Jeremy Hoover

I'm working on Matthew today, figuring out the structure of chapters 1-4 for Sunday morning bible study. The text for the sermon is Matthew 4:12-25, but for the bible study, I'm teaching an overview of the chapters 1-4.

I think I'm going to look these chapters in terms of three questions:

1. How does Matthew indicate, within his gospel, we can learn about Jesus? [I found at least 6 indicators that teach us about Jesus. How many can you find in chapters 1-4?]

2. What does Jesus himself call you to? [I found 3 things; how many do you find?]

3. Will you choose Jesus? [This question reflects that we are actually choosing the man himself, not choosing just to follow him, or just to listen to him. There are many things to choose in life, but will we choose rightly?]

Provide your own answers below.

Yesterday's sermon is available for download here: True Worship. Right click the link, then select "save link as" to download it to your computer. Or, left click the link and listen to sermon in the player that will pop-up on your screen!

In Colossians 2:6-23, Paul teaches against the tradition and human rules that creep into churches and cause people to become disconnected from Christ. That disconnection can happen slowly. We slowly absorb the tradition until that tradition, and the maintenance of it, become the "gospel" for us.

In this sermon, I exhorted us to examine our own practice of worship: does our emphasis on the HOW and the WHAT of worship undermine our connection to Christ? If we hold up the "requirements" of worship as being something that actually saves us, you bet it does.

In Romans 12:1-2, Paul teaches us that the true worship God desires is for us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. If this idea sounds familiar, it's because it is--Paul challenges us to be just like Jesus, who offered his body as a sacrifice for us. To do the same, to live sacrificially just like Jesus, is to please God through true worship.

[Distilled from Justification (IVP Academic, 2009), chapter 2.]

1. Scripture does not exist to give authoritative answers to questions other than those questions is actually addresses.

2. We may deduce answers to different questions, but need to be honest about our own process and hesitant to take those answers too far.

3. If we are to give primary attention to scripture itself, we need to pay attention to the actual flow of the letters (books), to their context, and to the specific arguments that are being discussed in those books. [This is the problem I see with many Churches of Christ: we claim to follow the bible, but we do not actually pay attention to the bible in actual practice. Instead, we pay attention to small sections, or to verses, or to leading ideas, which may or not even be in the bible.]

4. These are the questions we should ask of each letter (book), major section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, and word: What is Paul talking about? What is he saying about that (and why)? What relation does that discussion have with the questions I want answered?

This is a great set of parameters for reading the bible. Start with the bible, understand what it's actually saying and what questions it's actually answering, and then move to thinking about how to apply it.

We often confuse true worship with our constructed worship. The bible defines what "true" worship is: "Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is true worship" (Romans 12:1).

Following rules is easier than living sacrificially. But God doesn't want the rules.

Find out why here.

I'm going to send you to a different blog for today's post. A few months back I was accused of being a "change agent" by an editor of one of the Church of Christ "journals."

And he was right.

Read why here.

Big difference between the two.

While you think about that difference, consider these two items I read earlier this morning that furthered my own thinking.

1. In this blog post, Steve Scott discussed whether the sermon, in an organized church service, is actually biblical. I agree with him that we really don't see that form of teaching in the bible. His main concern is that when we focus on the sermon as the "main event" of what we do on Sunday, then we may miss the point of worship altogether.

Worship is not ordained by God as a checklist to please him. He does not prescribe five, or however many, acts of worship that leave us in sin if we do not complete them all. Worship--all facets of it--are ordained by God to teach us about him and to enable the church to be built up.

The sermon should function instructively, but not as the only teaching moment during worship. The bible, Christian doctrine, and Christian life are all taught during singing, prayer, sharing in the Lord's Supper, and, of course, during the sermon.

Which leads me to the second item I read.

2. In the Christian Century, a letter writer responded to an article about preaching. Thinking along the lines of Steve Scott, he responded that

...the model of a sermon establishes and maintains passivity in the congregation, and changing that model requires more than honing the preacher's oratorical or entertainment skills. It requires a new paradigm for the sermon in which the preacher's primary task is to engage the congregation in sermons that are designed to be interactive.

Hmmm. Interactive. Not passive information transfer, but interactive... transformative?

The letter writer went on to suggest a method where the sermon text was studied in the bible study, and where 3 or 4 bible study members participated heavily in the study, to provide more interactivity.

Could the reason we don't see what we want to see in our churches be that we have quit looking to be transformed, to have our lives changed, by the truth that is in God's word?

Let me illustrate how transformation is different from information.

As I read the book of Acts, I see the early church sharing together--in prayer, in possessions, and in much time. Now I have information about the early church--what they did, how they acted, how they expressed the gospel.

So I take this information to a bible study (you may already see where this is going). At the bible study, we study key passages in Acts to illustrate the "3 Ways the Early Church Expressed the Gospel." After bible study, we have knowledge of how the early church existed. Then we move on to our worship service.

What if, instead of merely transferring information, we stopped and asked, "How would our lives be different if actually DID what the early church did?" What if we stopped studying and started applying?

I know we'd have all manner of excuses why we couldn't actually do this. But doesn't that attitude speak more about our own fears, insecurities, and even pride than anything else?

To be transformed, we have to obey. Obedience sometimes leads into scary situations. Just ask Abraham. Or Jesus.

But God gave us the bible not so we could learn a bunch of things about church organization and governance, but so we could be transformed into his image.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2, TNIV)

I read a blog post on ChurchETHOS this morning where the writer offered some thoughts about Buddhism. Unsurprisingly, a couple commenters posted anonymously about their (unflattering) view of Christianity.

One comment in particular called Christianity a waste of time.

Sad to say, but I identify with that commenter. Here's why: the version of Christianity the commenter referred to was one that was devoid of compassion, love, morality, and selflessness. The commenter obviously knows about Christianity, and the Christianity he/she knows about is one focused on selfishness and corruption.

May I suggest that this form is most prevalent in churches that focus on abstract spiritualities rather than Jesus, who is alive in them?

What is an abstract spirituality? Whatever turns our focus away from Jesus and puts it on some other "aspect" of Christianity. This could be: focus on numerical growth for its own sake, or undue focus on a church building and its maintenance (including spending large quantities of money to "protect" it), or abusing leadership positions to further your own ambitions, or thinking too highly of your agenda that you spiritually stomp on people who disagree with you.

Jesus said that HE is the way, the truth, and the life. A spirituality focused IN and AROUND him will never be a waste of time because it will absolutely fulfill what was missing from above: it will be moral, compassionate, loving, and selfless.

Is your Christianity abstract or fixed on Jesus? Get rid of the idols so prevalent in many contemporary forms of "church" and get back to Jesus.

Update (9/8/2010): A PDF of this article is available here for you to download and print out.

This is a long article, but hopefully useful both for preachers and for people interested in studying the bible.

I learned a "system" for bible study for sermon prep about 4 years ago. Walter Brueggemann wrote an article in an issue of the journal Interpretation called "That the World May Be Redescribed." It's available in The Word Militant, also by Brueggemann. In it, he suggested a 3-move method for studying the bible in light of sermon preparation.

The article itself was stripped down, but I've stripped it down even further. Hopefully this can help some of you busy preachers! Here are this 3 steps:

1. Rhetorical analysis.
Brueggemann suggested spending time with the text, thinking it over, seeing its internal connections, how it fits together. He wants you to move towards an outline of the text you are studying according to its rhetorical pattern.

I don't go that far with it. Every Monday, I photocopy the passage I'm preaching from on a piece of 8.5" x 14" paper. I try to position the passage in the top 1/3 of the page. (I learned this trick from Chris Erdman in Countdown to Sunday.) Then I block out a couple hours and write notes on the paper around the passage. I'll underline key phrases, draw connecting arrows from one sentence to another, and write down the connecting links I see.

What I'm trying to accomplish with this step is to arrive at the point of the passage. What was the author getting at? What is the main idea?  This is useful for two reasons: 1) It gets me thinking already on Monday about the passage and its main idea; and 2) It provides plenty of time for moving towards practical thinking.

When I feel like I have on paper the flow of the passage and at least a semblance of a main point, I fold the paper in half, tuck it in my bible, and commence with the rest of my day. (That way, it's always with me, to pull out and review or add notes later in the day.)

2. Word study.
On Tuesday, I do word studies. This is probably different from what you normally consider to be a word study. I don't go "deep" into the Greek origins of words, but I use a concordance to trace how key words are used in the rest of the bible.

It's important to use a concordance for this step that is tied to the original languages because sometimes a key word in English will sometimes be translated the same way even though two or more different words (in Hebrew or Greek) are behind that translation. (For example, there are 3 different Greek words that are all translated as "love" in the New Testament. You need a Strong's Concordance, or some other good concordance, to tell which Greek word you are really looking at.)

During my rhetorical study, I often end up circling, underlining, or identifying key words in a passage. In a recent series on Judges, I noticed that the phrase, "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him," appeared in several of the stories. As I used my concordance to trace this phrase in Judges, I noticed how the narrator seems to use it in a pattern that illustrates how Israel was declining in their faith. Early in the book, the Spirit enabled the judge to be successful, but towards the end of the book, the Spirit's work in the judges was ineffective.

Noticing this allowed me to track the particular judge I was studying in a different narrative context than I would have without this word study. I might have been tempted to make an application about depending on the work of the Spirit within us, but the narrative context (arrived at through my word study) gave me a different focus about how we cooperate with the Spirit.

3. Agenda study.
On Wednesday, I do the third step, which the Bruegg calls "agenda study." For this step, he suggests we should analyze the agenda of the writer to get a handle on what interests he is promoting through his writing. This is also the step when you read commentaries and other resources.

To be honest, I don't spend  a lot of time with the "agenda." I spend more time reading commentaries, books, and websites about the passage. I also spend a good deal of time thinking of creative ways to present this material. (Usually by now a clearer sense of the direction of the sermon is formed in my mind.)

Interlude: The One Thing
By Wednesday afternoon, I like to have a focus for my sermon crystallized on paper. I call it "The One Thing." I try to boil down my thinking to one main point, keeping it simple. There is no need in a sermon to talk about 4 or 5 things. Keep it simple. Provide one point and work all your sermon material around that one point. Keep it memorable.

So I come up with my "one thing." One application point also corresponds to this. Let me give you an example: In a recent sermon on Samson, my "one thing" was this: Samson was a strong man, but it doesn't matter how strong you are if you don't finish strong (he didn't). For me, this one thing illustrated the entire story of Samson--he started strong, "began" well (see 13:5), but didn't end well.

My one point of application was this: Finish strong by setting aside your personal idols so you can be set apart for God. In my sermon, I discussed how Samson's strength was an idol for him, something he kept going back to save him (instead of God). I encouraged us to be set apart for God and not to serve our idols. If we do this, we'll finish strong.

So focus on one point ("one thing") and one application.

4. Writing
The Bruegg didn't cover this, but to helpful, I will. On Thursdays, I write my sermon. I set aside most, if not all, of my afternoon for this. I'll often write from a coffeshop.

Taking my notes, my "one thing," and my "one application," I sit down and write. Often this will take the form of a sermon handout where I collate my notes into one document with pastoral reflections. Other times I just write devotional thoughts.

But I always bring my sermon into focus around a particular narrative structure, specifically, that of a screenplay. I usually figure out how to approach my sermon with a 3-act structure. A good book for this is The Writer's Journey.

In Act One of a movie, the characters are introduced and it ends with the introduction of the problem. Likewise, I introduce the idea, usually through a personal story, with an element of tension--for example, how a difficulty in Christianity from my youth affected me.

In Act Two, a movie spends most of its time developing the tension so the viewers wonder how, or even if, the problem will be resolved. I offer wide-ranging vignettes that tap in to the experience of the listeners. Here, I really try to ratchet up the tension, to get them to see how the problem we are talking about is a serious problem that can affect their lives if they don't submit to the gospel. This is where I really develop my one point, showing, in the case of Samson, how Samson failed and how we do, also, when we follow his lead.

At the end of Act Two of my sermon, just like in a movie, the "solution" is offered that offers the hope to see things through to Act Three. In my sermon, it's always the introduction of the gospel, or, how God saves the day! In my Samson sermon, I discussed how Samson was "set apart" by God (as a Nazarene, but we are, too, through the Spirit). That was the key--we are enabled and empowered to live for God. We simply need to discard our idols to focus on him.

In Act Three, a movie generally ties up loose ends around the solution that was presented. In my sermon, this is where I bring in my one application. I focus on applying it, going back to some of the vignettes to show the difference relying on God instead of yourself can make.

In my Samson sermon, I asked the church to consider in which areas of their life they were most likely to rely on their own strength rather than God's. I used verses in the New Testament to show how God has empowered us to live for him, and exhorted us to give up our idols to rely on him (quite in contrast to Samson).

I hope this outline helps you. I know that streamlining my process has helped me immensely, in preparation, reflection, and delivery.

I'd love some feedback on this article, so please leave comments so we can interact.

I've mentioned that we've been writing a book which is themed after the Choose Your Own Adventure series. ("We" = Joey Whelan and myself as writers and Sam Cale as an illustrator.) This book is a tie-in for our summer sermon series from Matthew called "This or That: Choosing to Follow Jesus." The sermon series will examine the Gospel of Matthew from the perspective of 9 choices Jesus calls us to.

Our book is called This or That: A Day in Your Life. It's a tie-in because it also examines the theme of making choices by putting you into a situation where you must make choices as you read the book. Not only do you make choices about how to read the book, but you make choices inside the book about you how would respond to a particular situation. You get to participate in this journey. We plan on tying this book in to both the bible studies and the sermons.

The book is being self-published and I sent it to the publisher today. In less than 2 weeks we should have the books, just in time for our summer series.

[Sermon MP3 is available for download at the bottom of this post.]

I was always taught that the church is the people, not the building. But the example was different.

For example, worship was treated casually, as something to do, or a place to be on Sundays. At the same time, meetings held at the building carried a more "authoritative" aspect to them: we felt these "meetings" were required, while the same thing (i.e., a bible study) held at someone's house was merely a "get-together" which was optional. (Note the difference in terminology.)

The reality is that God has a great vision for his church, his people (Eph. 2:19-22): We are members of his household, fellow citizens with his people, built by him on his foundation. These things are identifiers, signs, that we are chosen by God.

He chooses us, then he builds us. He builds us into a temple he can live in. The purpose of the church in this is to be the container that reveals the glory of God to the world (Eph. 2:21-22).

So we are expected to participate with God in his building project. Too often we view "church" as something passive--we pay professionals to teach and preach, even to "lead" singing, and the majority of us are content to be passive consumers of the products others create and offer to the community. And worst of all, we mistake our passive consumption for real participation.

This is what I call "passivitation"--the notion that we are actually participating even though we are only passively consuming.

What guidelines does scripture give us for how to participate? In 1 Cor. 14:26, Paul points out (amidst a conflict over worship) that what is done in the church (the worshiping people, not the building) should be done to strengthen all. In the first part of that verse, he describes how that happens: "Each of you" participates by bringing something that adds value to the community, either a hymn, a teaching, or some other thing.

In a participating church, the church participates together out of the gifting God has given them to build each other up (see Eph. 4:1-16).

Many of us take or receive value from our worship and church experiences. But do we add value back in?

Consider how you can contribute to strengthening the church. What gifts, talents, or abilities do you have that can help the church? How can you add value to your church community?

If you receive value, add value.

Sermon: Church is About Participation, Not Passivitation