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Why Obadiah is Important for the Church

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James Street wrote a marvelous piece overviewing the brief prophecy of Obadiah and explaining why it is important for us to continue studying and teaching today. He explains the historical context (without which the book will be terribly confusing) before walking through the book under three chief questions:

  1. How far will God’s love go? – 1-9
  2. How long will God’s love last? – 10-16
  3. How good will God’s love get? – 17-21

This book makes quite a contribution to our understanding of God’s love for his people, and is well worth your time. As is Street’s helpful analysis.

Check it out!

Sample Sermon on Acts 27

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A few weeks ago, I described the process by which I came to a richer understanding of the structure and main point of Paul’s shipwreck narrative in Acts 27, thanks to the help of my colleague Tom Hallman. Well, Tom just preached his sermon on that text this past Sunday, and I think he knocked it out of the park. Some of you might be interested in seeing how he did it.

Here is a link to the audio of the sermon. (We don’t record video for sermons.) Sadly, the sermon’s introduction was lost, so the recording begins with the reading of the first portion of the text. But the sermon is still worth your time, if you’re so inclined to see how this opaque text can be taught compellingly using the essential tools of OIA study.

As you listen, you’ll want to make sure to have a map handy so you can visualize the narrated events. Here is a free one for your convenience.

Photo credit: Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org, Creative Commons

How to Read Genesis 1-3

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I have benefitted much from the scholarship of Vern Poythress over the years. And in this article, he provides an excellent overview of the key issues that shape the way we ought to read the Bible’s opening chapters.

In my Wednesday posts, I usually link to articles much shorter than this one. But despite its length, Poythress’s article is effectively aimed at non-scholars in plain language. He addresses matters such as who God is, who wrote the book of Genesis, what genre Genesis 1-3 is, and how Genesis 1-3 compares with other ancient literature. Here is the abstract, summarizing the entire piece.

ABSTRACT: The beginning of the book of Genesis is not, as some claim, a mythical or poetic account of creation. It is historical narrative, telling the same story that unfolds in the patriarchs, the exodus, and the establishment of Israel. And, being from God, it speaks truly. Modern readers may not learn everything they would like to know about creation from Genesis 1–3, but they will find everything they most need to know. They also will find an account of creation unlike anything outside the Bible. Compared to the creation myths of Israel’s neighbors, Genesis stands majestically alone.

If that piques your interest, this piece is well worth a good look. Check it out!

5 Reasons to Read Your Bible Beyond Practical Application

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I believe in practical application. Here are more than ten biblical reasons why you should do it. But the dangers are legion if you come to your Bible reading with nothing but practical application on your mind. You might rush—or even worse, skip!—your observation or interpretation for the sake of that practical nugget. Your application might come unmoored from the text and take you in exactly the wrong direction. You might fall into the well-worn path of failing to identify any applications beyond the Big Three.

And there is a major opportunity cost involved. Treat personal application as the only consistent outcome for your Bible reading, and you may simply miss out on these other benefits the Lord wishes for you.

1. Storing up now for the coming winter

A regular habit of Bible reading is worth maintaining, even when no urgent or timely application comes readily to mind, because you are depositing divine truth in the storehouses of your soul from which you can later make withdrawals. “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Ps 119:11). “My son, keep your father’s commandments … bind them on your heart always … When you walk, they will lead you … For the commandment is a lamp … to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress” (Prov 6:20-24).

We ought to consider the ant and be wise (Prov 6:6-11, 30:24-25), not only with respect to our work ethic but also with respect to our truth ethic. It is foolish to abstain from Bible reading because it’s not practical enough for today. When the time of temptation arrives, you will have an empty storehouse—an empty heart—with no stockpile of resources available to supply your resistance.

Image by cp17 from Pixabay

2. Receiving comfort amid sorrow

It is true that suffering people need time and space to process. Yet may it never be that our “time and space” isolate us from the Lord, when they ought to bind us more tightly to him. The laments of the Bible are wonderful for giving us words when we don’t know what to say, and feelings when we don’t know what to feel. The Spirit who intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Rom 8:26) is the same Spirit who inspired the words of the prophets and apostles to give expression to such groanings (1 Pet 1:10-12).

“My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!” (Ps 119:28). Such strengthening does not typically result in an item for the to-do list or a practical application to go on the calendar. These words are shaping us to know where and when to find true solace.

3. Motivating future obedience

Reading your Bible saturates your mind and heart in the love of God for you, which will motivate you to even greater obedience in the future. Though you may not get a nugget of practical application right now, the good news will inflame your desire for such obedience in perpetuity.

“Let your steadfast love come to me, O Yahweh, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me … And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth … I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts” (Ps 119:41-45).

4. Learning to both love and hate the right things

Sometimes Bible reading does not produce immediate behavioral change, but instead trains our senses to distinguish good from evil, to discern right from wrong. And it trains not only our mind’s acuity but also our very affections, that we might love what is good and hate that which is evil. “Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that Yahweh, the God of armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph” (Amos 5:15).

Our Bible reading shapes our hearts in immeasurable and incremental ways, with respect not only to ourselves but also to those around us. “Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning” (Ps 119:53-54).

5. Spending time with the Beloved

A marriage relationship is not merely a socioeconomic contract wherein two parties engage in mutually beneficial transactions and improve their financial benefits. Yes, it is at least that, but more often than not, a relationship characterized by love involves simply spending time together. There is a delight to be had from communing together, living life together, sharing experiences, and growing old together as lovers and companions. So, too, in this marriage between the Lord Jesus and his Bride. We meet together corporately to worship the father through him. And we read the Bible that we might simply know him and enjoy his sweet companionship.

To ensure we don’t wander off with a “Jesus” of our own invention, our communion with Christ must involve a communion in his word. God is revealed most clearly in his word, so knowing God must involve knowing his word. “Yahweh is my portion; I promise to keep your words … The earth, O Yahweh, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!” (Ps 119:57, 64). “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

Conclusion

Whoever desires practical application to result from Bible reading desires a noble thing. But it’s not the only thing. Please keep reading your Bible, even when you can’t see immediate, outward life change by the end of the day. I assure you: Though you may not see quick and immediate change in yourself, others will certainly perceive the gradual and lasting change that transpires in you as the seasons come and go. As you spend time with your Beloved, you can’t help but become more like him.

7 Characteristics of Good Bible Teachers

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Doug Eaton has a thoughtful piece on “7 Characteristics of Good Bible Teachers.” He presumes good and accurate understanding of the Bible as a prerequisite, and then posits that good teachers will also demonstrate the following characteristics:

  1. A good teacher is concerned about wasting their student’s time.
  2. A good teacher is more concerned with clarity than appearing highbrow.
  3. A good teacher explains why what they are teaching is important.
  4. A good teacher is more concerned with delivering content than face time.
  5. A good teacher has their objectives clearly defined before they begin to speak.
  6. A good teacher has learned the importance of subtraction.
  7. A good teacher will find a weakness in their student’s thinking and ask them questions that will help them grow.

We spend much time at this blog helping you to learn how to get the text right. Eaton’s list is a helpful supplement, enabling us to improve at getting the message of the text across as we teach it.

Check it out!

What Should We Make of Paul’s Shipwreck Narrative?

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When our church’s team of preachers decided to preach through Acts, I knew chapter 27 would be a doozy (notice how I cleverly ignored this chapter in my interpretive overview of Acts). I have always been confused by this chapter and its role within the book, and though I’m sure compelling sermons have been preached on this text, I have yet to hear one of them. I’m used to hearing otherwise fantastic preachers punt on this chapter, in the name of practicality, to talk about “weathering the storms of our spiritual lives.” So the extraordinarily detailed travelogue of Acts 27 is reduced to a parable and a few minor observations (typically surrounding verses 23-25) seeking to inspire us toward deeper trust in Christ—a wonderful thing to be inspired toward, of course!

Therefore, since I’m in charge of managing our sermon schedule, I made sure to assign Acts 27 to someone else. Pro tip: When you don’t know what to do with a text, require a friend or colleague to deal with it instead. This resulted in one of the most exciting “aha!” moments in my Bible study this year.

Photo by Olga Tsai on Unsplash

A Key Structural Observation

The sucker fortunate fellow to receive the assignment was a good man and marvelous student of the word named Tom Hallman. Tom eagerly set himself to observe the text inside and out, to give him the raw materials for a series of interpretive questions. Our practice is that our team of preachers gives feedback on every sermon before it is preached. We collaborate in two phases: the study of the passage and the delivery of the sermon. So in that first phase, Tom regularly laid before us the fruit of his study for comment and evaluation.

And Tom made a key structural observation that shed tremendous light on the passage for me. In following the narrative’s plot, Tom observed that the main conflict centers on the centurion’s failure to listen to Paul’s counsel in Acts 27:11. This led Tom to recognize a few arcs within the plot:

  • Acts 27:9-20: Paul speaks, and the centurion pays more attention to others. The result is that all hope of being saved is abandoned.
  • Acts 27:21-44: Paul speaks, and the Romans start listening to him. The result is that all are brought safely to land.

These observations of the primary narrative tension and its accompanying resolution gave us hope that we could sift through the flood of details to discern the author’s main point in this chapter.

Further Dialogue

As we discussed it further and kept staring at the text to observe it more closely, we eventually realized that there were not two arcs but three. Paul actually makes three sizable speeches (Acts 27:10, 21-26, 33-34). He also speaks in Acts 27:31, but that briefer statement does not have the same appearance of introducing a new scene. It is a response to what’s happening in the moment (Acts 27:30).

So we’ve actually got three main speeches from Paul. Do we correspondingly have a clear resolution with each one, to make three complete arcs? This question drove us back into the text.

And sure enough, there it was. So plain and obvious we couldn’t believe we had missed it or ever believed this passage to be opaque to us.

  • Acts 27:9-20: Paul speaks, and the centurion pays more attention to others. The result is that all hope of being saved is abandoned.
  • Acts 27:21-32: Paul speaks, and no-one immediately rejects him. But eventually the soldiers heed him. (The centurion and soldiers both hear Paul’s words in Acts 27:31, but only the soldiers are mentioned as acting on them in Acts 27:32.) There is no immediate “salvation,” but only a sense of “let’s wait and see; we hope this works.”
  • Acts 27:33-44: Paul speaks, and all are encouraged and choose to eat (Acts 27:36). The result is that the centurion has heard enough, and he now wishes to save Paul (Acts 27:43). “And so it was that all were brought safely to land” (Acts 27:44).

These three arcs showed us that the primary tension revolves around whether the Roman centurion (prominent enough to be named in the text—Acts 27:1,3) will listen to Paul or not. And in particular: Will he listen to Paul with respect to salvation? This salvation goes in two directions: Paul wants to save the centurion—along with everyone else on the ship; the centurion, in the end, wishes to save Paul.

In the first arc, Julius will not listen to Paul, and all hope is lost. In the second arc, the soldiers listen to Paul, and it is as though the centurion is watching and deliberating before rendering judgment on this most unusual prisoner. In the third arc, the centurion fully listens to Paul and doesn’t want him to die.

Conclusions About the Text

I’m not weirded out by this chapter any more. It fits cleanly within the book’s main idea that the world’s salvation cannot be stopped. It also masterfully advances Luke’s primary agenda to petition for Paul’s exoneration before Caesar. “Julius was uncertain at first, and unwilling to listen to Paul. But he has been convinced that this Paul is who he says he is, and he refuses to let anyone execute him. Caesar: Why wouldn’t you do the same?”

And not only that, but Acts 27 also serves Luke’s secondary purpose to lead all of Abraham’s children to salvation through the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “Julius was uncertain at first, and unwilling to listen to Paul. But many have been convinced that this Jesus, whom Paul preaches, is who he says he is. Don’t just stand there watching others listen and find rescue. Noble reader: Why wouldn’t you do the same?”

Conclusions About Our Study Methods

If Luke can have two simultaneous purposes in mind, so can I. While I wanted to help you observe and interpret Acts 27 along with me, I also wanted you to see how I got there. And the events that took place this past week in my dialogues with Tom highlight a few conclusions. First, Bible study needs to be a community project. Second, structure conveys meaning. And third, the most important tool for observing the structure of a narrative episode is plot structure.

Sometimes We Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Apply Scripture

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Pierce Taylor Hibbs has a really helpful piece entitled “Christian, Here’s When You’re Allowed to Apply Scripture.” In it, he laments the way too many of us too often use the Scripture.

Much of the time, we’re pigeons grabbing bread crumbs of information and entertainment. And that crumb-picking habit carries over into our understanding and application of Scripture. We’re not asking questions of a text, working through context in widening circles, or even using our God-given reason to reach understanding. Instead, we’re crumb-picking. We grab a friend’s complaint here, a Facebook comment there, and a Scripture passage we found through a Google search, and boom: we’ve got an “argument,” an arrow to shoot in conversation. And because we’re quoting Scripture, it appears to be biblical. But let’s be clear: Quoting a Bible verse doesn’t mean you’ve made a biblical argument.

He then proposes that what authorizes someone to make use of the Scripture in application is that they have first done the hard work of observing it in its original context and interpreting it in light of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He then walks through a 3-step process, showing how to do this difficult work, with the example of an easy-to-misuse verse: “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:7).

This article is well worth your time. Check it out!

Hebrews: God has Spoken by his Son Whose Work is Finished

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Hebrews appears to have been a sermon that was transcribed and then circulated in letter form. This theory explains not only the strange opening—with no greeting or identification of the sender—but also the regular alternation between exposition and application, and the label “word of exhortation” used in the appended postscript (Heb 13:22, phrase also occurs in Acts 13:15). Depending on your pace, you can read the whole book out loud in 45 to 60 minutes, which is a reasonable duration for a sermon. Reading the book with a view toward its live, public delivery helps us to grasp its organization and intentions.

Photo by Kristina Paparo on Unsplash

Literary Markers

While it’s not difficult to recognize large cohesive blocks within Hebrews, it is notoriously difficult to nail down the precise beginnings and endings of the sections. I believe this is because of the nature of spoken communication. When a discourse is meant more for the ear than the eye, the transitions will naturally be more audible than visible. They won’t appear in sharp pronouncements, but will normally sound quite transitional. That makes it difficult to know whether those transitional statements belong with the previous section or the following section, as they serve as bridges between both.*

To give a few examples:

  • Heb 1:4 transitions from the prologue by introducing the first topic of Jesus’ more excellent name making him superior to angels. But it is only the final clause in the run-on sentence that begins at Heb 1:1, so Heb 1:1-4 naturally gets put together when we outline the book.
  • Heb 2:17-18 both concludes the previous section (“therefore”) and introduces the idea the Jesus has become a merciful and faithful high priest, which becomes the topic of the next section.
  • Heb 5:9-10 again concludes the previous section, while simultaneously introducing the next topic, broken into three parts: Jesus is perfect, the source of eternal salvation, and a Melchizedekan high priest.

I’ll explain the sermon’s flow of thought further in the walkthrough below, but the remaining transitional statements are found in Heb 10:36-39 and Heb 12:12-13. When the book is read out loud, it is easier to hear how those transitional statements are woven right into the conclusion of the previous section, while also introducing new ideas that get explained further in the following section.

Heb 13:20-21 then concludes the sermon, and Heb 13:22-25 serves as a written note to accompany the transcription.

Thesis

Like any good public lecture, the main thesis comes right at the beginning (Heb 1:1-4). Stripping all the dependent clauses away yields the following as the sentence’s essential grammar: “…God has spoken to us by his Son…who…sat down.” There have been many ways God has spoken before now. But now he has spoken by his radiant, appointed, powerful, and purifying Son. And that Son has now sat down at God’s right hand to rule, as the rest of his work is done. God has spoken. Through this Son. Whose first phase of work is now complete.

That is the big idea of this sermon. There are many reasons to listen to this Son. There are many competing voices that may tempt you to listen to them. But his work is finished in a way that the work of the other voices can never be. Implicitly: Do not reject him who is speaking to you.

Walkthrough

The argument of this sermon is both extraordinary and extraordinarily complex, so I wish to do it justice but will only have the space to use the broadest of strokes. The main thing we ought to see (or hear, if you can read it aloud) is how the transitional statements introduce the main topics. The following exposition then takes up those topics, nearly every time, in reverse order.

Having stated the thesis (that God has spoken to us by his Son who sat down), the preacher’s first explanatory point is that Jesus has become superior to the angels because he’s inherited a more excellent name. In this first point, he does us the kindness of taking his two matters in order. First, Jesus is superior to the angels (Heb 1:5-14). Second, his name is more excellent than theirs (Heb 2:5-18). Between those two expositions is the first point of application: Pay closer attention (Heb 2:1-4)!

The next transitional statement (Heb 2:17-18) takes things in a new direction: Jesus had to become a merciful and faithful high priest. Now the preacher begins his pattern of addressing the subpoints in reverse order. First, Jesus is a faithful high priest, greater than Moses and Joshua (Heb 3:1-4:14). Second, Jesus is a merciful high priest, very much like the Aaronic high priests (Heb 4:15-5:10).

Next transition (Heb 5:9-10): Being made perfect, he became a source of eternal salvation, being designated a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Before he can really tackle this material, though, he must offer the second application: You have stopped hearing and doing (Heb 5:11-6:20). But then he explains his ideas in reverse order. First, Jesus’ priesthood is in the order of Melchizedek (Heb 7:1-28); he is a better priest. Second, Jesus’ priesthood brings eternal savation (Heb 8:1-9:28); he offers a better covenant in a better tabernacle. Third, Jesus’ priesthood is perfect (Heb 10:1-18); he offers a better sacrifice. This section closes with the third application: Keep helping one another to both hear and do (Heb 10:19-39, this application was previewed in Heb 3:12-13).

Next transition (Heb 10:36-39): You have need of endurance, and we are of those who have faith. He now goes into great detail showing us what faith looks like (Heb 11:1-40) and calling us to run with endurance as we consider the one who endured on our behalf (Heb 12:1-13).

Transition to sermon’s last main section (Heb 12:12-13), which is all application: Straighten that which has grown crooked or lame. Do this first in your walk with God (Heb 12:14-29). Understand how your vertical perspective affects your horizontal relationships (Heb 13:1-6). Then you can straighten out your walk with other people (Heb 13:7-19).

In the sermon’s conclusion (Heb 13:20-21), the preacher return’s to his opening thesis to drive it home. God has spoken in his Son by raising him from the dead. Because the first phase of his work is finished, he may now equip you with everything good that you may do his will. Those who listen to him will be pleasing in God’s sight.

Finally, a personal note has been appended to the sermon, giving a brief update on Timothy’s status and sending greetings from and for the brethren.

Conclusion

Though the argument of Hebrews may appear to meander at times according to the preacher’s stream of consciousness, the transitional statements, and the repetition of key words from those statements in the following section, do illuminate the path he wishes us to follow. Amid the exquisite detail and theology of this masterpiece, let us pay much closer attention to the one who is speaking, that we might keep helping one another to believe and do his word. For the long haul. Forever.

Interpretive Outline

Thesis: God spoke in a Son who sat down – Heb 1:1-4

  1. The Son is superior to angels on account of his more excellent name – Heb 1:4-2:18
    • Transition – Heb 1:4
    • Superior to angels – Heb 1:5-14
      • Application: Pay closer attention! – Heb 2:1-4
    • More excellent name – Heb 2:5-18
  2. The Son is a merciful and faithful high priest – Heb 2:17-5:10
    • Transition – Heb 2:17-18
    • Faithful high priest – Heb 3:1-4:14
    • Merciful high priest – Heb 4:15-5:10
  3. The perfect, Melchizedekan Son brings eternal salvation – Heb 5:9-10:39
    • Transition – Heb 5:9-10
    • Application: You have stopped hearing and doing – Heb 5:11-6:20
      • Melchizedekan priesthood – Heb 7:1-28
      • Eternal salvation – Heb 8:1-9:28
      • Perfection – Heb 10:1-18
    • Application: Keep helping one another to hear and do – Heb 10:19-39
  4. The Son calls us to endurance and faith – Heb 10:36-12:13
    • Transition – Heb 10:36-39
    • Faith – Heb 11:1-40
    • Endurance – Heb 12:1-13
  5. Application: Straighten your walks with God and with people – Heb 12:12-13:19
    1. Transition – Heb 12:12-13
    2. Walk with God – Heb 12:14-29
    3. Connection between walks with God and with people – Heb 13:1-6
    4. Walk with people – Heb 13:7-19

Conclusion: May the one who spoke through his Son now equip you to please him – Heb 13:20-21

Postscript: Bear with this word of exhortation! – Heb 13:22-25

*This insight, and therefore much of my outline of Hebrews, is indebted to the keen observations of Albert Vanhoye in his Structure and Message of the Epistle to the Hebrews (affiliate link).

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

Reading the Bible Today Without Losing the Benefits of Reading Like the Ancients

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I haven’t read Reading the New Testament as Christian Scripture, but I appreciated this interview with its authors. In it, they speak of some of the differences between how we read the Bible today and how the ancients used to read it. We’ve certainly made many great gains in our understanding. But there remain some strengths of yesteryear we ought to be careful not to lose.

Every culture and age has particular insights and blind spots. This applies to biblical interpretation as well. In the West we’re a few hundred years into particular modes and habits of reading the Bible, what we can call modernist hermeneutics. Modernist hermeneutics serve us well in providing a depth of historical background, insights from literary analysis, and a focus on hearing the human author’s intent. But modern approaches to interpreting the Bible often fail to read theologically, canonically, and tropologically (for moral formation). Believing interpreters will also seek to interpret the Bible in these latter ways, but the modern hermeneutical commitments are ironically contrary to these good reading habits.

Premodern interpreters operated with different priorities and sensibilities when reading Scripture. Theological, moral formative, intra-canonical, devotional, and homiletical interpretations were seen as primary and ultimate because this is why God has given Scripture to his people—to shape us to be like him, to be holy as he is holy.

Check it out!

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Show, Don’t Just Tell

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It’s a key principle of educational philosophy: Show, don’t just tell. Communicating ideas is a good thing. But it’s even better if you can show your work, present persuasive argumentation, explain it clearly, and illustrate it vividly. The show-don’t-just-tell principle has many applications for teachers and leaders of all stripes. And I would like to zero in on one particular application of the principle to any who seek to teach the Bible: Show them how you arrived at your conclusions so they can repeat the process for themselves.

crop unrecognizable woman holding vase with pink ranunculus
Photo by Алекке Блажин on Pexels.com

Last week, I suggested that the best response you can hope for from those to whom you teach the Bible is, “What a great text, that shows me our great God!” Now I propose that one of the most important means for producing such a response is to show your work, and not merely tell them your conclusions. Here are some examples.

  • You can tell them that God loves them. Or you can show them the “for” in John 3:16 and show them the logical connection in the verse between the first clause and the second clause. Now they can forever see for themselves that God sent his son, not because he was mad at the world, but because he loved it.
  • You can tell them that the Christian life is hard, but that it will be worth it. Or you can show them the context of Romans 8:28, how the “good” all things work together for is the “good” of conformity to the Son’s image (Rom 8:29)—which is a promise not of a healthy and wealthy life, but of crushing pain yielding to resurrection glory (Rom 8:17-25).
  • You can tell them the story of God’s great power demonstrated over Egypt in nine plagues. Or you can show them the structure of three groups of three plagues, each group with a unique emphasis, proving Yahweh to be the judge, the divider of peoples, and the destroyer of worlds. Once you have shown them this structure, they won’t be able to un-see it when they read these texts in the future.
  • You can tell them that chapter divisions are not part of the inspired text and should be taken with a grain of salt. Or you can show them Isaiah’s repeated refrain that clearly links the four stanzas of Isaiah 9:8-10:4 into a single poem, forcing us to read the text across the chapter break. “For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still” (Is 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4).

Now I am not saying that Bible teachers should show all their work. There are always more observations to be made than can be included in a sermon or Bible study. We can’t include everything, and we ought not explain everything that happened to excite us in our preparation. One key principle I communicate when I train teachers is this: Do only as much observation as you must do in order for them to see how what you’re saying is rooted in the text. As soon as they have seen it from the text, move on. Explain it. Illustrate it. Show them Jesus. Apply it.

But sadly, teachers often show too little of their work. They may move their people to tears or inspire them to take drastic action. But ask those people after the sermon or discussion why they should take such action, or how this Scripture moved them so, and too often they can’t explain it. It just “is.”

Let’s show them a better way.