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December 10, 2015  David Murray   2 comments

Blogs

Seminaries reluctantly selling their souls
The case against online learning. And here’s the case for: Seminaries forging a future.

Why White Men Should Preach Noteless Sermons | Scribblepreach.com
What do you think about this from Nick Macdonald?

The reason why most white men need their notes in the pulpit is that our sermons are too dense for the ear. Let me say that in another way: if you can’t remember your sermon, it’s too dense. It’s too complicated. It’s too geared toward written communication. Memory goes hand-in-hand with simplicity and focus – two essential qualities for oral communication.

A Crash Course on the Muslim Worldview and Islamic Theology | TGC

Take a Hike: Rediscovering God’s Grandeur in Nature
“My hope is that you’ll move from knowing this truth to experiencing it by spending time in the great outdoors with the God who cares for you. Plan a trip. Go hiking. Splash through babbling streams. Climb a mountain. Get into God’s creation. Rediscover your smallness, and his giantness. ”

Homemaking in the Light of Eternity | Tim Challies
A beautiful perspective: “The gospel transforms homemaking precisely because it assures us that we do not need to do and see and have and accomplish everything in this short life. The gospel promises life beyond-a much better, longer, and more fulfilling life.”

Kindle Books

Here are a few American history books at good prices.

1946-52: Years of Trial and Hope by Harry Truman $2.99.

Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation $1.99.

The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat $1.99.

Video

Watch Knox – The Life and Legacy of Scotland’s Controversial Reformer Online
Watch via Vimeo on demand for just $7.50.

  • http://www.jurassiclark.com/ Brad Hansen

    Hi, David! Thanks for your articles, book notices, and videos. Always welcome.

    Let me hazard a response to Nick Macdonald (No Notes). I’m afraid that his premise represents a false dichotomy, namely: “We can either have written notes or manuscripts, or we can be focused.” I simply don’t see these as polar opposites, and there are several factors which mitigate against such an outcome. First, there is such a thing as writing for the ear. There is such a thing as writing with cadence. Practicing these things helps the preacher condense where necessary, and thus simplify what is being said.

    That said, however, I think there is a positive case to be made for extensive notes or manuscript. In my own mind, the most important reason is the ability to answer the question, “How will I recognize my hobby horses? How will I recognize my overworked words, phrases, sentences, and even illustrations? I would maintain that it’s only in seeing these on paper that we recognize how tendentious we can be.

    Here’s my own bottom line: notes and extensive writing are no more inimical to the sermon anymore than a score is to a symphony performance. The performance is more than the score, but the score guides the movement of the performance through time, using repetition, inverted melody, variations on the melody, all with the end in view. So it can be with sermons. Sermons are more than the words or outline you have produced, but if you’ve done your writing well, you have a guide from beginning to end.

    I’ll be interested in reading other responses.

    Brad Hansen

    • David Murray

      Good thoughts, Brad. I like your bottom line. Pastor Al Martin always emphasizes that it’s not how much notes that you take into the pulpit – it’s about how dependent you are on them.