Luther Theological Conference: First Sermon Posted

The first Sermon from the 2008 Luther Theological Conference at Brookings is up:
"Disciplined Christians--a sermon reflecting preaching to the bound will."
You can read it at the link below.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcxw5gn_7wqgmknfh

Leave Comments, please.

How do "I" go about preaching to the bound will?

1) by remembering Forde's admonitions "preaching is First Order Discourse" and "preaching is DOING the text to the hearer." I understanding the first as being in the form: "I say unto YOU." I understand the second to mean that preaching is the "active" word working on the passive hearer, literally--as Forde often commented--doing the "electing" deed itself.

2) this means that certain types of sermons do not work well in this genre: motivational, explanatory, even exegetical. They all require some form of assent on the part of the hearer.

3) I think the type of sermon that works in this genre is one that works to "expose" both the bondage that is there and the reality that Christ has already dealt with it.

4) preaching to the bound will has "moments" which are like the punchline of a good joke: when it is delivered, all that was said before is reinterpreted in the new light of the punchline and it "catches" people.

5) Both humor and story serve to "soften" the hearer so that they are susceptible to being "caught." I remember Forde's sermon "Caught in the Act." When I preach an "expose'" sermon, I like to think of it as "catching" my hearers in the act of being who they are--sinners, dead in their sin yet alive in Christ.

Consequently, this sermon "Disciplined Christians"--a title exposing discipleship as the "discipline" of the mortal which we cannot escape, has three "catch" points where I sink the hook:

1) Now don’t tell me you haven’t stored up your neighbor’s faults, hoarding them for some occasional, late-at-night fondling. Exposing that our neighbor's faults are of much more use to us when we keep them close--sort of festering--than to get them out in the open and clear them up.

2) Do you hear that? What do you say to Jesus? "Me? I'm supposed to forgive them? Not me, Jesus. I'm not that kind of person. I'll die before I forgive them!" "Forgive!" Jesus commands. "But Jesus, I can't. It'll be the death of me." "I know, says Jesus, "It was the death of me, too. I died for such forgiveness." Exposing that "forgiveness equals death," a death we're not ready to experience but one which Christ has already undergone.

3) Your neighbor’s fault, your neighbor’s sin has been the occasion, not of his expulsion, but of your being graced. Exposing the whole passage in a new light: Christian discipline--for which this Mt 18 passage--is often cited--is not just neighborly confrontation but Christ confronting you with death and new life.

Conclusions:

1) Some people at the conference found the first "hook" offensive" in that "fondler" is a loaded word in today's context.

2) Most at the conference found the second "hook" to be the most effective, even recommending that the sermon end there.

3) Even I found the third "hook" the weakest--not for its content, but for its presentation. The language and deliver could be revised to "set the hook" harder.

Okay, what say you?

2008 Luther Theological Conference: "Preaching to the Bound Will"

What fun we had!
Five preachers, five sermons, and a roomful of bound wills.
Were any set free?
Well... I can tell you this: The Word of God was preached, what the Holy Spirit did to those wills is the Holy Spirit's business.
Five preachers, five sermons, five different styles and presentations, and a roomful of critics.
What did they say?
Stay tuned. As I get permission to post the sermons, I'll put them up and YOU can make your critique in the comments.