OT Preaching and the Word

I have just finished an article by Ellen F. Davis on preaching the OT.  An observation she made about preaching from Jeremiah bears repeating for anyone that has the responsibility for a church and preaching.

“What distinguishes Jeremiah from the masses of burnt-out ministers, lay and ordained, in the church, is that he never tries to fuel his ministry with his own vision, enthusiasm and creativity, with the clever answers he has devised to the conundrums of life. God’s word is the only source of power behind every word the prophet utters and everything he does, and his spiritual courage is demonstrated as he opens himself repeatedly to that word, through decades of unimaginably difficult ministry.”  (“Witnessing to God in the Midst of Life: Old Testament Preaching,” 
The Expository Times 2012 124:1 (1-8).

It is the Word that should and needs to take center stage in all we teach, preach, counsel, etc. in the church and in the preacher’s life as well.

2 Corinthians 12:9 & Trigeminal Neuralgia

I “surprised” my dean two weeks when I had the opportunity to preach at our college chapel and actually preached on the New Testament! My text for the morning was 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. My illustrations were of a personal nature as I shared my continual journey with Trigeminal Neuralgia and the grace of God.  To access the MP3 follow this link: http://www.bbc.edu/chapel.asp and look for Week of February 11-15, 2013 Thursday.  Let me know how you think an OT guy dealt with the NT.

OT & Trigeminal Neuralgia & Faith

A somewhat strange mixing of my worlds happened yesterday.  My neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson, who is managing my Trigeminal Neuralgia, was the keynote speaker at the Fellowship Foundation National Prayer Breakfast on February 7, 2013.  President and Mrs. Obama and the Vice president were in attendance.  He began his speech with readings from Proverbs, and 2 Chronicles.  Besides addressing education and our health care system, he recognized the complexities of our current tax system.  In its place he advocated for a fair tax system using the biblical “tithe” (i.e. 10%) as a principle.  According to Carson, this is a fair tax system since it comes from God who is the “fairest individual in the universe.” While I may point out to the doctor next time we are together that the OT tithe was closer to 30%, his point of a flat tax cannot be missed–even with President Obama only two seats away!  Carson is a man of courage and biblical convictions.  The video (here) is worth the time.

Preaching the Song of Songs

In my distraction in dealing with Trigeminal neuralgia and a CSF leak, I failed to post a paper I delivered at the Council for Dispensational Hermeneutics in Houston Texas, October 3-4, 2012.

It was entitled, “Preaching the Song of Songs: How Should Pastors Handle, ‘Bellies,’ ‘Navels,’ and ‘Breasts,’ from Their Sunday Morning Pulpit?: A Test Case in Literal Hermeneutics AND Literal Application.” McGinniss_Preaching-the-Song-of-Songs copy The title did generate some buzz and one participant thanked my dean for having the foresight to schedule it right after lunch!  He mentioned that no one would fall asleep with that topic…and from my vantage point…no one did

Living Your Faith on the Field

If you are a baseball fan, and even more a New York Yankee fan, you will want to read, Impact Player: Leaving a Lasting Legacy On and Off the Field by Bobby Richardson (Tyndale, 2012).  Richardson was the 2^nd baseman for the NY Yankees during their historic years 1955-1965 when the likes of Mantle and Maris roamed the outfield of the house that Ruth built. There are enough inside stories of Yankee players to make the book a walk down memory lane for those who either watched these players or were told stories by their fathers.

Once the Yankee management employed detectives to follow their players when they were off the field so nothing would distract them from the upcoming ’58 World Series. While volumes could be written about the off-the-field antics of Mantle, Ford and others, the only thing that could be written about Richardson was that he liked milkshakes with shortstop, Tony Kubek!  Thus, the two middle in-fielders were known as the “Milkshake Twins.”

Although the stories like these provide a humorous glimpse inside baseball, it was the way Richardson shared his faith and lived his faith before his teammates that make the book a profitable read for a Christian.  If you know someone who is a Christian athlete and desires to live his faith in the arena, this should be on their reading list.

A Book on Preaching the Song of Songs

Just finished Douglas Sean O’Donnell’s, The Song of Solomon: An Invitation to Intimacy in the Preaching the Word series from Crossway (2012).  This 183-page book consists of an introductory message covering 1:1 and then nine more actual sermons on the Song of Solomon (each about 10-12 pages long).

This book of messages is very well-researched and this is its number one strength.  O’Donnell’s ten messages cover 118 pages.  And while endnotes normally drive one a tad nutty, they were much appreciated in this endeavor and cover another 35 pages!   His first chapter which is really an introduction to the Song (and which is very good) has 53 notes alone.

O’Donnell is to be commended for not shying away from most of the difficult texts of the Song such as 4:1—5:1—although he goes only so far in unpacking the metaphors in the more erotic 7:1—10. After explaining thighs and bellies (7:1b; 2b), he leaves the rest of the imagery (“navel”) to be figured out by his hears (101).  One can hardly blame the preacher.

It may sound strange for one who loves Jesus to suggest that he is not in this book of the Bible by interpretation or application. But a literal interpretation should lead to a literal application. However, this is not always the case for O’Donnell and this creates one weakness in this book: O’Donnell’s Christological lens.  While he recognizes the literal interpretation of the text, he often allows dubious connections to create contemporary application.  For instance in 8:5, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning on her beloved?” From the word “leaning” in the text, O’Donnell first mentally connects to the hymn, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” and then links by only one word to “leaning on Jesus’ bosom” (John 13:23 KJV) and then jumps to this application: “The way Christians are to lean upon Jesus is similar to the way a wife is to lean upon her husband” (113).  While I agree that all Christians should “lean on Jesus,” unfortunately, hermeneutically, “one can hardly get there from here.”

For those interested in a study of the Song or attempting to preach it, the book is not the final word but it is a first one, (at least on preaching this OT hard text) and a good one at that.

The Titanic and the Genesis Flood

Check out this link for an article from ABC News that reports that Robert Ballard, who discovered the final resting place of the Titanic, has now discovered evidence for a worldwide flood in the Black Sea.  Ballard and his team believe, “that the now-salty Black Sea was once an isolated freshwater lake surrounded by farmland, until it was flooded by an enormous wall of water from the rising Mediterranean Sea.”  He believes that this was the Genesis Flood.  “Ballard said he believes they have established a timeline for that catastrophic event, which he estimates happened around 5,000 BC. Some experts believe this was around the time when Noah’s flood could have occurred.” An interesting read from the findings of a marine archaeologist.

Hurricane Sandy

My wife, Joy, found this video that shows the destruction from Hurricane Sandy on one street in Union Beach, NJ.  This town is part of the township where I pastored in NJ.  This damage shows the destructive power of the storm surge and the hurricane winds.

A side note: When we were looking to buy our first home about ten years ago, we looked at the house on end of this street! Although it is difficult to know for certain, I think the house is now the pile of debris at approx 1:27-1:34. Front Street, Union Beach, NJ.

The Song, Wedding Vows & TN

Those familiar with this blog recognize that one of my favorite books in the OT is the Song of Songs.  I have been back in it recently since I have written a paper on preaching the Song, which is to be presented at the Council of Dispensational Hermeneutics in Houston, TX, October 3-4. At the same time I am finishing the writing of my paper and practicing my copy editing skills, I am contemplating 33 years of marriage to my wife, Joy, on September 8.

At about the same time we celebrate our wedding vows I will have been diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia for two full years. Besides the frequent teeth-shattering jolts of TN pain that I have experienced everyday—sometimes hundreds of times a day for two full years, I have had six surgeries within the past 16 months: four that actually went into the skull to the brain stem and two to fix complications due to the last two craniotomies. Even as I write we are fighting a CSF leak (Cerebral Spinal Fluid), which is a complication of my last two MVD’s! And like the unbelievable intensity of TN pain, it has been an unbelievable two years.

But in the midst of such incredible pain and the fear of more pain is love, a love that was promised 33 years ago—when we were both very young and very healthy and probably very naïve about the future.  While there are a number of marriages that break under the strain of serious disease, ours has continued to grow.  This is something I do not take for granted since too many marriages run shipwreck on the rocks of chronic illness.  A NYT article (Nov 12, 2009) reports that in one study 12 percent of patients divorced during a serious illness. If that study is broken down by gender, the results suggest that if a man is sick 3 percent experience the end of a relationship.  If it is the woman who receives the bad news from her doctor, the percentage jumps to 21 percent of guys who either divorce or separate from their spouse. I have no such fears.  Not because the statistics are on my side but because Joy promised 33 years ago to love me “in sickness and in health” and she believes and lives out Song 8:7.

“Many waters cannot quench love

Nor will rivers over flow it.”

It is not easy to live with someone in chronic and intense pain.  In my case there is nothing Joy can do for me when the unpredictable pain strikes.  But Joy never shies away from my pain or me.  On the contrary, when she sees (or hears) me in pain, she stops what she is doing, and comes over and enters into the pain.  A gentle hand on my shoulder, a squeeze of my hand in hers reminds me that I am not alone.  It also reminds me of a love that cannot be quenched by the raging river of pain or will unfortunate circumstances of life overflow it.

While there may be nagging fears that haunt our future, the one fear that does not haunt is Joy’s love—even in the midst of TN.

Thy Text and Thy Repellant, They Comfort Me?

In the not so distance future the modern shepherd may be replaced by a texting collar on his flock!  Sheep in Europe are being fitted with a collar that will send a text message to the shepherd when they are being attacked by a wolf!  The collar will also dispense a repellant to drive away the predator.  (See the story here).  Field trials are expected to begin in Switzerland in 2012.

I cannot help but wonder how this technology will impact the preaching of Psalm 23.

Imagine v. 1  The smartphone is my shepherd, I shall not want…