Last week, we asked for prayer for Harry Garden (seated at right in the picture), who was near death in hospice care. Harry died late Sunday evening, April 12. He spent the day surrounded by family including children and grandchildren.
Harry’s widow, Mary Ann, is happy to have family surrounding her at this time. She reports that Harry died peacefully and that his hope and faith throughout his illness was an inspiration to all who came into contact with him.
Thanks for your continuing prayers for Mary Ann and the rest of Harry’s family. Cards may be sent to:
Mary Ann Garden 11412 W Sheriac Street Wichita, KS 67209
On the way out of church one Sunday, a young boy announced: ”Mommy, I’ve decided to become a minister when I grow up.” She replied, “That’s okay with us, but what made you decide that?” “Well,” said the little boy, “I have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell, than to sit and listen.”
Thankfully, most of our pastors and other preachers are not into yelling, though I chuckle remembering being “yelled at” in sermons when I was growing up.
I’m reminded of another story about preaching: A boy was watching his father, a pastor, write a sermon. “How do you know what to say?” he asked. “Why, God tells me,” his father answered. The boy then asked, “So, why do you keep crossing things out?”
Martin Luther
Certainly God puts in our hearts both the desire to preach and the content of the message, and yet we have our part to play—a part that certainly challenges us. When I sense God sharing something with me during times of study and meditation in Scripture, I often desire to share what I’m learning with others through a sermon or article. God, who desires to be known, uses our preaching to tell people about his nature, character, heart, mind and purpose as revealed and embodied in Jesus Christ. As Martin Luther said, “Beyond all the might and the power of the world and of all creatures, Christ proves his ability to draw the hearts of men to himself through the Word alone.” Our preaching should deliver God’s Word, the gospel, to God’s beloved children. In emphasizing the importance and power of that type of preaching, Martin Luther said this:
The lips are the public reservoirs of the church. In them alone is kept the Word of God… Unless the Word is preached publicly, it slips away. The more it is preached, the more firmly it is retained. Reading it is not as profitable as hearing it, for the live voice teaches, exhorts, defends, and resists the spirit of error. Satan does not care a hoot for the written Word of God, but he flees at the speaking of the Word (Luther’s Works, volume 18, p. 401).
John Calvin
Luther believed that the Holy Spirit was uniquely at work in the preaching of God’s Word. John Calvin held the same belief and emphasized a verse-by-verse, expository method. He would spend months preaching through books of the Bible. His series in Acts took more than three years. He gave 186 sermons in Corinthians, 353 in Isaiah and 200 in Deuteronomy. Now, I’m not recommending we do exactly as Calvin did. He preached ten times every two weeks, but most of us preach once a week at most. However, there is much to be said about having a thorough knowledge of Scripture—understanding who it is written to and what events were occurring when it was written, then keeping that knowledge under the umbrella of the most important exegetical question of all: Who is Jesus?
I marvel at what occurs between the delivery and reception of a sermon. The ideas the preacher seeks to convey sometimes are quite different from what an individual listener receives. On several occasions someone thanked me for “the very clear point” they heard in my sermon. When they describe that point, I wonder if they heard what I actually said! It’s not that they weren’t listening, or were hearing what they wanted to hear. God had a message just for them. That God often works in this way is one of the reasons I spend a lot of time in prayer during sermon preparation.
When I preach, I seek to follow Jesus’ method of using stories, humor and drama, with references to common practices of contemporary culture. Story-telling is one of the most effective tools in preaching. I seek to faithfully communicate the expository background/context of the passage, then illustrate the application of its main point by telling a relevant story. Though listeners may not remember all the background, they will often remember the story and its main point.
St. Peter Preaching at Pentecost by Benjamin West
The church’s founding fathers, who also were preachers, tended to tell stories to effectively communicate the message of the gospel. In the book of Acts and the Epistles we find Peter, John and Paul sharing stories of their personal journey with Jesus. We also find this narrative approach in the sermons of such notable preachers as John Chrysostom (the “golden mouth” preacher), Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, John Knox, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon and David Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
Though none of us are famous preachers, our sermons still are of great value, particularly when well-prepared. In his book for preachers, Between Two Worlds, John Stott says it takes at least 12 hours to prepare an effective sermon. Though many of our preachers are unable to devote that much time, I urge us all to make sermon preparation a high priority. As noted above, that includes time in prayer.
Effective sermons clearly communicate the gospel and leave the audience wanting more. Many of us have experienced a child squealing with delight when we lift them into the air and spin them around. Their first response is often, “Do it again!” So we lift and twirl them again, only to hear, “Do it again!” and again and again. When we tire and put them down, they still call out for more. Effective preaching is like that. When we tell the story and make our point, people respond with, “Tell us more!”
Jesus exhorts us to embrace a child’s wide-eyed enthusiasm and trust that wants more and more of God’s Word. There have been many times when I’ve heard a sermon that was 90 minutes or longer, but because it was so captivating, seemed only a few minutes long. Then there were other sermons that after only 10 minutes felt like two hours! That’s why I remind preachers that it’s better to finish with the audience wanting more, than to have them wish they had left early.
I thank our pastors and other preachers for their labor of love in giving effective sermons. Let us all remember that when we preach, we have opportunity to share the exciting, encouraging, powerful, inspiring and life-giving good news (gospel) of God grace. Concerning that grace, note this from T.F. Torrance:
Grace is to be understood as the impartation not just of something from God but of God Himself. In Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit, God freely gives to us in such a way that the Gift and the Giver are one and the same in the wholeness and indivisibility of His grace.… (Reality and Evangelical Theology, pp. 14-15).
When people come to church, they need to hear from God about that grace. They need to hear about God’s love, and about how, in love, he works to change them from the inside out, and works to transform the entire world, often in hidden ways. As we bring this word (the gospel), through our preaching, I believe “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7, NRSV) will be released into people’s lives. As a result, an energy and trust to live faithfully despite temptations and trials will be fostered in them by the Spirit. I pray you will not become weary in this vital task, and that together we will co-minister with Jesus, setting up signs of his kingdom through the effective preaching of his Word.
Now it’s time for me to get to work on my next sermon…
Preaching the Word with you, Joseph Tkach
PS: Dan Rogers is putting together a course in preaching at Grace Communion Seminary. It takes a while for new courses to be developed and approved. We’ll let you know when this new course is first offered.
Note: the three paintings above are public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
We are saddened to learn of the recent death of GCI Elder, John Hillerson on April 10 at the age of 100. John was born in 1914 and grew up in Luverne, North Dakota, on the family farm. He served in the US Army during WWII, then in 1942 married Elaine Vig. They had five children. Elaine died in 1960. In 1961, John married Mary (Beckman) Raaum, who died in 1996. In 1997, John married Arlene (Ingram) Gudmanstad, who died in 1999.
Following an honorable discharge from the military, John farmed for several years. He then worked for the North Dakota Credit Union League. He was a longtime resident of Fargo, North Dakota where he was involved with many career and civic organizations, receiving awards from several, including the American Cancer Society. John later was employed with the North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation until he retired in 1978. In retirement, in addition to serving GCI as an elder, John was a member of the American Legion and a small aircraft pilot.
John is survived by five children, three step-children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Youth pastor Brad Turnage presented a “conver-session” at the recent GenMin Converge 2015 conference in Ohio. He helpfully presented an incarnational, Trinitarian approach to youth ministry that is applicable to ministry to and with all age groups. Here is a video of his presentation:
Harry Garden, long-time GCI elder in the Wichita, Kansas area is in hospice care and his wife Mary Ann was told on April 7 that Harry has only a couple of days left. He has mesothelioma, a condition likely brought on by years of working with asbestos in construction.
Despite being very weak and now no longer able to eat, Harry has been a joy to his caregivers in the hospital and now hospice care. When asked how he feels, he says he “is going to meet Jesus sooner than he expected.”
Harry’s pastor Don Engle, who also is a hospice chaplain, is helping care for Harry and Mary Ann (seated at right in the picture). Don reports that their faith “remains very strong even though Harry is having quite a rough time.”
The family requests prayers that Harry’s transition from this life to the next will be as comfortable as possible. Cards may be sent to:
Harry & Mary Ann Garden 11412 Sheriac Wichita, KS 67209-4096
The video below describes the ministry of GCI members in Canada and South Africa, reaching out to assist about 100 GCI congregations in the African nation of Mozambique.
We are pleased to announce that students can now obtain a theology degree from Grace Communion Seminary (GCS). The Master of Theological Studies degree requires 42 units (14 courses), just as the Master of Pastoral Studies degree already does. “We noticed that many of our students wanted to write their thesis on a theological topic,” GCS President Russell Duke said. “We can now give students a degree that acknowledges a theological focus.”
Students now have a choice between the Pastoral Studies degree and the Theological Studies degree. Both require the same number of courses; the primary difference is that the Pastoral Studies degree requires more courses in Christian Ministry, whereas the Theological Studies degree requires more courses in theology. Further details are in the Academic Catalog & Student Handbook, posted at www.gcs.edu (see the left-hand column).
Students who are currently enrolled in the Pastoral Studies program but want to switch to the Theological Studies program should contact the Dean of Faculty (dean@gcs.edu) to discuss the details.
All GCS students start as “continuing education” students. After they have taken seven courses, they may then choose to focus on the theology degree, or on the pastoral studies degree. They have up to eight years to complete either degree. “GCS is designed to serve part-time students,” said Michael Morrison, Dean of Faculty. “All our courses are offered on the internet so we do not take students away from where they are already serving.”
Students are not required to have a bachelor’s degree in order to take GCS classes. However, they must be able to do graduate-level work, since all GCS classes are offered at the master’s degree level. Students who have some previous college courses, or an equivalent in occupational training programs, may qualify.
GCS is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. For further information about the Seminary and for applications, see www.gcs.edu or phone 1-800-851-2611.
Leading up to Holy Week, my Weekly Update letters have focused on Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension. Now that Holy Week has come and gone, it would be easy to turn our focus elsewhere. But Jesus must remain our focus throughout the year. He alone is the final and ultimate revelation of who God is (Hebrews 1:3) and he alone is our mediator: “For there is one God, there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human” (1 Timothy 2:5 NRSV).
Jesus’ two natures—divine and human—are inseparably united in what theologians call the hypostatic union. And Jesus’ mission shows just how much God is with us and forus. Indeed, we can’t overstate the importance of Christ’s vicarious work—his work in our place, on our behalf. The truth that the atonement is accomplished by, in and through the incarnate Son of God, is truth that sets us free. Knowing who Jesus is and what he has done for us helps us grow in understanding the reconciliation we have with God and each other. In Christ, through the Holy Spirit, we are set free to love. Allow me to explain some related concepts:
Vicarious
In A Passion for Christ, the Vision that Ignites Ministry (a book Gary Deddo and I highly recommend), brothers Thomas, James and David Torrance define the word vicarious as “speaking and acting in place of another, on that other’s behalf.” They note that this is exactly what Jesus did for us in his life, death, resurrection and ascension. To speak of Jesus’ vicarious humanity is to indicate that all Christ did in his humanity was done in our place and on our behalf.
Recently, I’ve written about Jesus being baptized for us, going through the wilderness and being tempted for us, dying and entering into darkness for us, and rising from death into life in order to take us with him in the ascension to our Father. In all this work for our salvation, Jesus did not play a merely instrumental role (like a tool used to build something). Rather, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit planned together for Jesus to fulfill in his own Person and work the pivotal role in our salvation. The atonement, in its entirety, is accomplished in, with and through Jesus: “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Objectification
God objectified himself in Christ without becoming impersonal. When the Son of God became human, he became an object we can see and touch and worship. He was God to man. And when Jesus assumed our humanity, he also became the appropriate response from man to God as led by the Holy Spirit. Note T. F. Torrance’s comment in his book, God and Rationality:
[Jesus Christ] is in Himself not only God objectifying Himself for man but man adapted and conformed to that objectification, not only the complete revelation of God to man but the appropriate correspondence on the part of man to that revelation, not only the Word of God to man but man obediently hearing and answering that Word. In short, Jesus Christ is Himself both the Word of God as spoken by God to man and that same Word as heard and received by man, Himself both the Truth of God given to man and that very Truth understood and actualized in man. He is that divine and human Truth in His one Person. In his incarnate constitution as God and man joined in reconciling union, Jesus Christ is both the objective revelation of God and the appropriate response and conformation of man to divine revelation. He is not only the Truth (cf. John 14:6) spoken from the highest, he is also the perfect response to that Truth, heard and actualized from within the ontological depths of the fallen humanity he assumed in the incarnation.
Mediation
I like to say that in the Incarnation of Jesus, we have “double fact.” Others call this the “twofold, inseparable movement of mediation.” First, as Torrance likes to phrase it, “Jesus is God’s language to humanity.” But it doesn’t stop there. Second, Jesus is humanity’s true and faithful response to God. Jesus Christ is our true word and gives true speech for humanity to God. In other words, Jesus Christ mediates the things of God to humanity and simultaneously mediates the things of humanity to God.
Let me illustrate this from God’s relationship with Israel, beginning with Abraham. The eternal Son of God, who is one with the God revealed in the Old Testament, later reveals himself, the Father and the Spirit when he becomes incarnate as the person Jesus Christ. Lovingly and patiently, God worked in covenant relationship with Israel as his chosen people. We see this with Abraham when God provided a sacrifice in place of Isaac, Abraham’s beloved son. In this event there not only was instruction against child sacrifice, it served as the prototype of what the Son of God would do himself following the Incarnation.
Because God knew that Israel would not (indeed could not) fulfill their side of the covenant to live as holy, obedient people, God gave his people under the old covenant a liturgy different than that of the pagans. While Israel and the pagans all celebrated spring and fall harvest festivals, Israel was given divinely prescribed patterns for worship that signified the fact that only God can forgive sin, remove guilt and reconcile people to himself. All of Israel’s sacrifices and ordinances, as well as the priesthood itself, were vicarious ways of covenant response to God.
Because of God’s faithfulness and love for Israel, he gave them an experiential way to worship. However, as the Old Testament tells us, Israel repeatedly abandoned worship as given to them by God. In doing so, they failed the mediating priestly mission that they had been given on behalf of all nations. In contrast, Jesus, through his life, death, resurrection and ascension, was the perfect, unfailing response to God that Israel was unable to provide.
Jesus not only took on Israel’s affliction of failure, he assumed all of humanity’s brokenness and made it his own in order to heal it. In this we see Jesus’ twofold ministry, the “double fact” I mentioned above. Jesus mediates and intercedes from God to humanity and from humanity back to God. The old covenant highlights this truth in a number of ways: “I shall be your God and you shall be my people,” “I am holy, be you holy,” and “I will be your Father and you will be my son.” These declarations concerning Israel are fulfilled perfectly in Jesus who is both the covenant-making God and the true, singular, faithful Israel. Note this related comment from T.F. Torrance in one of his papers:
It is the whole incarnate life of Christ vicariously and triumphantly lived out from his birth to his crucifixion and resurrection in perfect obedience to the Father within the ontological depths of his oneness with us in our actual fallen existence, that redeems and saves us and converts our disobedient alienated sonship back to filial union with the Father. That is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (“The Atonement, The Singularity of Christ and the Finality of the Cross: The Atonement and the Moral Order,” 1993).
Jesus is fully God and fully human—God with us and God for us. He is the Word spoken to humanity and the Word heard and received by humanity. He is God’s relationship to us—through him we are in relationship with God. He is the God others could see and hear and worship and he is our worshipful response to God. Jesus is our atonement. He is our mediator. He is our focus—not just during Easter season but every day of the year. It is in Jesus that we live and move and have our being.
Staying focused on Jesus, Joseph Tkach
PS: On April Fools’ Day, folks like to make jokes. My son, Joseph Tkach III, was part of an online joke you can watch at http://youtu.be/IlCx5gjAmqI. It’s a tongue-in-cheek, fake commercial about a high-tech product in which my son plays chief innovation architect Dr. Joseph C. Minkhuni. Enjoy!
Mental illness is an issue that affects us all. How do we as churches respond? For some helpful information, tune in April 14 to a free online summit on the topic. For more information, and to register, go to: http://leadnet.org/mentalhealth/.
Carl Fredrik Aas, GCI’s regional pastor in Scandinavia, recently announced that there will be a worship festival in Denmark this fall with the theme “Christian Journey.”
Last week, we asked for prayer for Harry Garden (seated at right in the picture), who was near death in hospice care. Harry died late Sunday evening, April 12. He spent the day surrounded by family including children and grandchildren.
