Preaching from Job

1. Beware of taking your text from the sayings of Job's uninspired friends. They did not speak for God.

2. Preach the story from an "omniscient" point of view. The Bible tells the story in this way. The writer takes us behind the scenes to show us things the characters did not know. You can preach from this point of view in 3rd person by just telling the story (emphasizing the highpoints) or in 1st person as an angel or departed saint who was there when "the sons of God" presented themselves and saw the drama unfold.

When preaching from this point of view, avoid the temptation to belittle Job's pain. Just because you know it's going to work out alright in the end doesn't make what he endured any less painful while he endured it.

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3. Preach the story from a limited point of view. Job, his wife, nor his friends knew why he was suffering. Put yourself in their place and recount the story and what you learned from it as one of the actors.

I think people respond better to the limited point of view because that's where we operate. None of us fully knows why. God never did explain Himself to Job. We can sympathize with Job and his wife. Knowing we're not alone in our experience makes it more bearable.

4. Preach the dialogues as dialogue. Present the thoughts of one of Job's friends using your own words. Then, present Job's response or God's answer as found elsewhere in Scripture. It's a point and counter-point approach to the sermon: What man says. What God says.

5. Challenge the expression "the patience of Job." Acknowledge that Job persevered until the trial ended, but he grew impatient during the process. He impatiently wanted to know why, but he was never told why. He impatiently waited for vindication, but vindication didn't come right away. He impatiently wished for a Mediator, but He didn't arrive until 2000 years later in a manager in Bethlehem. Like Job, we may never know why. Vindication may not come as soon as we would like; but all that's okay, because we know we have a Mediator Who represents our interests to the Father.

6. However you preach the story, do more than analyze it. Tap into it existentially. Identify with the characters. Create space for your congregation to feel their confusion, pain, and anger.

Preaching from Psalms

Whole volumes and workshops have been devoted to considering how to interpret and preach the Psalms. I have found Haddon Robinson's insights particularly helpful. Rather than rehash his ideas, let me note in passing that the wisdom psalms are composed from different perspective.7

1. From a 1st person perspective the psalmist addresses God directly. In 3rd person he may exhort others to address Him with their own praises and petitions. Such an arrangement suggests the preacher could let his congregation "overhear" him carrying on a one-sided conversation with God in line with the psalm's content or exhort his congregation directly to pray about specific matters mentioned in the text.