A Review of Persuasive Preaching

R. Larry Overstreet in his work Persuasive Preaching he makes the argument that in the end all preaching is to be persuasive. I would argue that he makes his point very well in this book, while the biggest draw back has to be that it is written more like a text book than a conversation.  This book is not a short read it is over 250 pages that includes all of its appendixes. This is a good book, structured in a manner that makes sense to the reader. There are many good points to the book but one area that I have an issue with is his chapter on invitation. He tries to make an argument from Scripture that there were invitations given after certain sermons. I still do not see where that comes into play even with what he was using as supporting evidence.  One section I did appreciate was the area on the Holy Spirit in preaching. He points out several things that the preacher must do, we mustn’t quench the Spirit and we shouldn’t neglect prayer.

            This book is a good book overall, with some very hard portions to read. It is not a book that I would recommend to the casual reader on preaching. I would however, recommend this work to seminary students and the seasoned pastor who is looking for a way to re-invigorate their preaching.  If you are looking for a good introductory work on preaching check out Expository Preaching by David Helm. It is a good little book that could be read in a few short sittings. So in closing this book gets a thumbs up if you are looking for this type of work, but if you are just looking for a casual read on preaching check out my other recommendation.

Raising Kids

            If there is one thing I have come to learn, it is that raising kids is a challenge in today’s society.  One of the reasons it is a challenge is because I am trying to raise them in a biblical way. That is not something that is smiled upon any more.  While there are some who do not agree with the manner in which I raise my children, my wife and I are doing our best to bring them up on the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

            We have one child who is special needs so that makes things a challenge.  He does not respond very well to discipline. I try hard to not take it personally when he doesn’t respond, but it is challenging to me being “old school.” When he talks back or is disrespectful I have to fight an urge inside of me to want to go off. I do rather well by the grace of God to hold back my “barbaric” urges. I want to live according to Proverbs 13:24 and love my sons accordingly. Out of all the jobs I have ever held being a parent has to be the hardest. I feel like a horrible parent most days when I do not just let my kids do whatever it is their little hearts desire. I want them to become good godly men one day. We try and implement rules and regulations for them that each boy has to abide by; we also try and give them age appropriate chores.

            Proverbs 19:18 gives hope to parents who are struggling with their children, it says “Discipline your son, for there is hope….” There is hope in disciplining your child(ren). The hope we have is in Christ. There is no other hope in this world. We have to learn as parents that when our children misbehave it is not always a reflection of our parenting skills and we need to ask ourselves why are we concerned about their behavior; is it because we are worried about what the person next to us is going to think? It is easy to fall in to that trap, we just have to remind ourselves that we are children of grace and to extend that same grace to our children.  When is it kids just being kids, or something more severe? I am no expert on this topic so please don’t take my words to be the final authority. We go to the final authority which is the Bible.

Review of Invitation to Philippians

            Donald R. Sunukjian wrote Invitation to Philippians in 2014. This work was not extremely long (113 pages), but it comes packed with information. Before this work I had never heard of this author, but I quickly grew to like his writing style. If you are looking for a traditional commentary on Philippians this work is not for you. However, if you are looking for a work that helps you think through the work and offers good illustrations then you are in the right place. Each chapter is broken down in to bite size pieces, and is processed in a like manner of a sermon.

            One way this book might be used is if you do not have a trained pastor on staff would be to use this work and let him preach it as though it were his own.  Being a seminary student I  do not always have time to do additional reading on top of school work, this book however was a joy to read and think through. I must say that I focused most of my attention on the section of Scripture I am writing a sermon on for class (Philippians 1:12-18).  Throughout that section I must have highlighted what equates to two whole pages of information. One tidbit I highlighted was, “Paul was in house arrest in Rome. He was able to receive visitors in the house,  but the chains never left his wrist….And even though he had no source of income he still had to pay the rent on the house or else he would be put in some dungeon.”(pg 24).

            This is a work I would happily recommend to anyone wanting to go deeper into the book of Philippians. I do not always give such a broad recommendation, this book however deserves it, with its conversational tone and style it has more mass appeal than some other commentaries on the subject.

I was given a copy of this work for review in exchange for a fair and honest review, I did not have to write a favorable review in order to receive this work.

Living with Pain- My Perspective

            Pain is not something new to the follower of Yahweh. It is not how God originally intended for life to be, but due to the fall of man in Genesis 3 pain has become a part of life. God promised Eve that she would experience pain during childbirth Gen 3:16. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul tells of a thorn that was given to him to help keep him from getting conceited. This should give us as believers some comfort that in our weakness God is getting the glory for the strength we do have. It is not of ourselves. I know suffering from fibromyalgia has changed my life and my perspective on life. And that is what things boil down to is perspective. Paul choose to see his strength lying in his weakness, and coming directly from God.

            I like Paul realize that it is no longer my own strength that things get accomplished, but through the power of Christ I am able to handle most anything. I remember what it was like to be completely healthy and do whatever I wanted; I would be remised to say I don’t miss it. However, due to my current circumstances I have grown closer and more in tune to the Holy Spirit. I can only hope to maintain the attitude of Job (Job 1:21). God gives and he takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord. It is never easy trying to live in constant pain or dealing with the inability to concentrate going through what is called fibro-fog. Job was a special man he lost everything except for his wife, and she wanted him to curse God and die. Job 2:9. Job not only lost his lively hood, his kids, his home, he ended up losing his health to the point that he was covered in boils. Leaving him not only in a depressed state but in constant pain. Even with all that he trusted God.

            While chronic pain has taken much away from me, it has also given me something I would never have gained without it, a stronger confidence in God. There are some in the Fibro community who will disagree with me, and that is okay.  I believe it has allowed me to trust that God has a plan for my life beyond what I can comprehend, there is a Christian rapper named Trip Lee that I really connect with because he suffers from a similar condition known as CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). I mention him because he not only raps but wants to be a pastor (which is what I am studying to become). Because with Fibromyalgia comes a very heavy fatigue some days. I have met the man in person and he is very down to earth and loves Jesus very much. On another note back to my point God is working something together for my good, I have a life verse I hold on to dearly it is Romans 8:28.

            So all of this to say, don’t allow the circumstances of life to dictate how you view life. Remember it is all about perspective, you can choose to view the glass as half empty or half full. It is my hope that you will see it as full and running over because of the work Christ has done on our behalf. Romans 5:8, 1 Peter 2:23-25.

-Preach

Teaching on 2 Timothy 2:2

This is my first attempt at a screen capture teaching. If you like it please let me know and I will try and produce more of them. This teaching is on 2 Timothy 2:2.