The Faughn Family of Four

What Is Really There?

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Adam Faughn • 5 Comments

As I listened to a couple of lessons at Polishing the Pulpit recently, I was further convicted about something that I have been trying to work on for some time. It is so easy to find little phrases in the Bible that are worded in an interesting way and just start making applications from them. While the applications we make may be Biblical and needed, they may not necessarily be what is in that text.

Here is one that I am reflecting on this week as I study and prepare a sermon for Sunday night.

How often have we read and taught the book of Jonah? It is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible, and a wonderful reminder about human tendencies and God’s will being done. However, I think we sometimes teach something from the book that simply is not there.

When we talk about Jonah going to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3), we often state that Jonah was afraid of going to Nineveh. We back that up with historical information about the cruelty of the Assyrian nation and the fact that God stated in verse 2 that these were an evil people.

Why Did Jonah Go East Instead of West? (picture via http://jonah.bmk.ee/mystory.htm)

The fact of the matter is, it is never said that Jonah ran due to fear of these people! In fact, if we dig more deeply into the book, we are told why he ran, and it has nothing to do with fear of the Assyrians or of the citizens of Nineveh. In Jonah 4:2, after the prophet has preached and the city has repented and been forgiven (Jonah 3:6-10), Jonah states,

This is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Jonah was not afraid of the citizens of Ninevah. Jonah was afraid of perverse, evil, Gentile people being forgiven by a compassionate God.

Are there texts that teach that sometimes we are afraid and run from the assignments God has given? Of course there are, but Jonah 1 is not among them. Just another reminder that we need to study the text to figure what is really there. I am no expert in this for sure, but it is something I am truly making an effort to improve upon. Hopefully, this little post helps you do the same.

Filed Under: Church Life

5 Ideas for Sunday Night Sermons

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Adam Faughn • 6 Comments

Yes, I’m one of “those” preachers. I plan my sermons well in advance. While we must deviate from our plans at times, I have all my 2011 Sunday morning titles and texts planned (and have for about six weeks). I did this for 2010, too, and it was wonderful. I changed the plan a couple of times, but that was okay, because I still knew the direction I wanted to go.

But, what about Sunday nights? Those “PM sermons” are often unplanned and can still leave us thinking about what to preach from week to week. I plan a few of them well ahead of time, but I like to keep Sunday nights free for more flexible scheduling.

Here are some things I have done, or have in my plans to do in the future on Sunday nights.

1. Q&A Night. We started this at Lebanon Road this year, and it has been well received. We have members submit questions in boxes and then answer 1 or 2 each time. We have these every other month.

2. “Children’s Emphasis” Night. We also started this in 2010. Many have done things like this in the past, but it still works! I preach about 10 minutes for our children, who all sit down front with me. Usually, I involve them with questions, and I try to have a song that goes with the Bible story, too. Then, I preach about 10 or 15 minutes to the entire assembly, and base my sermon on the story we have discussed with the kids. While I have a lot of work to do on these, they have also been very well received. We do these every other month, as well.

3. Old Testament Book of the Week. Todd Clippard mentioned this to me. There are 39 books in the Old Testament. By the time you figure in VBS, Gospel Meeting(s), times you are away, and other special Sunday night services, that’s about how many Sunday nights you preach each year. Why not preach one sermon from each book of the Old Testament. It’s a good way to preach from some books that are often neglected.

4. Sermon in Song and Scripture. An idea I got from Andy Kizer, we did a couple of these when I lived in Haleyville. The sermon is exactly what it sounds like. There is no “real” preaching, but the entire time is spent singing and reading God’s Word on a specific topic. These are especially useful when the church calendar is filled, or near holiday times.

5. Singing Emphasis Nights. Many congregations still have a Sunday night where they spend more of the time singing (at Lebanon Road, ours is on Wednesday night), but why not have a series (or, at least, a regular part of your preaching) on the songs that we sing. Base a sermon on a song. My dad does this at Central, and it helps make the singing nights even more special.

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There are so many more I could mention, but I want to hear from you. What are some things you have preached on specifically on Sunday nights, or have heard preached on, that were especially meaningful? Leave a comment with your list.

—-and, please, DON’T constantly preach on worship attendance on Sunday night!!!

Filed Under: Church Life

Three Reviews

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Adam Faughn • 2 Comments

This post will finally catch us up on book reviews! (At least, until I finish another book.)

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The Screwtape Letters

C.S. Lewis

originally published 1942, my copy published by Harper Collins in 2001 (209 pages)

I have had this book on my shelf for a long time, and a member at Lebanon Road suggested that I would love it. That gave me the “umph” needed to add it to my reading list.

I’m so glad I did!

Lewis is able to weave through the letters from “Wormwood” to “Screwtape” (an uncle demon to his nephew) the way we see Satan working in our world. The allegory is clear, but haunting. At times, it is almost too real.

Lewis stated that he struggled writing this book because he had to think like the devil would think. However, just looking at the world around with a clear mind will show how Satan works, and it comes across very clearly in this work.

In my mind, the most powerful letter is #25, where Wormwood tries to show how “the same old thing” is the worst thing humans can think of. In other words, we are always looking for the newest, fastest, and most exciting. Sound familiar?

Read this book! It is short, but will truly cause you to think about how subtle Satan is, and of how well he does what he sets his mind to do.

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Facing Your Giants

Max Lucado

Thomas Nelson, 2006 (233 pages)

Based upon the life of David, this volume shares with readers how we can face the insurmountable times in our lives with God’s help. Lucado is able to take some of the more familiar times in the life of David and show how they were used to defeat more “giants” than just one named Goliath.

In my mind, that is the best part of this book. It is not just a look at David and Goliath. Instead, it is a devotional style walk through major times in the life of David, and it shows how this man faced many giants. We rarely will face a bully like Goliath, but we will face the “giants” of fear, betrayal, and loss. David faced these, too, and Lucado is able to use those common areas of life to show us how to handle them.

This is very much a devotional-level book. There are some times where I feel the author takes a few too many liberties with the text, but overall the book is helpful. The study guide in the back of the book is one that I find more helpful than many others I have seen.

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Communicating for a Change

Andy Stanley and Lane Jones

Multnomah Books, 2006 (199 pages)

This book does one thing, and that is that it tries to get those of us who preach to, well, do one thing: preach one point.

199 pages are spent showing the “why’s” and “how’s,” of doing that, but the one point of this book is to preach just one point.

I preach multi-point sermons like many other preachers do, but I didn’t see this book as an “affront” to that style. I read it as a different approach to preaching, and I did find a lot in it to be helpful. I see this book as another in a long line of books that show other ways of preaching (and preaching Biblically). It is up to the preacher and those who hear to determine what is best for the situation. Some need to be one-point preachers. Others need to preach several points. Some need to learn to make a point!

If you agree with the overall premise or not, this is still a must-read for preachers.

Filed Under: Books

More and More Reviews

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Adam Faughn • 1 Comment

In our continuing effort to catch up on book reviews, here are some more this week! (We should catch up next week.)

Also, during this time frame, I finished reading the Bible in the New King James Version. Here’s my review: The Bible is the greatest book ever written!!!

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Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World

Dr. David Jeremiah

Thomas Nelson, 2009 (253 pages)

I reviewed this book for Booksneeze.com. You can read that review by clicking here.

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Mosaic

Dayna Zoll Cookson

self published, 2010 (85 pages)

I don’t read poetry books very often, but when you found out that the author went to high school with you, you make an exception!

Dayna and I both went to high school in Dexter, Missouri, and have reconnected via Facebook with several of our classmates. Her book of poetry, Mosaic, is a collection of poems that are designed to show her journey from a life of rebellion to one lived for the Lord. Because some of the poems show an earlier life of rebellion (including drug use and an abortion), several of the poems are quite dark and gritty. However, the honesty portrayed in the stanzas is truly eye-opening.

The book is basically divided in half, with the first half being poems of rebellion and fighting against the world, and the second half being poems directed toward God and a life of trying to seek Him. The transition is remarkable, and is worth the read in and of itself.

If you like deeply personal poetry, you will find this collection of verses to be a good read. I have already marked a couple of these poems to file away for use in future sermons.

The book is available on Amazon here. (There is also a Kindle version.)

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The Epistles of John

James Montgomery Boice

Baker Books (2004, originally published in 1979) 192 pages

I used Boice’s “expositional commentary” on these three letters from John as the major resource for a class I just finished teaching on those books. While I used many other sources, I used Boice’s outlines and tried to follow his flow through the books.

This is the first commentary by Boice that I have used, and I found it to be extremely helpful. While there was some Calvinism found in the work, the overall flow of the book was helpful for me, and kept my “on track” as I taught the class.

To me, the best positive of this type of commentary is that Boice gives different viewpoints on certain passages, but does so in a very concise way. You, as the student, can go to other works to study these controversies more deeply, but you will find Boice’s treatment to be fair and clear.

The weakness (other than Calvinistic thought) of this work to me was the treatment of Third John. I know it is very brief, but the book seemed to “run out of steam” when it got to that powerful book. While we looked at it briefly in my class, as well, I found myself using very little of Boice’s material for that class. Other than that, I think this is a worthy commentary to add to your shelf on these powerful little books.

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Jesus Came Preaching

George Buttrick

Baker Books, 1970 (239 pages)

This book contains transcripts from Buttrick’s Yale Lectures on Preaching. The focus, obviously, is on the very simple fact that Jesus was a preacher. However, as I read the book, it seemed that Buttrick tried to cover far more ground, and lost sight of the theme. The book was still helpful, and contained many good reminders for preachers (especially younger preachers), but it seemed to go off the major thrust of the lectures.

My major problem with this book was that it was extremely “academic.” That may seem like a stretch for a criticism, since the lectures were delivered at Yale, but at times it seemed as though Buttrick was trying too hard to sound academic. I like that he did that sometimes, but it seems as though a vast majority of his sentences were crafted to have that tone to them.

Overall, though, the book was a very good read on preaching. I gained much from it, and was reinvigorated in my work by it. If you preach, this might be a good little volume for you to add to your library.

Filed Under: Books

Playing Catch-Up on Book Reviews

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Adam Faughn • 3 Comments

Wow! It has been a long while since we posted book reviews. The following won’t get us caught up, but will get us closer. Enjoy!

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The 15 Periods of Bible History

Andy Kizer

Quality Publications, 1993 (68 pages)

My Sunday morning Bible class wanted to do a “survey” of the chronological Bible, trying to piece together how the Bible flows in time. Brother Kizer’s little book was our class book, although I used other sources in addition to this one to help me in my preparation.

Brother Kizer’s book is brief, but its intent is simply to give the basics of what is found in each of the 15 periods discussed. Major characters are given, as are the various texts that comprise each section.

The book is very hard to find, but should become easier to find in the not-too-distant future (that’s all I can say about that here). This book will help the individual gain a greater understanding of the chronology of Scripture, and I highly recommend it for your library to help you in your study. The study questions are a helpful addition, but a teacher will need to make more “discussion-type” questions to use this book in a classroom setting.

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Bringing Up Boys

Dr. James Dobson

Tyndale, 2001 (269 pages)

What an eye-opening book! Leah and I both read this book to gain greater insight into how to best rear our precious son, Turner.

Dobson’s writing is simple and blunt, but he makes it very clear that it is based upon mountains of research. The reader will find that to be a welcome part of the reading, and will also gain some levity from Dobson’s humor found throughout the book. While the subject is very serious and forthright, Dobson’s humor helps the reader continue through the volume.

The negative of this book, in my mind, was that parts of the book seemed to “chase rabbits” and go in a direction that should have been reserved for another book. For example, there is an entire chapter on single parents and grandparents. Are these needed? Absolutely, but to me, they broke the “flow” of the book.

There are some controversial (and a couple of provocative) statements in the book with which the reader will have to wrestle and that a mom and dad will have to discuss. Overall, though, this is a must-read for those with boys. It has helped Leah and I tremendously, and we hope that, over time, what we have gained from this book will help in some small way, as we seek to help Turner be a man who loves God first.

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Speaking for the Master

Batsell Barrett Baxter

MacMillan, 1958 (134 pages)

This is a quick and helpful read. The basis for this book is to help leaders show others how to prepare lessons and sermons to be presented in public. I read it as a reminder of some important principles in sermon preparation and delivery.

Baxter walks the reader through several lessons that are to be shared in a leadership course, and they run the gamut from simple public speaking techniques to constant reminders of the importance of the Bible in our lessons.

Most readers will find this book to be helpful in basic public speaking technique. For me, a great struggle is introducing and concluding a lesson. The chapter on that aspect of speaking was a great help, and caused me to focus on those portions of my sermons.

The book is out of print, but a paperback version (published in 1979) can be found on Amazon.com for very little money. If you want to “brush up” on your public speaking ability, it would be worth the minimal investment.

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A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

Phillip Keller

Zondervan, 1970 (142 pages)

Over the summer months, I preached a series on the 23rd Psalm. Outside of the text itself, Keller’s little book was my major resource. I readily mentioned in sermons that I was borrowing heavily from Keller’s work to gain insight into the mind and activity of a shepherd.

This book is quite well-known, but it needs to be read more widely. The language is not hard. This is not a scholarly work. If you like Psalm 23, you will gain so much from this little volume. Preachers can easily find sermon material and even good “sub-points” for outlines in the book.

While the series I preached was quite long (3 months), this book helped me keep the information fresh and helpful, because we wanted to learn much about why David worded the psalm as he did. Even if you know the 23rd Psalm very well, I would highly recommend this book.

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The Eternal Kingdom

F.W. Mattox

Gospel Light, 1961 (351 pages)

Subtitled “A History of the Church of Christ,” Mattox’s work is a must-read. I had heard of it for some time, but finally read it recently in word-for-word fashion. I am so glad I did.

While the reading can be a bit tedious in places, Mattox did a tremendous work in walking the reader through an overview of the Church from Acts 2 to the 20th Century. The book is a history book; thus, it contains many names and dates. However, Mattox’s book is fairly brief when you consider the amount of material he covers, so the reader does not get “bogged down” in detail.

For me, the most helpful part of the book was walking through the Dark Ages, where the glimmer of hope for the Church as God designed it seemed dim. Mattox shows us that there were some times–albeit brief–of hope. Also, for those who like Restoration history, the book will help reinforce your knowledge of that period of history.

If you are a Church history “buff,” or if you aren’t but would like to know some basic information about the history of the Church, this book will help you. While several years old now, the book stands up and will help you see that God’s Kingdom is, in fact, eternal.

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That gets us about half-way caught up. Lord willing, we’ll review more next Monday.

Filed Under: Books

Tag Archives: preaching

What Is Really There?

5 Ideas for Sunday Night Sermons

Three Reviews

More and More Reviews

Playing Catch-Up on Book Reviews