Review of Bryan Chapell's Redemptive-Historical View of Preaching

This post is a review of “Redemptive-Historic View” by Bryan Chapell in Scott M. Gibson and Matthew D. Kim. Homiletics and Hermeneutics.

I agree with Byran Chapell when he warns that the redemptive-historical view of forcing Christ into every text has “been abused, in ways that are now obvious to us, by ancient allegorism that sought to make Jesus ‘magically’ appear in every Bible passage through exegetical acrobatics that stretched logic, imagination, and credulity.”[1] I appreciate Chapell’s candid admission.

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Applications that Change Lives

Daniel Darling gave this advice on how to better apply our sermons to our people:

I endeavor to live in and among my people in such a way that I hear their conversations, listen to their pain, and understand their struggles. I cannot simply preach from the ivory pulpit; I must seed my preaching with the blood, sweat, and tears of those whom I serve (“Who Exactly Am I Preaching To?” in Leadership, Fall 1997).

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Sermon Evaluation Form

Here is a sermon evaluation form that can be used in internships and preaching classes.

Preacher Sermon Title Scripture

__________________ Date ________

I. Textual Faithfulness 1 2 3 4

    A. Overall, was the sermon faithful to the text?

    B. What was the MPS of the sermon?

    C. What was the main divisions that developed the MPS?

II. Instruction 1 2 3 4

     A. How did this sermon engage your mind?

     B. Were you persuaded by the sermon’s MPS?

     C.  Was the passage adequately explained?

III. Communication 1 2 3 4     

        A. Movement

             1.     Introduction got my attention

             2.     Introduction laid foundation for the sermon

             3.     Did sermon have clear outline?

             4.     Sense of momentum?

        B. Order and Unity

             1.     Main divisions developed

             2.     Organized progression to sermon

             3.     Illustrations subservient to truth

             4.     Transitions were clear  

             5.     Was the sermon unified?

             6.     Length of sermon

IV. Delivery

       A. Language and vocabulary

       B. Voice inflection/volume/clarity

       C. Eye contact

       D. Pulpit presence

Take sermon notes at bottom to finish statements & questions below

1. Mention one positive

2. Mention one area of improvement

 

 

Two Kinds of Narrative Preaching

1. Biblical narrative preaching that is based on the narratives of Scripture (See Factual Data Sheet for Narratives)

2. Non-biblical narrative preaching that is based on stories or narratives told by the preacher 

            Ralph L. Lewis and Gregg Lewis, in their book Inductive Preaching: Helping People Listen give two examples of inductive or what I am calling non-biblical narrative preaching. We will examine only the first example based on the petition in what the preacher identified as the Lord’s Prayer “Deliver us?” (page 168-182). This prayer is better described as the Model Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer in is John 17.

            The sermon has roughly 30 stories from contemporary experiences, history, and nature. There are twelve passing references to Biblical examples. At one point, the preacher asked 19 questions back to back and in another section, 22 questions were asked back to back. What is glaringly absent from the sermon is any interpretation. No context is provided for the Model Prayer and no explanation of the Model Prayer nor of the petition “Deliver us.”

            The main divisions of the inductive sermon are questions:  

I. Anybody need deliverance?

II. Anybody being delivered in our day?

III. Anybody been delivered in the past?

IV. Anybody want to be delivered now? 

            The last main division is supposed to be the main point to which the sermon has inductively led. The last main division is supposed to be the solution. In the last main division, no solution is offered. Two passages are referred to and read (Psalm 34:4-19 and Romans 7:34) but no explanation is given.

            The Biblical Narrative sermon is based on the story or narrative told by God in His Word. The Factual Data Sheet for Narratives emphasizes the context of the narrative and also shows how to interpret the content of the Biblical narrative. Biblical narratives are inductive in nature. At the beginning of the plot there is a crisis and at the end there is a Biblical solution. Biblical narrative are thoroughly biblical in content and in solutions.

Byran Chapell issues a warning concerning this kind of inductive preaching. “Because the inductive process emphasizes matters not directly off the pages of Scripture, it raises suspicions ... it is weak on exposition of the Bible. The sermon revolves around the life situation, and whatever is said about the Scriptures is often tangential to the message rather than its central core.”[1] 

            Chapell’s concern is well founded. The two examples of this kind of inductive sermons in Lewis’s book, Inductive Preaching, are over ninety percent anecdotes, facts, and examples from history. This kind of inductive sermon is not included with the other types of narrative sermons in this book. The first kind of inductive narrative is what I call unbiblical narrative preaching.

            The second kind of inductive sermon also starts with a problem and is called Biblical Narrative preaching or more specifically the Biblical problem/Biblical solution Narrative sermon. This is the inductive narrative sermon advocated here. The problem is presented in the narrative text, and the solution is also found in the biblical story. This kind of inductive preaching reflects the problem/solution characteristic of biblical narratives. David Duel advocates this approach, “If the preacher’s goal is to be expositional, what is more expositional than preaching the text in its story-line form.”[2]

[1] Chapell, Bryon. Using Illustrations to Preach with Power. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 26, 27, 30.

[2] David C. Duel, “Expository Preaching from Old Testament Narrative.” In Rediscovering Expository Preaching, ed. John MacAuthor, 275. Dallas: Word, 1992.

           

Step Eight: Preach so People will Respond (Part 2)

Haddon Robinson opens chapter 10 “How To Preach So People Will Listen” with an important reminder: Most books on preaching say a great deal about the development of the sermon but little about its delivery. That is reflected in the way we preach. While ministers spend hours every week on sermon construction, they seldom give even a few hours a year to thinking about their delivery. Yet sermons do not come into the world as outlines or manuscripts. They live only when they are preached. A sermon ineptly delivered arrives stillborn” ((Robinson, The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages, second edition, p. 201).

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Step Eight: Preach so People will Respond (Part 1)

C. John Miller taught homiletics at Westminster and was listening to a taped sermon that one of his students had preached at a nearby church as an assignment. “He was not exactly reading the manuscript, but he was heavily dependent on it. I could feel that his interest was not in his listeners, but in the ideas in the manuscript. He droned on in a wooden tone when suddenly loud, booming voices began to break into his message. A true-life adventure was taking place! The recording equipment in the church was picking up police radio calls. The radio messages revealed that a robber was trapped by the police in a fast-food drive-in restaurant.

Every word the police said had a clear purpose. They meant to capture this man or know the reason why not. I can remember many of the words of the policemen. One of them was yelling to his partners, “Come on! Come on! Over there!” These men, out there on the street with drawn weapons, knew what they had to do. Their whole enterprise was focused on a single purpose: to capture the man. I think that is our purpose in preaching too:  to capture the man for Christ when we preach! Permit nothing in the message that does not serve this master purpose” (C. John Miller, Preaching by Faith, 124).

To capture a man for Christ we must use every weapon at our disposal including the voice God has given us, facial expressions, and gesturing ability empowered by God's Spirit.

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Step Seven: Prepare the Conclusion

“Some preachers are in their approach toward the runway when, at an altitude of only a few feet from the ground, they get a new thought and —instead of landing —zoom up into the air again. Then, once more, they circle the field, line up with the landing strip, lower their flaps and start to come in for the landing, only to shoot up into the sky instead” (Jay Adams, Preaching with Purpose, p. 66). Haddon Robinson adds that your conclusion should not resemble a crash (Steven Mathewson, The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative, 150).

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Step Five: Develop the Sermon Outline (Part 3: Illustrations)

James Braga defines an illustration as “a means of throwing light upon a sermon by the use of an example” (How to Prepare Bible Messages, 231). Haddon Robinson says an illustration can either be like a beautiful lamp and a streetlight. When you walk into someone’s expensive den and notice an ornate lamp, you compliment its beauty to the owners. But if you are walking down a city sidewalk at night, the streetlights provide you visibility but you hardly notice them. A sermon illustration should be like the streetlight. It throws light on the subject you are preaching but doesn’t unnecessarily draw attention to the illustration. The illustration is always a handmaiden to explanation.

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Step Five: Develop the Sermon Outline (Part 2) Argumentation

Albert Mohler in his book, He is Not Silent has Chapter 3 “Preaching is Expository: A Theology of Exposition."In this chapter, Mohler contends that our view of God's revelation in His Word will be reflected in our preaching. If we possess a low view of revelation then our preaching will not have much or any theology in it. If we have a low view of the doctrine of revelation, then in our preaching we will preach “pop psychology and culture, or we will tell compelling stories." We preach the theology of a passage because it is God's authoritative Word that is life changing.

In this step, we insert the theology of the text.

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Step Four: Construct The Sermon Outline

John R. W. Stott gave this advice on constructing the sermon outline in chapter six in Between Two Worlds: There must be structure to subordinate our material to the theme of the sermon. One danger is a too prominent outline like the protruding skeleton of a starving prisoner of war. Double or triple alliteration of main points is an example. Another danger is artificiality of outline.

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STEP THREE: Discover the Main Point of the Sermon (Reduce the sermon to one sentence)

The Proposition is the sermon reduced to one sentence. If one of your members were asked by a friend at work on Monday, “What did your pastor preach about yesterday?” Your church member ought to be able to reply, without hardly thinking, what your proposition was or your sermon reduced to one sentence. “Our pastor preached, ‘You must be born again from John 3.'”

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STEP TWO: Study the Passage

This takes time. A large block of uninterrupted time early in the morning is usually the best. There is an excellent interview between C. J. Mahaney and Mark Dever on this necessary step. Mark Dever says that he first reads and rereads the passage that he is going to preach and spends about 35 hours a week in sermon preparation. Dever tells the following story to make his point:

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You Can Be Mentored by Spurgeon!

Since Spurgeon was not televised and Mclaren did not pod cast, does this mean I must leave their beautifully leather bond sermons just to decorate my library shelves? Being personally familiar with a preacher is helpful to benefit from his preaching. Andrew W. Blackwood in his book Preaching from the Bible aids us in getting to know preachers from the past. Blackwood encourages preachers to read at least one good biography of a well known and greatly used preacher before getting into his printed sermons. Next, read any books he has written on preaching and pasturing (Andrew W. Blackwood. Preaching from the Bible. New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1941, pages 235 ff.).

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STEP ONE: Choose the Passage

John Calvin was dedicated to preaching verse by verse through books of the Bible. Steven J. Lawson in his book The Expository Genius of John Calvin wrote that Calvin preached through “Genesis, Deuteronomy, Job, Judges, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, the Major and Minor Prophets, the Gospels, Acts, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, I and II Thessalonians, I and II Timothy, Titus, and Hebrews” (page 33). Calvin was banished for three years (1538-1541) from Geneva by the City Council because he refused to let members living in open sin participate. When the city began to struggle, the City Council invited Calvin to return. “In September 1541, Calvin reentered his Geneva pulpit and resumed his exposition exactly where he had stopped three years earlier—-on the next verse! Similarly, Calvin became seriously ill in the first week of October 1558 and did not return to the pulpit until Monday, June 12, 1559—-when he resumed at the very next verse in the book of Isaiah” (page 33). Hence, the advantage of series preaching through books of the Bible.

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EIGHT SIMPLE Steps To Preparing and Preaching a Sermon

Start early! This is the welcomed advice of Bruce Mawhinney in Preaching with Freshness, Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 1991, p. 41). “Early exegesis helps to prevent late eisegesis.” Bruce Mawhinney is senior pastor of New Covenant Fellowship in Mechanicsburg and writes one of the most refreshing books on preaching I have ever read. Preaching with Freshness is a first-person narrative on reviving stale preaching. Howard Hendricks said, "If more books on preaching were as interesting as this, then perhaps we would have more interesting preachers."

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