Lutheran Worship
Adult Bible Class
August 23, 2026
Opening Prayer
Why We Preach
To preach is to proclaim, exclaim, cry out.
Preaching was central to Jesus’ ministry
-
Mark 1:35-38 - And rising very early in
the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate
place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and
those who were with him searched for him, 37 and
they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And
he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there
also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he
went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out
demons.
-
Notice the context!
Preaching was central to the Apostles’ ministry
-
Mark 3:13-15a - And [Jesus] went up on
the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to
him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named
apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to
preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons.
-
The Acts of the Apostles
Preaching presents God’s Word so people may believe in Jesus
-
John 20:30-31 - Now Jesus did many other
signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this
book; 31 but these are written so that you
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by
believing you may have life in his name.
-
Romans 10:14-17 - How then will they call
on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in
him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to
hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are
they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are
the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they
have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed
what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes
from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
This is what you Called me to do.
-
Supplement to the Diploma of Vocation – In
the name of the Triune God and by His authority, in order that we might carry
out His mission to the world, we hereby authorize and obligate you: To
administer to us the Word of God in its full truth and purity as contained in
the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and as set forth in the
confessional writings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as found in the Book
of Concord; …
Purpose of Preaching
A sermon is different from a speech or motivational talk.
-
It’s not a TedTalk for believers.
-
See John 20:30-31 and Romans 10:14-17 above!
-
The goal of a sermon is faith and salvation.
-
The Word of God is THE Means of Grace
o
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper’s power are from
God’s Word.
o
Absolution is a proclamation of God’s Word.
-
The Word of God instructs – See Psalm 119, and
the many places the Psalmist says, “Teach me.”
-
The Word exhorts – that is, it encourages godly
living and doing what is good and right.
In a sermon, the pastor’s hope and desire is that the Holy
Spirit would create and strengthen faith in the hearers.
-
It is similar to the Sacraments in this way.
-
It is different than the Sacraments in that the
sermon’s focus includes the Law as well as the Gospel.
Trained for Preaching
Preaching is more than being a good public speaker … but
being a skilled speaker helps!
-
I have known people who couldn’t give a public
speech to save their lives, but they could preach God’s Word with power and
skill.
The art and science of preaching is called homiletics – from
the Greek word for “conversational”
-
This is also where we get the word homily –
which is often considered to be a short sermon.
There are different sermon strategies.
-
Goal-Malady-Means
-
Narrative Preaching
-
Stories
-
“Doing the Text”
There are even different strategies for the presentation.
-
Read a written script
-
Use an outline
-
Functional memorization
o
Mind Palace
Lutheran Preaching
Lutheran preaching has some distinctives –
-
Emphasis on the proper distinction between Law
and Gospel.
o
A proper sermon must proclaim the Gospel.
o
It is not enough to talk about Jesus, or a Bible
Story; it must proclaim God’s salvation for you.
o
There are different metaphors for that salvation
we might employ – like justification, forgiveness, resurrection, atonement,
etc. – but it must proclaim what God has done for us in Jesus’ death and
resurrection.
o
“Christ for you.”
-
It is seasonal.
o
It follows the themes of the different seasons.
o
It is guided by the holy days of the Church
Year.
-
It is pericopal (mostly).
o
While there are times we stray from the
Lectionary, we tend to live in it.
o
Seasons like Lent and Advent give opportunities
to preach apart from the Lectionary.
o
Occasions like weddings, funerals, and other
significant occasions can be opportunities for thematic preaching.
-
It is Christocentric
o
A lot of preaching focuses on what the hearer
should do (anthropocentric). This preaching tends to be Law-focused and is
often moralistic.
o
There is also a strong trend for preaching to be
cathartic or therapeutic. This preaching is often full of stories that touch
the emotions and seek to get an affective response from the audience.
o
Preaching can (should?) contain all those
things, but they have to find their purpose and meaning in the message of
Christ crucified and risen for the hearer. This is the message that saves
souls.
My Process
The Year
I try to take a long look across the years to try to preach
on all the texts over time.
-
I got this idea from Eugene Peterson. He would
preach on the Gospel for a season, the Epistle for a season, and the Old
Testament for a season.
-
To try to vary by each time we have a lectionary
season, as well. The last time we had Series B in 2022, I preached on the Old
Testament readings. The time before, I preached on the Gospels. This year, I
will preach on the Epistle readings.
See the chart on the next page. I lay out the year like this
(Becka makes it look good).
I try to see if the texts give opportunities for short
series of sermons that tie together – like when we have selected readings
through a book of the Bible.
The Week
Each week I use the upcoming readings in my devotions.
-
Monday – I read all four texts, and listen to Lectionary
Kickstart.
-
Tuesday – I read the Gospel Lesson
-
Wednesday – I read the First Lesson (usually from
the Old Testament)
-
Thursday – I read the Second Lesson (usually
from an Epistle)
-
Friday – I re-read the sermon text.
-
I incorporate the appointed Psalm and the
Collect into my prayers, too.
These all inform the theme of the sermon and the worship
service, and I am thinking about the sermon all week.
If all goes well, there will be additional study of the text
on Wednesday.
-
Looking at the original language.
-
Considering the historical context.
-
Reading some commentary.
-
Starting some writing and or outlining.
The bulk of the writing happens on Friday. If I can, I like
to get into the pulpit and practice it a couple times, too. (I will sometimes
re-read the sermon on Saturday, too.)
I preach it on Sunday.
-
I make the sign of the cross on my head, mouth
and heart as a prayer for God to work in my mind, mouth, and faith.
-
A sermon is not done until it is preached.
-
The sermon at early service is not the same as
late. While they are largely the same, they feel different, have some different
content, and can be re-ordered.
Comments