. He goes on to walk through the epistle in broad sweeping strokes. Reading this stirs my soul and reminds me that the “classics” really are classic, and Calvin’s genius really should be appreciated (and made use of for my own spiritual growth).

Calvin’s Commentaries are available for purchase at Amazon, or you can access them online for free here.

Lost in a Good Footnote: How to Have Joy When You Are Hurting

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Have you ever read something in a footnote that was just too good to leave there? If you are like me, you can get “lost in a good footnote.” This post focuses on another great footnote.

I think that this gem buried in Joe Rigney’s book The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts (Crossway, 2015) is worth sharing.

Before you get to the quote, let me set the stage. Have you ever been hurting? Just completely consumed by grief or sorrow? If you remain in such a condition for long, you feel that there is no more joy in the world. The sun doesn’t seem fair, the flowers are dull, everything is meaningless. So what can you do to get yourself out of such a perilous state? This footnote has an answer.

At first it doesn’t sound like good news, but the Bible tells us that we must “rejoice with those who rejoice.” And perhaps that is the key. You have lost something, but they have not. You are hurting, but their hurt is of a lesser degree. Would you rob them of shared joy, by extending your grief to cover them too?

An others-focus may just free us from a pattern of self-despair. Looking away from ourselves, doesn’t mean we cease to grieve or hurt. But it does mean we see God at work in bigger and broader ways, with more people than just our immediate family.

This goes both ways, because we are called to “weep with those who weep.” So even our highest joys should be tinged with an awareness of the hurting of others. This is the sort of tangible togetherness and unity that should be the hallmark of Christian love and of the Church that Jesus founded.

Let me share the quote which set my mind to this direction. And please note that ultimately it is only the Holy Spirit and His work in us which enables such a radical others-orientation. May God bless all who ponder the Scripture behind the thoughts shared below.

In an earlier chapter, I spoke of the way that the Bible expands our minds by pulling us in opposite directions and that we must embrace the mystery and refuse to allow one truth to cancel out another. This is no less true of our emotional lives. One of the seemingly impossible commands in the Bible is found in Rom. 12:15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” The gospel lays both of these commands upon us. Those who suffer are called to add their joy to the joy of the blessed. Those who receive favor must join the grieving in the midst of their sorrow. And we must do so without allowing one emotion to tyrannize the other. The glad-hearted must not lord their blessings over the afflicted. The hurting must not allow their pain to drown out real joy when it’s given from God. Love must be genuine (Rom. 12:9), and we must endeavor to live in harmony with one another (Rom. 12:16). Practically speaking, this means that our lives will be characterized by the same heart as the apostle Paul, who lived “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10). It also means that wisdom and propriety will govern our joy and sorrow, so that we move with the rhythms of Eccles. 3:4: “[There is] a time to weep, and a time to laugh.” And the only way that we’ll make any progress in getting these rhythms right is if we are open and honest in communicating with one another and if we are trusting in the grace of God to be sufficient for our every need. It is grace that enables the sorrowful to rejoice in the joy of others, especially when they receive something that we desperately want or have tragically lost. It is grace that enables the joyful to bear with the suffering of the grief-stricken, especially when our hearts are bursting with gladness. Grace must reign, love must cover a multitude of sins, wounds, and thoughtlessness, and Christ must do what is impossible for us.

— Endnote 13 from chapter 11, found on pg. 259.

Pick up a copy of this book at Amazon, or Westminster books.

O. Palmer Robertson on The “Poetic Pillars” of the Book of Psalms

~ Bob Hayton

The Flow of the Psalms by O. Palmer RobertsonI’m currently reading through a new book from one of my favorite authors: O. Palmer Robertson. I’ve reviewed his The Christ of the Covenants and The Israel of God, which both were influential in forming my theology. My love for biblical theology certainly was kindled in part by Robertson’s works.

His new book is The Flow of the Psalms: Discovering Their Structure and Theology (P & R Publishing, 2015). It promises to be an important book that may transform and sharpen my understanding and appreciation for the book of Psalms. After just the first two chapters, I know this is going to be a rewarding read.

I wanted to share an excerpt from this book. Robertson explains how the first two Psalms form a doorway into the Psalter as a whole, and help to shape how we should interact with this important book.

The Two “Poetic Pillars”

Of primary importance in Psalter structure are the two “poetic pillars”that escort the reader into the temple of the book of Psalms, Psalms 1 and 2. Taken together, these two very brief psalms anticipate major themes that permeate all five books. First among these themes is the contrast between the righteous and the wicked as they are judged on the basis of their response to God’s revealed Torah, the law, the teaching, the instruction of the Lord….

The second major theme found in these two poetic pillars that runs throughout the book of Psalms is the person of God’s Messiah, his perpetual dynasty and his permanent dwellingplace….

So these two opening psalms present in condensed poetic fashion the overarching message of the Psalter. God’s law, the contrary responses of two groups of people to that law, and the outworking of the consequence of their responses are interrelated themes that permeate the Psalter. At the same time, two kings and two kingdoms merge into each other through the repeating message of the Psalms. David and his descendants will be established in a perpetual kingship at a particular locale. Yahweh rules over heaven and earth from eternity and throughout all time. Eventually, Messiah’s kingship must merge with Yahweh’s kingship so that the kingdoms of earth and heaven, of time and eternity, are one. This merger of the two kings and the two kingdoms permeates the theology of the Psalter. This perspective alone can explain how the concept of kingship in Israel continues long after kings no longer exist in the nation. It also explains how the kingship of Jesus as Messiah could merge so perfectly with God’s kingship over the world. (from pp. 13-15)

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Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.com. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review.