Things I have learned from teaching on the Ten Commandments thus far:
We are heading into our 6th worship gathering as Park Church. I have been preaching on each of the Ten Commandments. The series has proven to be a greater challenge than I idealistically thought before we first began. I think I've learned quite a bit that will help me as a preacher in the future. Here are a few of those things:
1) Biblical Theology is fun, but difficult to preach. Tracing themes from the commandments throughout the scriptures is wonderfully illuminating in personal study. But attempting to do so in 40 minutes with a group of people can tend toward getting a bit confusing. I found myself struggling to pull all the various strands together into one cohesive whole in the end, and I think I've failed more than I've won over the past few weeks. The more texts that get added onto the pile during a sermon, the less time one has to actually expound a given text, and thus things start getting muddled. Spurgeon's comments about a fog in the pulpit comes to mind. Biblical theology is absolutely essential to understand the text. But that work should probably be done before you arrive in the pulpit on a Sunday. Do the work of understanding a text canonically and then preach that text- not a bunch of them.
2) Doing Gospel-Ethics is Hard. Talking about the law each week leads to a regular reflection on ethics- how are we to live in conformity with God's law. It is always a constant temptation to leave the gospel behind in talking about what must be done. Law-keeping has an uncanny way of sneaking in through the backdoor, through the side window- through a vent you didn't even know was there. This has terrified me each week in my preparations and has made me deeply grateful that my sermons always end at the table with the bread and the cup. We have made it a point to end each sermon with communion and then a few songs of celebrating the work of Christ on our behalf. I think this has saved me a couple of times- since it forces me to take whatever the commandment has said it draw it straight to the cross, justification by faith, and our calling to keep Christ's substitution at the center of our life.
3) Luther was right. Luther taught that one could not violate any of the ten commandments without breaking the first commandment to have no other gods but God. We are finding this to be true, again and again. Our small groups are trying to explore what sins lay underneath our inability to keep these commandments. Why can't you find rest? What keeps you from being able to sabbath? Why are you constantly tempted to distort the image of God portrayed for us in Jesus and the Scriptures? The "Why" question inevitably leads you to find deep idols hidden in your heart. Why can't I rest? Because my identity is wrapped up in the success of this business venture- or the success of this church plant. Why do I resist the God of the bible's portrayal of Himself? Because I want a god I can control. etc. etc. etc. This is wonderfully helpful. I am finding that most people have a great deal of difficulty thinking this way. Behavior has become the mark of righteousness in our age, but Jesus aims these commandments directly at the heart- We'll see this again with the 6th commandment and murder this week.
4) Working through books of the bible=way easier than whatever this is. I guess this series is topical. I don't like teaching topically. It requires a level of creativity and work that straight expository series doesn't require. Instead of just preaching the next string of verses, one is forced to first find and decide what string of verses one should preach on, and then start the work of exegesis, etc. I find this paralyzing on Tuesdays when I generally start working on a sermon. I stare at the commandment, do a hundred searches in Accordance and then stare at the commandment again. I usually fill up 2-3 pages of graph paper with questions, notes, references, quotes, and thoughts. This takes several hours and I haven't even arrived at a text to preach from yet. Some are far more skilled at this sort of thing than I. I am way more comfortable with a pre-determined line of verses, sitting there waiting for me on Tuesday morning. If and when I ever preach another series like this again, I'll make sure that the texts are clearly laid out before I start the series.
5) The Gospel Really does destroy, answer, and atone for sin. The first 5 commandments have thrust me again and again to the work of Christ on our behalf on the cross. Paul said it would lead us there, and it does. Consistently, every week, I am finding the gospel not merely an artificial addition to a message on each of the commandments- but it is actually the necessary answer to the problem that each of the commandments create. Without the gospel, these messages would not simply be hollow platitudes, they would be hopeless, despairing platitudes. We need Christ. We need all that Christ bought for us with His blood.
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