this is the word of the lord

the response is supposed to go, 'thanks be to God'.

i remember the Don getting a bit sermonic when, getting up to preach after the bible was read, chastigated the reader for not offering a 'this is the word of the lord', whereupon he said it, and all the good Anglicans in the room responded 'thanks be to God.'

this is definitely not having a go at the Don, and his point was well taken, and he was making a point rather than having a go at the bible reader.

but i am reading John Goldingay's, 'Models for Scripture' (Eerdmans, 1994), and he suggested this might not always be the correct response (p10).

so after Mark 14.1-12 was read, he wanted the reader to say 'this is part of God's story'. or after Job or Ecclesiastes, 'isn't is amazing the things you can say to God'.

after either you could still respond 'thanks be to God.'

perhaps after prophetic oracles such as Isaiah 5.1-7 they could say 'this is the word of the lord', but a more appropriate response would be 'God help us.'

now i love formal liturgy as much as the next guy, but i like the point Goldingay is making here - 'word of God' is a model for parts of scripture, not scripture as a whole. it is used by scripture to describe particular words (cf eg Heb 4.12; Isa 55.11).

an automatic response to the reading of scripture can imply an lack of genuine listening; it would be good if there were a flexibility in responses that recognised the diversity of scripture.

Big Berkhof

i attended a preaching conference at SMBC a couple of years ago now - one of the best things (apart from the teaching of course) was that their library was doing a bit of a clean out.
so anyway, the Don recommended, out of his talk on Systematic Theology, both Big Berkhof and Little Louis. and i went down to the library sale and picked up Louis Berkhof's Manual of Christian Doctrine (Eerdmans: 1931, reprinted 1981) - ie Little Louis.
and i can honestly say that it's been one of my most helpful para-biblical books - it goes through the issues, through all facets of Christian Doctrine, but straightforwardly (whoever would have thought the difference between supra- and infra-lapsarianism would be made straightforward?!), as well as showing the varying views of different denominational traditions, where they stand and where the important and trivial differences are.

he is fair to both sides, happy to say when there is good justification for either, but also not backward in pointing out, in all humility, the flaws in flawed standpoints.

with my doctrine exam looming nearer, a few weeks ago i decided i needed to step up - and get my hands on Big Berkhof - or Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology (Eerdmans: 1938, reprinted 1996), and found it here for only 17 bucks, WITH his 1932 Introduction to the Study of Systematic Theology in the one volume!

BARGAIN!!!*

it's pretty thrilling - great quotes, such as this on the Holy Spirit:

The Bible never deals with the doctrine of the Trinity as an abstract truth, but reveals the Trinitarian life in its various relations as a living reality, to a certain extent in connection with the works of creation and providence, but particularly in relation to the work of redemption. Its most fundamental revelation is given in facts rather than in words. (ST p85)

Big Berkhof is not a book you'll read cover to cover, but it's by far my most used reference book. well, it will be - after Little Louis!
there was a stack of them at West Ryde Koorong - you just need to step over the realised eschatology section, block out the 'jesus is my boyfriend' music, and wear sunscreen to shield yourself from the glare of the gold-plated 'the message' 'bibles'. jokes, of course!

*i just checked Amazon - they're flogging it for double, plus that's US dollars, so super expensive

SMBC preaching conference

Don Carson and Dale Ralph Davis spoke to us over four days at the 2007 sydney missionary and bible college preaching conference.

Ralph Davis was really impressive, especially when we worked out he was translating on the run from the hebrew. i think most people walked out, keen to preach thru OT narratives.

Don took us thru:

1. biblical theology,
   
2. systematic theology,
   
3. historical theology and
   
4. preaching and pastoral theology

some of it i still have to process a little more, but a few highlights from his last talk, when asking how do we do pastoral theology?

cultivate compassion - how do you feel when you see sheep without a shepherd?

cultivate an understanding of people and their needs in biblical categories - if you analyse people in sociological categories, you'll start thinking of (pop)-sociological solutions

cultivate a prepared mind and heart for turning points in people's lives - be prepared to rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, and often both on the same day! think about how you are preparing people for eternity in light of those events.

cultivate a connection between lofty thoughts of God, and people - hear hear.

cultivate a healthy independence from your congregation - fear God more than your congregation. they need you to be their pastor first, not letting your friendship get in the way of that.

cultivate your own maturation (and check your motivation) - your people need to see you being shaped and matured by the word of God

great conference, really encouraging, correcting and cautionary.