Book: Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels

Understand the Life of Jesus in Cultural Context

Discover a deeper, richer understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus with Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by renowned scholar Kenneth Bailey. 

This book invites readers to see Jesus through the lens of his historical and cultural context, lifting away the layers of Western interpretation that have shaped modern perspectives. From Jesus' birth to his parables, from the Beatitudes to his relationships, Bailey helps readers remove modern Western interpretations to see Jesus as he was understood in his own time, offering readers a kaleidoscopic view of the person of Jesus that is simultaneously ancient and refreshingly new.

In Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, you'll find

• Cultural Insight: Gain a deeper understanding of Jesus within his Middle Eastern context, removing Western cultural blinders.
• A Transformational Perspective: Be inspired to read the Gospels with renewed clarity and depth, seeing Jesus in the light of his historical and cultural setting.

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes is a valuable resource for anyone passionate about studying the New Testament and the life of Jesus deeply and meaningfully. Explore Jesus’ story as it was meant to be seen and enrich your spiritual study with this compelling, context-driven approach.

Available on Amazon

Article: Sermon Structures

David Schmitt shares with us 30 different sermon structures from 3 different main categories:

1.  Textual structures

2. Thematic structures

3. Dynamic structures

Take some time to explore the various structures at

https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/

 

Podcast: Sydney Lutheran Church Online

 Podcast of Sydney Lutheran Church Online with weekly sermons and Advent and Lent Devotions

Available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Lutheran Sermons - videos

The following congregations offer video sermons.   
The links should take you to their video channel.

Australian Lutheran Churches
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Toowoomba

Ipswich Lutheran Church 

St Michaels Hahndorf

St Paul's Sydney Lutheran Church 


USA Lutheran Churches
Calvary Lutheran Church 

Faith Lutheran Church 

Concordia Lutheran Church 

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 

Good View Trinity Lutheran Church 

Hosanna Lutheran Church 

King of Kings Omaha Lutheran Church

Lutheran Church of Hope

Lutheran Church of the Master

Northgate Lutheran Church

Pathfinder Lutheran Church

Peace Lutheran Church Hurst Texas 

St Andrews Lutheran Church 

St Johns LCMS Hubbard Iowa 

St Lorenz Lutheran Church 

St Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church 

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church

Popular Lutheran Church Missouri Synod videos

If you have a suggestion of other Lutheran Churches who provide videos of their sermons please suggest them in the comments below.

Lutheran Children's Sermons for Year B

The Lutheran Church of Australia and it's Grow Ministries have compiled Children Sermons for Year B, which are available here

Video Sermon series: Faith Foundations

The Faith Foundations sermon series is a video sermon series covering the basics of faith based on Luther's Small Catechism.   
Just as the catechism is this is an introductory sermon series to the Christian faith, so it does not cover every aspect of each topic, but instead introduces each topic encouraging people to explore more.

Entire Series


Individual sermons can be viewed by clicking on the sermon title

Sermon 1:  The foundation - God's love

Sermon 2:  God's values - Ten Commandments

Sermon 3:  Who is God? - The Apostles Creed

Sermon 4:  Talking with God - The Lord's Prayer

Sermon 5:  God connects to us - Baptism

Sermon 6:  God's forgiveness - Confession and Absolution

Sermon 7:  Intimate Communion with God - Holy Communion

Personal reflection journals and Digging deeper bible studies are available from Pastor Richard Schwedes,  email: richardschwedes@gmail.com 

Book: Developing a series - A guidebook for planning, branding, and marketing an effective sermon series

Jonathan Malm has put together a fantastic resource to help you plan sermon series' for your church. This e-book has practical tips and tricks to make your sermon series' effective and impacting to your congregation.

Chapter topics include:
- Why your church should do sermon series'.
- How to break down a complex and obscure concept into an easily brand able series idea.
- The importance of developing a unified visual theme for your sermon series.
- Planning individual messages, illustrations, and sermon titles.
- How to brand your sermon series so it's memorable.
- Getting the word out about your sermon series.
- A discussion on planning ahead and how far ahead is far enough.
- Using pop-culture brands to assist in branding your series.

It also includes tips and tricks from creative directors and graphic designers from churches around the country.

Holy Humour Sunday

The idea of setting aside one Sunday has a long and rich history in many Christian traditions.

G.K. Chesterton once wrote:
“Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.
Never forget that the devil fell by force of gravity.
He who has the faith has the fun

Laughter Sunday (also known as Holy Humour Sunday, Hilarity Sunday, God’s Laughter Sunday, Bright Sunday or Holy Fools Sunday) has its roots in a number of different Christian traditions.

Churches in 15th century Bavaria used to celebrate the Sunday after Easter as Risus Paschalis (‘God’s Joke,’ or ‘the Easter laugh’).  Priests would deliberately include amusing stories and jokes in their sermons in an attempt to make the faithful laugh.  After the service, people would gather together to play practical jokes on one another and tell funny stories.  It was their way of celebrating the resurrection of Christ – the supreme joke God played on Satan by raising Jesus from the dead.

The observance of Risus Paschalis was officially outlawed by Pope Clement X in the 17th century.  Perhaps people were having too much fun.

In the Orthodox tradition, people would gather on Easter Monday to tell jokes and funny stories, and to dance and eat together.

Other traditions celebrate Laetare Sunday (also known as ‘Mothering Sunday’) on the fourth Sunday in Lent.  “Laetare” simply means ‘rejoice,’ and comes from the opening collect for that day: ‘Rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow.'  On this Sunday, the usual Lenten purple vestments and altar cloths are replaced by rose-coloured ones instead.  Flowers (not normally present during Lent) are also brought into the sanctuary.

Some resource relating to Holy Humour Sunday include:

Article:  God has given me cause to laugh by Paul Thigpen

Sermons and sermon material for Holy Humour Sunday

Background and other information relating to Holy Humour Sunday

Service Order

Worship resources from Re:Think

Richard Fairchild resources

Sermon and Bible Study series: Where love comes to life

SERMON AND BIBLE STUDY TITLEWhere Love Comes To Life

BIG IDEAS FOR THE SERIESMission life flows out of who God is and who we are becoming.

EXPLANATION OF THE BIG IDEAA missional life participates in the shared life of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As a consequence, we are transformed to be a community where God's love comes to life. The same love that transforms us is drawing our families, neighbours and friends into new life in Christ; thus we are compelled to include and invite all people to belong to God's family.

PURPOSE OF THE SERIESTo help people grow in their understanding and participation in the mission of God in the world.

SERIES OUTLINE 

Over five weeks, discover why a missional life is where love comes to life.

• WHERE LOVE COMES TO LIFE - introduction to the series
• WHERE LOVE
• WHERE LOVE COMES
• WHERE LOVE COMES TO LIFE
• LOVE. LIFE COMMUNITIES
• 
  
• To download the package and for further information visit 
http://www.lca.org.au/renew.html

Worship and Sermon resources - relating to Anzac Day

Anzac Day is an important day for many in Australia and New Zealand....

The challenge for the church and Christians is for us to see this day and what it is about in the light of what God speaks to us through the scriptures.

Following are some resources that may help you in your worship and devotional time...

Worship Resources
Lutheran Church Australia Resources
Portland-Heywood Lutheran Church Resources

Textweek resources
Liturgy.org.nz
Liturgy Brisbane
Perth Anglican resources
Salvation Army children's resources
Sharing Anzac Day with children
Singing the lectionary
St Kilda Uniting Church worship resources
Sydney Anglican resources
Uniting Church Australia

Sermons
Pastor Nathan Nettleton - South Yarra Community Baptist 
Sermon Central sermons

Devotional
Last Resort devotion 

Easter Sunday sermon: He is Risen....life is changing

The Easter Sunday sermon from the Portland-Heywood Lutheran Church, He is Risen....life is changing can be heard here
Reading:  Mark 16:1-14

Article: Sermon Structures

David Schmitt at Concordia Theology discusses that preparing a sermon can be a messy activity. Meditating on the Scriptural text, the world around you, and the work of God in the lives of his people produces a vast array of ideas and experiences. For example, one week a preacher may gather together a line from a hymn, a scene from a recent movie, a metaphor of the gospel, an exegetical insight, a conversation after bible class, a controversy in the news, and a child’s drawing left in the pew. Any of these ideas might make it into the sermon. All of them cannot. So the preacher needs to be selective about what he includes and purposeful about when he includes it as he shapes the experience of the sermon. How does a preacher do that?  By using a sermon structure.

A sermon structure is the purposeful ordering of ideas and experiences in the sermon.  It helps the preacher identify what material will be included in the sermon and organize that material into purposeful proclamation. Historically, preachers have found that certain structures work well for communicating to God’s people. This website provides you an overview of those structures, both in theory and in practice.

The structures are divided into three categories:  thematic structures, textual structures, and dynamic structures. Thematic structures arise from the teaching of the sermon. The preacher identifies a main teaching and then divides that teaching into points for the hearers that follow one another in a logical order. Textual structures arise from the text of the sermon. They may follow the text in a verse-by-verse fashion, move from the text to application, or incorporate the genre of the text in preaching. Dynamic structures arise from the experience of the hearers. They identify the experiences of one’s hearers, their cultural and spiritual modes of knowing, and use them in service to the proclamation of the gospel.

Each structure has strengths and weaknesses in respect to the tapestry of preaching and, therefore, preachers choose their sermon structure wisely. For example, a verse-by-verse structure can work well in communicating the meaning of a text (i.e., textual exposition) but may cause the hearers to be unsure of the primary teaching of the sermon (i.e., theological confession) or to lose sight of the work of Christ in their lives (i.e., evangelical proclamation). In contrast, a thematic structure of definition can work well in defining one main thought for the hearers (i.e, theological confession) and applying it to their lives (i.e., hearer interpretation), but may overlook much of the text (i.e, textual exposition) or not relate this teaching to God’s gracious work in Christ (i.e., evangelical proclamation).

Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of various sermon structures enables the preacher to use them wisely. The more familiar a preacher is with various sermon structures, the greater ability he will have to choose the structure that fits his preaching situation. This website is an introduction to various sermon structures and hopes to foster variety of form and faithfulness in proclamation.

Table of Contents

• Thematic Structures
  • Analogy
  • Cause/Effect
  • Classical Argument
  • Classification
  • Comparison/Contrast
  • Definition
  • Paradox Maintained
  • Problem/Solution
  • Process
  • Question Answered
• Textual Structures
  • Text-Application
  • Verse-by-Verse
  • Genre
    • Storied Discourse Structures
      • Biblical Story Interrupted
      • Story Whole Structures
        • Biblical Story Told
        • Framing the Biblical Story
      • Multiple Story Structure
• Dynamic Structures
  • Law/Gospel Structure
  • Proverbial Structure
  • Narrative Structures
    • Lowry Loop
    • Epic Form
    • Multiple Perspectives
  • Relational Structure 
  • Imagistic Structures
    • Central Image
    • Frame and Refrain
    • Image Delayed
    • Multiple Image
  • Dialogical Structures
  • Metaphorical Movement

Article-Preaching: Three tips to avoid the Lutheran meat grinder

Paul tells us in Philippians 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always!” Stick that in the Lutheran Meat Grinder and your sermon looks like this:

Paul tells us to rejoice.
But, because of our sinfulness, we fail to rejoice.
So Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins of not rejoicing.
And now, in the power of the Spirit, we can rejoice!

The author to the Hebrews encourages us: “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us!” Put that through the Lutheran Meat Grinder and you get:

God want us to run with endurance.
But, because of our sinfulness, we fail to run with endurance.
So Jesus ran His race to the cross for us, to forgive our sins of not enduring.
And now, in the power of the Spirit, we can run with endurance!

No matter if the text seeks to comfort, challenge, forgive, call to repentance, inspire action, or invite to prayer, you can make it say the same orthodox thing over and over again, turning any sermon into Law, then Gospel, then—if you dare—a little Sanctification at the end.
So how do you remain orthodox, but capture more of the variety expressed in the biblical text itself?
Think Pragmatics- Pragmatics is the study of what a communication does. Is Paul trying to comfort or encourage? Is Jesus calling to trust or life change? Should your people think differently, act differently, or pray differently after this sermon? The Lutheran Meat Grinder always sounds the same, in part because it always tries to do the same thing: preach hearers out of the Kingdom every week, and then preach them back in. Your hearers need to know their sin and Jesus’ forgiveness, and they also need help taking the next step on their journey of faith. They could use some help figuring out how to rejoice always, or what running with endurance looks like, even as they cling to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Focus on one small step the sermon can help the hearers make this week. Think pragmatics.
Vary the Structure- Another reason the Lutheran Meat Grinder produces homiletical sausage that looks the same every week is because of it’s structure: you preach one part Law, then one part Gospel. In this case, our good theology has replaced good practice. It is essential that we trouble the comfortable and comfort the troubled. But the theological insight of Law/Gospel was never supposed to be a sermon structure. In his Third Evening Lecture on Law and Gospel, C. F. W. Walther says, “You must not think that you have rightly divided the Word of Truth if you preach the Law in one part of your sermon and the Gospel in the other. No; a topographical division of this kind is worthless.” Experiment with a variety of structures like Question Answered, Paradox Maintained, Story Interrupted, or Lowry’s Loop. Changing the structure from week to week will help both preachers and hearers stay interested and engaged.
Preach the Unique- Graphic images of faith and life aren’t limited to visions like Daniel or Revelation; even the Pauline epistles are alive with metaphors taken from city life, building construction, agriculture, marriage, parenting, clothing, the human body, household management, slavery, citizenship, the Roman court system, the Old Testament sacrificial system, the marketplace, banking, travel, warfare, the Olympics—and the list could go on. The Lutheran Meat Grinder takes this rich variety and reduces it down to something that sounds the same week after week after week. And while heresy may have killed its thousands, stagnant preaching has killed its tens of thousands. Find what’s unique in the text and preach that. Don’t leave out Law or Gospel: preach both from the unique dynamics of the unique images in the biblical text. Preach what’s unique in the text. Experiment with different structures. And think pragmatics. Your sermons will sound, feel and do something different from week to week.
Your people will be grateful you shelved The Lutheran Meat Grinder. And believe me, preaching will be a lot more fun!
By Pastor Justin Rossow
This article first appeared at http://blog.lcef.org/2014/10/13/three-tips-avoid-lutheran-meat-grinder/

Article: Sermons for men - how to preach 3 hour sermons

Men can sit through a 3-hour football game or a 3-hour epic movie without being bored – so why can’t they sit through a 3-hour sermon? Or a 1-hour sermon? Or even a 30-minute sermon?

David Murrow explores what is needed for men to sit through longer sermons and also the problems of short sermons

Visit http://www.patheos.com/blogs/churchformen/2014/08/how-to-preach-3-hour-sermons/#ixzz39oRifmbZ

Tips for Good Presentations, Public Speaking and maybe sermons

McCrindle Research has released the top 5 tips for conference presentations for 2014.....

Now if we are to be effective in sharing the Gospel to people, maybe some of these are worth thinking about and thinking how can we can contextual these for sermons and other Christian presentations....

1.   Conferences are going TED-style:
a. Speak to the audience not at the audience (free yourself from the lectern)
b. Present your message not your outline (minimise your notes)
c. Don’t give a long speech, craft an engaging presentation (shorter can be more impacting than longer).

2.  Keep it visual:
a. It’s a presentation to be seen not a podcast to be downloaded
b. Use slides as visual reinforcing of your point not a written summary of your content.
c. Think images not just words. .

3.  Ensure it’s evidence-based:
a. The average business audience has twice as many university graduates today as 1990
b. Statistics are great- but so are case studies
c. In a world of hype- keep it real, relevant and responsive.

4.  Deliver current, contextual and customised content:
a. In a world of emerging trends- make sure it is now
b. In a world of ideas- keep it practical
c. In a world of global ideas- apply it to the local.

5.  Motivate even if you’re not a motivational speaker:
a. A positive message will always be better received than a negative one
b. Sure- be provocative and challenging but deliver it with warmth and encouragement

c. Ensure you both equip the head and engage the heart of your listener.

Think about which of these apply to sermon proclamation and which was are less likely to apply.   This is not about watering down the message but about thinking how can we more effectively proclaim the Gospel to people today!!!

Christmas Sermon ideas

Resurgence makes 7 suggestions for Christmas sermon ideas

1. COMPARE AND CONTRAST
2. PLAY THE SONGS
3. HONOR THE WOMEN
4. READ THE PHONEBOOK OF THE GOSPELS
5. OPEN THE OLD TESTAMENT
6. SPOTLIGHT THE CHARACTERS
7. LEARN FROM OTHERS  including  Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, John Piper, Tim Keller, Matt Chandler, Rick Warren, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Alistair McGrath

And remember whatever you preach, remember that Christmas is about Jesus, and the story continues beyond the manger. This may seem obvious, but it cannot be overstated. Eternal God entered into mortal history. Creator God joined his creation. God who made man became a man, lived a perfect life, died in our place for our sin, rose from the grave to conquer death, and remains with his people today.
Like Christmas, Christianity is a gift exchange: we give Jesus our sin, and he gives us new life. No matter how many times we repeat that message, it never gets old.

for more details on these 7 sermon suggestions visit here

Sermons (video, text and audio) from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Campbelltown

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Campbelltown NSW offers sermons and training online visit their site at http://www.gslcc.org.au/

Paper: Attention and Retention relating to sermons

Reverend Stephen Anderson from Focus on the Gospel has qualifications and experience both as a pastor and an educator.
He shares a paper to help preachers be better preachers.....Attention and Retention which is available here

Weekly Sermon Notes from Focus on the Gospel

Focus on the Gospel was founded in 2010, with the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel; the Good News of the forgiveness of sins that comes with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and to help pastors, teachers and others to make that proclamation in a better, more interesting and innovative way.

Their web site offers weekly sermon notes 

video: being a church in but not of the world....

Christine Caine discusses what it means to be a church in but not of the world