The God Who Gives His Word
Jonah Series | 1:1-2 | Pastor Duane Smets
This first week of the series is an exegetical introduction to the book of Jonah. It covers background information of the person of Jonah, the role of a prophet, the reliability and relevance of the book of Jonah, and the nature and function of God’s Word in our lives. This sermon was originally preached on February 27th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Esteeming Preaching
Grappling With Pragmatism Versus Preaching
In the fall of 1996, I like the disobedient Jonah gave up running away from God and accepted Jesus call upon my life to be a minister of the gospel. I simultaneously fell in love with the Bible and got involved in a number of campus ministries. Taking an “Intro To Ministry” class at the college I was attending seemed like a good idea, but after that class I avoided practical ministry courses like they were a plague throughout all my eight years and three degrees of theological education.
Now, after being a pastor and a church planter for some time, I realize that probably wasn’t the wisest thing and there is much I could have learned and gleaned from investing some time learning from the “how to” experts. Mostly because failure has made me more teachable, I have since gone back and tried to learn what I can from the practical guys and continue to do so.
However, what rubbed me wrong about practical ministry classes is that they were built on the concept of the “how to” rather than the “what is.” It seemed pretty basic to me, ministry was a product of the word of God at work in people. So I thought the question should be what does God’s word say and not a question of what works best. Thus, I figured I’d focus on theology instead and thought whatever I ended up doing in ministry would probably just work out because it was driven by good theology.
Jesus Preaches His First Sermon and Rocks the World
Matthew Series | Matthew 5:1-7:29 | Pastor Duane Smets
This is an exegetical sermon overviewing the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and looks at the setting, content and response of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This sermon was originally preached on October 18th, 2009 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
The Sermon and Preaching
1 Timothy 5:7 “Those who labor in preaching…“
I am not very good at many things. There are a number of things in life I can do decently because I am a hard worker and with time and dedication anyone can pretty much become decent at anything. This is the story of my life. Growing up it was mostly focused on basketball. I was never a star but I got pretty decent and with a lot of practice I could hold my own on a team. Then it was snowboarding. In high school I simply went a lot and learned how to throw myself of cliffs and big jumps…but I was never good enough to get sponsored or go pro. Learning how to do something I was not naturally good at was the story of many things in my life until I discovered preaching.
I’ve been preaching in church services, camps, and special events now for over 12 years. While it too is something I work hard at developing, unlike anything I have ever done…preaching is something which has always come naturally. When I am preaching there is a deep sense in which I feel that it is the reason why God made me. Preaching is the one unique thing he has gifted me in to serve and glorify him.
As a pastor I do a lot of things from discipling dudes, doing leadership development, pre-marital counseling, leading a community group, to couseling and several other odds and ends…but the main thing I devote and have devoted most of my life in ministry to…is preaching. I’ve had the opportunity to teach a preaching class at L.I.F.E. Pacific College and also had the chance to mentor a few young preachers in helping them to think through what is involved in it and how to develop their skill in it. The result of that labor is a Preaching Précis I have had the pleasure of passing on to a number of people. I thought for this week’s blog I’d post that précis.
