QTC Preaching Week - Gospels Elective with Luke Tattersall #1

First thing:  Work out the structure (particularly important for gospels because it can be hard to tell!)

To preach on a bit, you have to have some idea of the purpose of the gospel, where the gospel writer is going with this.

Encouraging us to work out our own  idea first before bouncing off other people's structures.

Two levels of structure: the structure of the book, and then the breakup you do for your preaching series.

"The question that I keep coming back to in how to break up passages into preaching portions is: will this break-up help people learn to read this book for themselves?"

QTC preaching week - O'Donnell #1

"Our adult age doesn't bring us so near to God as we are apt to think" - Jonathan Edwards

The wisdom literature puts us in our place, for the Lord alone has heavenly wisdom.  He alone is truly wise.  Knowledge of the Holy One can't be gained from within us.  We can't fathom the one who gathers the waters and winds in his hand.

The key to wisdom: the fear of Yhwh.

Ultimately, God's wisdom is displayed in Christ crucified.  He is no fool who abandons human wisdom to follow a secret but now revealed foolishness, which is the perfection of heavenly wisdom.


Tip #1 for preaching Wisdom Literature (WL): Gospel Awe.

The necessary bridge between hermeneutics and homiletics.
There is a certain ethos that must go with preaching WL.

Holiness brings happiness.
Purity gives power.

The preacher's awe builds ethics as much as the preacher's ethos.

"Amazing condescencion, that God would become a man and have a genealogy."  Charles Spurgeon.  (in a sermon on Matthew 1)