This Sunday we met as a family for worship, since our church was closed due to precautions related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We followed our church’s “home worship order” (or liturgy) but also listened to a sermon I gave on James 1 back at the end of 2013. I shared the sermon notes and audio back in 2012 when I first delivered the sermon at a different church. I wanted to share this version of the sermon (preached at our current church) today for those who may want to hear an encouraging word on the Christian and trials.
The whole world is facing a severe trial right now and as believers we can either accept it as a gift from God, or default to our natural bent and question God’s goodness. I hope this message is an encouragement and a reminder of the Christian perspective on trial.
This Sunday I had the sobering responsibility of filling the pulpit at our church in the midst of the unfolding coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Our church is small enough that we decided to meet, but we cancelled SS and nursery. I preached on the OT priesthood in relation to Christ, taking my title from Hebrews 9:11 “high priest of the good things that have come.” I spent most of the sermon setting the stage for the first ever public worship service of the LORD described in Leviticus 9. Eventually I ended up in Hebrews 9 and we reveled in the superiority of Jesus Christ as our high priest.
I trust this sermon will be bless my readers. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire sermon (50 minutes), please do look over my notes.
Earlier this month I once again had the privilege to fill the pulpit and deliver the Sunday morning message. My theme this time was on how Elisha is a type of Christ. My text was in 2 Kings. I really enjoyed the challenge of crafting this message to be clear and impactful and yet not say more than the text warrants.
I trust this sermon will be bless my readers. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire sermon (43 minutes), please do look over my notes.
Preaching in today’s postmodern world is a tall order. A new book from R. Albert Mohler Jr. aims to encourage and help pastors in this task: He is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World. Mohler is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (in Louisville, KY) and well-known as a preacher himself. He takes very seriously his responsibility of grooming the next generation of preachers. Mohler is also a student of culture — a voracious reader with an enormous personal library, he hosts a podcast called “The Briefing” which is “a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.” Mohler is thus uniquely positioned to help preachers reach today’s world.
Many might imagine this book would advise a change of method to reach today’s visually-based culture; but they would be disappointed indeed! Mohler stands in the tradition of the Reformation in exalting the role of the preacher and the place of preaching. He advocates for expositional preaching that gives the Word of God and its message to the hearers: “…our preaching had better be nothing less — and nothing other — than the exposition of the Bible. Nothing else will do” (p. 63).
The book is a simple explanation of preaching with helpful quotes and historical background thrown in. Each chapter is a sermon itself — with an analysis of a biblical text standing behind the shape of the material. He emphasizes unpacking the big story of Scripture, and also declares that expository preaching is “the only form of authentic Christian preaching” (p. 49). I get the sense that he is talking about preaching through books (verse-by-verse) – but he doesn’t define expositional preaching exactly. His burden is to prevent preaching from devolving into “a series of disconnected talks on disconnected texts” (p. 19).
Mohler also sees a need for pastors to be theologians: “Today’s pastors must recover and reclaim the pastoral calling as inherently and cheerfully theological” (p. 109). His emphasis of this point and assessment of postmodernism were highlights for me. Equally helpful was his cry against “wee little” sermons and encouragement to let the big story of Scripture shape our preaching.
Mohler is eminently quotable, which makes reading the book easy. He packs several one-liners and poignant observations into each chapter. You can almost hear him speaking to preacher boys in a class room as you read these chapters. I highly recommend this helpful little book on preaching. If you are looking for something to encourage or guide you in the preaching task, look no further than He is Not Silent.
Disclaimer: this book was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.
About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.
Herman Bavinck is a Dutch Reformed theologian from the late 19th and early 20th century, known for a four volume work on systematic theology called Reformed Dogmatics. In the past few decades, his work has become more widely known in English-speaking circles and he is renowned as a Reformed scholar clearly equal with the likes of B.B. Warfield. A newly translated work published by Hendrickson Publishers shows another side to Bavinck: he was a churchman with pastoral concern for the practical Christian faith of the average believer.
The Sacrifice of Praise was first published in Dutch in 1901 and went through several reprintings and editions over the next twenty years. The editors of this edition estimate that around 40,000 copies of the work were produced during that time. In 1920 the work was translated into English by John Dolfin a Reformed pastor in western Michigan. The translators of this work wanted to capture Bavinck’s style more directly and fix some errors in the translation. They also wanted to highlight the many Scriptural references in Bavinck’s writing by providing chapter and verse references — using the text of the English Standard Version (ESV) where possible.
As for the content of this work, it “is best understood as a work of catechetical theology, suitable for sharing with baptized Christians on the occasion of their public profession of faith and admission to the Lord’s table” (pg. xi-xii). The book focuses on the call for Christians to publicly confess Christ. “Lips that acknowledge [Christ]” are “a sacrifice of praise,” according to Hebrews 13:15; and it is this passage which gives the book its title.
Bavinck writes with warmth and life. Each page is replete with biblical references. He treats all sides of his topic and goes from baptism and parental instruction, to church confessions, to Christian unity in the faith and Christian duty in the public sphere, and ends with an exultation in the ultimate confession the Church will share with Christ in heaven. He exults in his Lord and his joy is contagious.
I must admit I found the first four chapters (of 12) a bit challenging. They contain a heavy dose of traditional covenant theology and an assumption of infant baptism (albeit with a distinction made that baptism does not regenerate or save the child). The background provided in the introduction prepares the reader by rehashing some of the Dutch Reformed Church controversies of the era when Bavinck wrote. As a Baptist who appreciates Reformed theology I still found those chapters slightly difficult. The rest of the work was more directly relevant, but even in those first few chapters there is much that can be gleaned on the importance of training our children to know and confess Christ. As a side note, I found it intriguing that Bavinck admits “in the New Testament baptism was mostly administered to adults” and only later “became generally acceptable” (p. 34).
Baptist quibbles aside, I found the work practical and helpful. He covers the topic from both a personal and familial perspective as well as from a corporate and even universal point of view. He details the opposition that we face in standing up for Christ and laments the loss of Christian unity in his day. His thoughts, grounded in Scripture as they are, remain helpful for every era. A concluding paragraph from his chapter on the universality of confession provides a sample of Bavinck’s style:
Thus godliness is beneficial toward all things, having the promise not only of the future but also of the present life. Whoever seeks first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, to them all things will be added [Matt. 6:33]. The best Christian is the best citizen. With their confession, they neither stand outside of nor in opposition to the natural life. But highly and proudly, they carry their confession into the world and everywhere plant the banner of the cross. The gospel of Christ is a joyful message for all creation — for mind and heart, for soul and body, for family and society, for science and art. For it delivers from guilt and redeems from death. “It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” [Rom. 1:16]. (p. 57)
Now for a small amount of criticism: I believe the editors missed several Scripture references. The first sentence in the quote above could have a reference to 1 Tim. 4:8; Rom. 14:17 could be added on p. 10, Eph. 6:4 on p. 16, and 1 Thess. 1:9 on p. 85, to name a few more. Additionally, the ESV is used for the verses at the top of each chapter, yet there is an odd case with chapter 5. There the verse quoted is Acts 8:37 (found in the footnote but not the text). I would think at least a note would be in order explaining that the verse in Bavinck’s text is not included in modern versions (like the ESV) today (and why). There was also one glaring misprint in the endnotes section (note 1 for chapter 4 appears as note 49).
To sum up my review, I found The Sacrifice of Praise to be an attractively packaged book and a helpful introduction to Bavinck and his theological writing. I greatly enjoyed interacting with his material. Even if you are not Reformed, you will benefit from this book.
For those who are Reformed, the foreword mentions that this work by Bavinck could be read with two other similar works intended to teach believers: The Wonderful Works of God (an overview of Christian doctrine from a Reformed perspective – to be republished by Westminster Books later this year), and Saved by Grace: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Calling and Regeneration (a work explaining/defending infant baptism). These works may be worth getting and reading along with this fantastic work.
Learn more about this book by looking at the preview available at Amazon or Christianbook.com.
Blurbs:
“Herman Bavinck is best known as a dogmatician of great depth and scope. Yet like all of the greatest theologians, his concern for the church cannot be reduced to his scholarly contributions. He was also earnestly desired to encourage and nurture other believers in their faith, a fact to which these short addresses give remarkable testimony. In them, he discusses the whole idea of confessing Christ in the various stages of Christian discipleship, from baptism through to the Lord’s Supper and beyond. This is practical Reformed piety at its best: rooted in the Word, connected to the sacraments, and focused upon Christ.”
—Carl R. Trueman, Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies Grove City College, Pennsylvania
“In Bavinck’s own biography, participation in the Lord’s Supper was far from inconsequential. As Clausing and Parker note, the student-era Bavinck first took part after extended, careful reflection on the gospel and its fruit in his own life. Having done so, the sacrament proved a regular source of spiritual comfort to him. In The Sacrifice of Praise, we find a set of reflections on the Supper that are richly theological, pastoral, and practical. We owe Clausing and Parker a debt of gratitude for their work in presenting this text to us in a fresh new form.”
—James Eglinton, Meldrum Lecturer in Reformed Theology New College, University of Edinburgh
This Sunday we met as a family for worship, since our church was closed due to precautions related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We followed our church’s “home worship order” (or liturgy) but also listened to a sermon I gave on James 1 back at the end of 2013. I shared the sermon notes and audio back in 2012 when I first delivered the sermon at a different church. I wanted to share this version of the sermon (preached at our current church) today for those who may want to hear an encouraging word on the Christian and trials.
This Sunday I had the sobering responsibility of filling the pulpit at our church in the midst of the unfolding coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Our church is small enough that we decided to meet, but we cancelled SS and nursery. I preached on the OT priesthood in relation to Christ, taking my title from Hebrews 9:11 “high priest of the good things that have come.” I spent most of the sermon setting the stage for the first ever public worship service of the LORD described in Leviticus 9. Eventually I ended up in Hebrews 9 and we reveled in the superiority of Jesus Christ as our high priest.
Herman Bavinck is a Dutch Reformed theologian from the late 19th and early 20th century, known for a four volume work on systematic theology called Reformed Dogmatics. In the past few decades, his work has become more widely known in English-speaking circles and he is renowned as a Reformed scholar clearly equal with the likes of B.B. Warfield. A newly translated work published by Hendrickson Publishers shows another side to Bavinck: he was a churchman with pastoral concern for the practical Christian faith of the average believer.