 |
|
|
If you've been reading PreachingNow for awhile, you know I don't do a lot of promotion in this introductory section of the newsletter, but I've got something for you that's too good to miss. If you have thought about getting a subscription to Preaching magazine -- and admit it, you know you have -- here's a terrific opportunity to try the magazine and get a gift worth more than $100! Until March 31 (or supplies run out), you can receive a free copy of WordSearch 7 Bible study software (complete with a library of dozens of books and commentaries) as our FREE gift when you begin a subscription to Preaching. (Sorry, this offer is only available to new subscribers.) Not only will you save $5.00 off the regular one-year subscription rate, but you'll also receive the free software. It's really an amazing deal. Here's the catch: we have only 400 WordSearch CDs to give, so you need to act fast. I'm giving PreachingNow readers a one-week head start on this offer; next week it will be advertised widely (if we haven't already run out of CDs). So this is your chance to get a great deal and to begin that Preaching magazine subscription you've been wanting anyway! Just go to www.preaching.com/wordsearch to take advantage of this offer. Michael
Duduit, Editor Click here to visit "I Was Just Thinking" (Michael's blog) for insights and observations about faith and culture issues. There's still time for you to join us in Cambridge this April! Visit www.preaching.com/icop to learn about the International Congress on Preaching this April 17-19 in Cambridge, England, sponsored by Preaching magazine.
Teaching Like Jesus In an article in the Nov-Dec 2006 issue of Rev. magazine, Alan Nelson talks about the value of experiential learning, which he says was modeled by Jesus. Nelson writes: "Think of the people leaving the sanctuary after hearing you preach. By the time they've reached their vehicles, research indicates that they've already forgotten 90 percent of your message. . . . "If you could multiply the 'take away value' of your message up to nine times, you'd want to know, correct? There's a proven way to significantly increase the residual effect of our biblical messages. It is the method Jesus often implemented as well as the approach increasingly being embraced by secular organizations. Educators refer to it as 'active learning.' We call it the 10/90 Principle because people remember only 5 to 10 percent of what they hear but up to 90 percent of what they experience. . . . "Although modern educators are now catching on to the value of active learning, Jesus often implemented these strategies in his teaching. For example, when Jesus turned water into wine at Cana, it involved the experience of pouring water into containers and then the sense of taste as the wedding part noticed the quality of the wine (John 2:1-11). Later Jesus instructed one of his disciples to pay a tax by catching a fish and pulling a coin out of its mouth (Matt 17:24-26). He healed a blind man by mixing his spit into dirt to make mud (John 9:1-11). . . . He broke bread, passed the cup, and then washed the disciples' feet. Jesus said, 'You don't understand now what I am doing, but someday you will' (John 13:1-17)."
What's the Big Idea? Dave Ferguson has a new book out called The Big Idea (click here to learn more). We will have an interview with Dave in the July-August issue of Preaching, but the use of the "Big Idea" in preaching all goes back to Haddon Robinson. In a recent interview Haddon explains: "When I talk about a big idea, I'm talking about the major idea of the sermon, the proposition of the sermon, the basic principle you're trying to get across. The reason 'the big idea' has become popular as a way of talking about it is that when I was trying to establish it in the minds of my students I would say, 'What's the big idea?' It was a slang expression, but I was trying to get it to stick in students' minds. I did well, because that's the way people refer to it today. "A sermon has many ideas to it, but all of them should grow out of the major idea of the sermon. That's not new with me. Go back as far as Aristotle and Plato and Cicero, and you'll find that they talk about having a proposition around which the speech is developed. Often this gets lost when it comes to sermons. So when I talk about a big idea, I'm talking about an organizing factor. Take all the parts of a sermon and put them together into a whole, and that whole is the central idea -- the big idea -- in the sermon. So, one purpose of the big idea is that you organize the sermon around it. "A second purpose is that you want to leave something lasting in the minds of the congregation when a sermon is over. The truth is, people don't remember outlines. They may not even refer to them again. I don't know of anyone who's been moved to God with an outline of the book of Galatians. What people do live for, what they do die for, is an idea, some great truth that has gripped them. "I can't expect that every congregation is going to remember every idea I try to get across, but there's a better chance they'll take something away and remember it a week or two or even a month or two later if I can stamp that central thrust on their minds. The rest of the sermon is often like the scaffolding: it's important, but the major thing is for people to get hold of an idea or have an idea get hold of them that can in some way shape the way they respond to life." (Click here to read the full interview. Click here to learn more about Haddon Robinson's book Biblical Preaching.) http://pttranscripts.stores.yahoo.net/betterbigideas.html
Reaching new cultural groups For years, arguments that the church needs to be sensitive to cultural issues have primarily been a challenge to predominantly white congregations. But with the growth of the Hispanic population in the US, African-American congregations are facing the same issue of cultural sensitivity to another minority group. A Feb. 20 Associated Press story describes the work of Bishop Eddie Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta as they have responded to an increasing Hispanic population. Reporter Errin Haines writes: "The area's Hispanic population has grown from just 1 percent in 2000, to nearly 9 percent today. And New Birth is acknowledging its new neighbors in a way most historically black churches haven't. "Long is trying to attract Latino members by hiring a Hispanic band, adding Spanish-language Sunday services, hiring a Hispanic pastor -- even by learning Spanish. 'My message has been geared to challenging African-Americans, but I have to be culturally sensitive,' said Long, whose congregation draws more than 25,000 worshippers. 'Now, I focus on using biblical principles that are relevant to everyone.' Long's services are already translated into Spanish, among other languages, but Long wanted to do more for Hispanics at home. "It's a challenging plan. Most Latinos in the United States attend churches that started in their own neighborhoods, or they worship at predominantly white churches with large missions to Spanish-speaking immigrants. But Long says black churches have a special lesson for Hispanics. Like African-Americans before them, new Latino arrivals are struggling with poverty, finding work, getting a good education and getting a say in public policy. "We were there," Long said. "Because we're beginning to turn the corner, we can reach back to our brother. This is about people working together and using faith to improve themselves." (Click here to read full article)
ILLUSTRATION: Slavery The new movie Amazing Grace tells the story of William Wilberforce, whose Christian convictions drive him to lead the battle against slavery and the slave trade in the British empire. But slavery is not simply a distant memory; as an article in the Feb. 24 issue of World magazine points out, human trafficking "ensnares 600,000 to 800,000 people a year" and is "the world's third-largest criminal business after drugs and arms dealing." The World report explains: "The type of slavery Wilberforce and his American contemporaries knew was chattel slavery, in which one man owned another human being. According to the abolitionist group Free the Slaves, a slave in the American South in 1850 cost $40,000 in today's dollars. Today, the average cost of a slave is $90. A growing population with millions of poor means an ample supply of potential slaves that has driven down the price. . . . "Chattel slavery is now relatively rare, largely limited to parts of Africa. Most of today's slaves -- about 20 million -- are in debt bondage, and mostly in the South Asian countries of India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Others in places such as Southeast Asia and Brazil are contract laborers, lured by promises of well-paying jobs but forced to remain in harsh, menial conditions. Forced marriages enslave women and girls." To learn more about the Amazing Change campaign against contemporary slavery, visit www.theamazingchange.com. The book This Immoral Trade: Slavery in the 21st Century (Monarch) offers insights into this tragic practice that destroys millions of lives. (Click here to learn more about the book.)
ILLUSTRATION: Power of obedience In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe "Pioneer 10." Its main mission was to reach Jupiter and send back information about that planet. It was a bold plan because at that time no satellite had gone beyond Mars. Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and so much more. In November 1973 it swung past Jupiter, then it passed Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. By 1997, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. Despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to earth. The most remarkable thing was that those signals were powered by an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light. Not even the most optimistic scientist could have ever imagined what that little 8-watt transmitter could do. So it is when you and I offer ourselves to God in faithful obedience. It's just incredible what God can do through little 8-watt transmitters like you and me, when we're turned on for Him. (Bill Bouknight)
ILLUSTRATION: Providence The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!" One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail. About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way. As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this." "No," his friend replied, "This is good!" "What do you mean, 'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?" "If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you!"
ILLUSTRATION: Cleverness, Ingenuity A police officer had a perfect hiding place for watching for speeders. But one day, everyone who drove by was well under the speed limit. Wondering why this was happening, the officer found the problem: a 10 year old boy was standing on the side of the road with a huge hand-painted sign that said "RADAR TRAP AHEAD." A little more investigative work led the officer to the boy's accomplice: another boy about 100 yards beyond the radar trap with a sign reading "TIPS" and a bucket at his feet, full of money.
4
Myths About Attending the Myth
1: I can't afford to go to Cambridge. Myth
2: I don't know how to get around a foreign country. Myth
3: It sounds like a good event, but I'll just go next year. Myth
4: This is probably just like other ministry conferences. So don't "myth out" on an incredible event. You can still be part of the third International Congress on Preaching, April 17-19 in Cambridge, England. In addition to the speakers already named, you'll hear gifted communicators like J. Alfred Smith, Michael Quicke, Timothy Warren, Robert Smith, Mike Glenn, Randy Roberts, Carol Noren, John Huffman, Bill Self, Leslie Holmes, David Jackman, and many more. You'll enjoy stimulating addresses on the Congress theme, "For Such a Time as This: Preaching Truth in an Age of Idolatry." You'll hear challenging sermons, and you'll participate in practical workshops on a variety of preaching-related topics. There's still time to register, so make your plans now to be with us. To learn more (and register online), go to www.preaching.com/icop or you can call 800-527-5226 (toll free inside U.S.) or 615-386-3011 (outside the U.S.)
"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." (Zig Ziglar)
From the sponsor of this week's edition: Preaching With Power Preaching with Power (Baker), is a book featuring 20 interviews from the pages of Preaching magazine. Preaching with Power includes interviews with preachers like John MacArthur, Haddon Robinson, Lloyd John Ogilvie, Rick Warren, Adrian Rogers, David Jeremiah, Ed Young Jr., T.D. Jakes, Andy Stanley, and eleven more. Click here to learn more or to order your copy today.
ILLUSTRATION: Conditions, Agreements Kurt was going out with a nice girl and finally popped the question. "Will you marry me, darling?" he asked. Lisa smiled coyly and said, "Yes, if you'll buy me a mink." Kurt thought for a moment and then replied, "Okay, it's a deal, on one condition." "What is that?" Lisa asked. "You'll have to clean the cage," Kurt replied. (Cybersalt Digest)
"The basic question is not how much of our money should we give to God, but how much of God's money should we keep for ourselves." (J. Oswald Sanders)
You May Be a Bad Cook If . . . * You make tuna noodle broccoli surprise for your family and the surprise is that it glows in the dark! * Your homemade bread can be used as a doorstop. * The EPA requires that all your garbage cans be marked with large bright red 'biohazard' symbols. * You use the smoke alarm as a cooking timer. * You consider it a culinary success if the pop-tart stays in one piece. * Your dog goes to the neighbors' to eat. * Your family buys Alka Seltzer in bulk. * Your family automatically heads for the dinner table every time they hear a fire truck siren. * Your microwave display reads "TILT!" * Your two best recipes are meatloaf and apple pie, but your dinner guests can't tell which is which. * Your family prays AFTER they eat!
And finally . . . If you've been trying to cut back on the fried chicken, here's just the story to help. A dozen rats were caught on video scurrying around the floor of a New York City KFC/Taco Bell restaurant last Friday, according to a Feb. 23 AP story. The rats were seen running between counters and tables and climbing on children's high chairs. According to the AP story: "News crews flocked to the windows of the Greenwich Village neighborhood restaurant, which hadn't opened for the day. By midmorning, the footage was all over the Internet and television news shows, with onlookers giving a play-by-play from the sidewalk as the rodents moved about. "He's coming for his close-up," one bystander said as a rat came near the window. The restaurant had apparently just passed a health inspection in December, but a violation was issued at the time to the restaurant owner about "evidence of rats" -- which meant only droppings at the time. Calling the situation "completely unacceptable," a KFC spokesman said that construction in the basement on Thursday "temporarily escalated the situation."
Not a current subscriber to Preaching magazine? Why not share PreachingNow with a friend? Missing
an issue of PreachingNow? Problems
with links? Received
this by mistake? |
|
PreachingNow
is a publication of Salem Publishing. Editor: Dr. Michael Duduit.
|