Minister's Blog

Growing in Appreciation of the Meta-Narrative
I have always loved Sunday night services. It’s not because they are mandated in the New Testament. We are not being unfaithful to the Lord by setting them aside for a season. I love Sunday night services because it gives us some space to do some things that I believe are so edifying to the Body of Christ. Over the course of this past academic year, our Sunday evening services have allowed us to survey the Old Testament. We have done this by working Chronologically through key people (character studies) and events. We have heard from six different teachers/preachers, and I have enjoyed every study. I appreciate Brother Shadd’s planning and wisdom in putting this survey together. I found every teaching to be edifying on its own merit, but walking through the Old Testament in this way has reminded me of the glory of God seen in the meta-narrative.
Oxford defines a meta-narrative as, “an overarching account or interpretation of events and circumstances that provides a pattern or structure for people’s beliefs and gives meaning to their experiences.” We are missing something if we study the accounts and teachings of the Old Testament as stand-alone accounts. We should study every scripture in its historical context to draw out what the Lord was doing/saying at that time, and we should seek to draw out the timeless truths revealed about God and how to serve him in all generations. These are unbending rules for Biblical interpretation and application, but we must be careful not to miss the forest for the trees. The Bible is both a collection of stories and one story. Each story, prophecy, or statement of wisdom has value, but when taken together as a single story, God’s Word reveals the glory of the Almighty Creator, holy, righteous, loving, all knowing, just, gracious, forgiving, jealous, redeeming GOD. He is sovereign, enthroned in the heavens. As the Psalmist said, “our God is in heaven and does whatever He pleases,” Psalm 115:3. In our walk through the Old Testament we have seen the glory of God revealed through the unfolding of His plan of redemption, faithfulness in keeping His promises, sovereignty in ordaining the activities of pagan kings, and His grace and love in dealing with His people. When we got to the end of the Old Testament, we were able to see a people and a world prepared for the coming of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ 400 years later.
Preaching Class
One of the qualifications for Elders found in 1 Timothy 3 is being “able to teach.” We have been blessed to have several ministers and Elders in our church who are able to teach and whose lives bear the fruit of faith and love for the Lord. It is my prayer that the Lord would raise up more men who would aspire to possess those same qualities. This Summer I will be teaching a class on preaching. In this class we will walk through the basic rules of Biblical exposition/interpretation and prepare messages. I have led small groups of men through this exercise in the past and it was a blessing for them and for me. If this is something you believe the Lord would have you participate in, please e-mail or give me a call. This will be a closed group. Those who participate will be expected to complete assignments and have a high degree of accountability. If they complete the class they will be given an opportunity to deliver their sermon.