- insight
- clarity and
- challenge
This is the un-official blog of the Queensland Theological College Preaching Class - but others are welcome to join in! We're exploring the mechanics of clear and effective Bible Teaching.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Three Marks of a Healthy Sermon
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Hi Phil,
ReplyDeleteSounds good when I first read it. Three good goals to aim for when preparing my sermons.
Thinking about it more, I'm not sure I understand "insight".
How would you wife define "insight"? Something new she hasn't heard before, or sound exegesis. Is it insight into the passage or insight into people/the world...something else?
Clarity and challenge seem straight forward enough, although difficult at times to achieve.
"It's all wasted." I want to have a higher view of the Holy Spirit using even my unclear, non-insightful or unchallenging sermons. I hope that doesn't make me sound lazy.
Gav,
ReplyDeleteFair point, though I still want to say we should be aspiring to crystalise or unpack the passage in a way that make more casual readers go aha! That's the value we add in being set apart for the work of bible teaching.
I assume that 'insight' means some form of intrigue - be it an exegetical point from the text or some insight into the people/world. I'm thinking of my congregational context where I have retirees, teens, young families, young married couples, uni students and international students. My applications from the text aren't going to always be pinpoint for everyone, but an insightful comment that creates intrigue should give them something to chew on...
ReplyDeleteThe thing that struck me most is that brevity wasn't on the list!
ReplyDeleteHey Phil,
ReplyDeleteJust picking up on your response to Gavin, what exactly is that particular insight? Is it the kind of thing David Cook's talking about when he says "There'll always be those people in your congregation saying, 'Come on, tell me something I don't know'. And you have to."
Or is it giving them the 'right' way to read the text and its rhetoric purpose?
How would you define it?
@Benno: *chuckle*