Reflections on Homiletics

2002-09-24

It was good to communicate from the heart. A discussion on homiletics started our discussion off today, but then the discussion did not have anything to do with homiletics anymore. It was about what the condition of what the heart really is like. The question of sermons and presentations turned into a basic question: does your message create movement? Is the person a different person? What did that message make me want to be? Repentance is this movement. The movement is in the direction of maturity. Over a series or a period, there should be movement toward God and also toward people. The goal is for people to know God and display him to the world. In John 5, we see Pharisees that are diligent in their studies of the Scriptures, yet they are not led to Jesus. This happens today all the time. It is the same thing, each and every time. We need to wrestle with Scripture correctly and then preach with the right motive. The goal is not just for us to behave better.

The fruit of repentance is not behavior. It is relationships (cf. 1 John). In Psalm 51 we see David pouring his heart out to God, mentioning not the deeds he had done, but the very condition of his heart. The New Covenantal form we need; it sets people free. Jesus came to set people free. Passion we should portray, not pressure. The attitude could be summed up with “I want to...” not, “I have to...” We need to be released to God. If we are to be presenting the heart of God, the passion must go through our heart. The message should be sopped in our tears and blood. The question here lies, “why is preaching not changing lives?”

How to keep the act of homiletics in the heart

I. Passionate presentations

The Bible is being taught in several places. It is not just about what is learned, but what God does in the heart. We need to hear the heart of God, and our passion needs to come alive. Books might have the principles, but you do not get the person unless you are with them.

II. Personal participation

In most churches, there is one-way communication. There needs to be interaction. How do we get people involved in the process? We need to engage people in dialogue. We need to value people and their input. There also needs to be a repentance of pride.

When all of these things happen, community grows and lives are changed. These things cannot happen in a large group.

Reflection on these things in class:

How will lives be changed in our church? How might we move from where we are? I am trying to think of a right answer but there is none. I appreciate the Bible but do not love people; I have neglected them. I have kept to myself and I have tried to do everything on my own. Relationships: are they only for show? I want to be a man after God’s own heart. But I am afraid to see what happens when I walk out that door into the land of mediocrity.

Source

Michael Dittman. Small Group/Practicum Meeting. September 24, 2002.