Preachit!

In this latest episode I talk with Stephen McAlpine about his Australian award-winning book, “Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World that Says You Can’t”, and how to preach to a post-Christian Christian audience. Here are just some topics we tackle: “Thin” preaching vs. preaching that has “depth,” and how they relate to life and human flourishing. Why should we preach the gospel to Christians? And what is gospel preaching? Why and how does the gospel transform us? The inadequacy of counterfeit gospels such as the self-help gospel and moralistic preaching, and why they can’t deal with some of life’s big problems. Why preachers should prepare people for the week ‘they’ will be having and not the week ‘the preacher’ will be having. Authenticity: what is it and why the current way of defining it is inadequate. The role of self-denial in gospel preaching. The problems with the current culture’s view of authenticity. The church needs to start preparing for a tsunami of broken and wounded people. Are we ready? To what extent should we be preaching on ‘sensitive issues’ from the pulpit? You can check out Stephen's book here: https://www.thegoodbook.com.au/being-the-bad-guys Preachit! S01E24 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

In this episode we discuss the following questions and topics: What do New Testament passages mean that say that that the Old Testament “concerned” Jesus or “testified” about him? When Jesus opened the disciples’ minds to understand the Old Testament Scriptures, what did they understand that they didn’t understand before? What is the relationship between the human author’s intention and the divine author’s intention in the Old Testament and how should this make a difference to our preaching? What are some good questions to ask of an Old Testament text when preparing a sermon? The difference between “untethered” and “tethered” Christ-centred readings of the Old Testament and how to avoid ‘fanciful’ interpretations. Some helpful examples of Christ-centred readings from the positive and negative aspects of the life of David, including examples of personal application. Should we be finding Jesus “under every rock in the Old Testament”? In what sense does Israel point to Christ, and why Jesus is not just the fulfilment of Messianic expectations? Sonship in the Old Testament as a trajectory to Christ. What are some of the key aspects of Israel’s story that are fulfilled in or point to Christ (e.g., land, exile, blessings, curses, God’s wrath)? How our stories are bound up with Christ and its relevance for application. Preachit! S01E23 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

Part 2 of How to Preach Texts in Light of the Grand Story of the Bible with Rueben Munn. In this episode we continue from where we left off in part 1 and look at examples from the New Testament to illustrate how to preach individual passages in light of the biblical storyline. Preachit! S01E22 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

This is the first episode of two with Reuben Munn on How to Preach Texts in Light of the Grand Story of the Bible. Reuben is a pastor and also lectures in preaching, and on top of that he’s a terrific preacher. And a kiwi! In this episode we talk about the importance of the storyline of Scripture to preaching, how to preach passages in light of the storyline—along with examples—and the various ways one might do that. Preachit! S01E21 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

In part 2 of this podcast, we talk about how to preach to people who get anxious when they hear anyone preach on the relationship between salvation, faith, and works, and how to preach to people who don’t think that “works” matter? This is followed by a discussion on the role of grace and the gospel in preaching? Tom then addresses listener questions: How do we protect ourselves from falling into works-based preaching, but also how do we protect ourselves from preaching the passive Christian life—how do we get the balance right? Which is a greater danger in today’s church, legalism, or antinomianism? Should people walk away from every sermon feeling like they’ve heard good news? Is there space for walking away from a sermon feeling convicted, even lamenting about sin and failure to work out faith with fear and trembling, or would this lead to shame and legalism? Why didn’t Jesus preach the good news of the kingdom to the rich young ruler, he seemed to preach works? Given that the kingdom of God was seen as such good news to people in the New Testament, why isn’t the church known for preaching good news today? How does one preach on the relationship between faith, salvation, and works without wearing people down with a list of ‘should’s’ or resorting to a theological system? Have you met any theologians or pastors who have understood and nailed this topic? What would your advice be for pastors in the trenches to help them get a handle on this topic? Preachit! S01E20 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

This episode addresses the following:   The issue that is so contentious between faith, works and salvation. Tom’s understanding of this relationship.   Biblical scholarship’s understanding of this relationship.   Dissenting voices within the church.   The main challenges that preachers are faced with when preaching on this subject.   Issues the preacher needs to be clear on.   The importance of communicating what “works” consist of.  The significance of quantity of works versus quality of works.   The nature of assurance. Preachit! S01E19 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

In this episode Alan concludes his conversation with Mandy Smith on the subject of The Preacher as a Midwife.  Preachit! S01E18 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

In this first of a two part episode I talk with Mandy Smith on the subject of The Preacher as a Midwife. The midwife is a biblical metaphor related to pain, suffering and the birth of new life. We discuss the relationship and distinction between pain and suffering, the image of a midwife and how it applies to preaching, and the importance of the preacher’s own suffering. Preachit! S01E17 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

This is the third and final episode with Murray Capill on how to preach application. In this episode we discuss several listener questions: · How can we preach application when we are struggling to apply some parts of Scripture ourselves? · How do we preach to people who are all at different stages of spiritual growth? · Is it better to leave application to the end or can we revisit it throughout the sermon? · What are the advantages and dangers of knowing the people that we are preaching to? · Is the goal of application to change behaviour or to change the affections? Should the goal of the sermon be to lead people to worship or to tell people what to do? · Was Jesus someone who preached practical application? How specific should practical application be when we can’t even know everyone’s situation? What is the Spirit’s role in the individual’s life in applying the text to people? · Is the lack of preaching to the heart, a reason why sermons can tend to be so boring? · How much should time be given toward application without comprising on biblical exegesis and teaching? How can I become more concerned about the people I preach than about how good my sermon is? Preachit! S01E16 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

In this episode I continue talking with Murray Capill on how to target the heart in preaching. Essentially, the question being addressed in this episode is how does one preach in a way that people might encounter God? Murray answers this question by taking us through some steps before illustrating from the Bible what these steps look like in practice. We also think about how a sermon might miss the target—in other words, how might we “mess it up when it comes to application”? Preachit! S01E15 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio keywords: alan stanley preach preachit christ centred