Pastor Tim here. Grace and peace to all of you and greetings from the saints at Grace Community Church.
I’ve just started a three-year doctoral program at the Master’s Seminary with an emphasis on expository preaching. I’m studying under men such as John MacArthur and Steve Lawson whose preaching has been a gift to the church. Three weeks of the year I’ll be away from home and church for classes but I’ll be back and behind the pulpit to complete the rest of my course work. This is an opportunity for me to stretch my academic muscles in reading, writing, and speaking that should bring noticeable improvement to my preaching ministry which in turn will bring benefit to our church and glory to Christ.
Already I’ve been moved to heights of worship and awe at the greatness of our God and his work, and I’m eager to preach the word with greater clarity, boldness, and urgency. I’ve met many who have prayed for us and I trust that the Lord will be faithful in continuing to answer those prayers.
I want to clarify that this program will not diminish my involvement in the church, family, nor my ability to minister to you. Rather, it will only serve to make me more disciplined with my time, making the best use of every moment I have (Eph 5:16).
As I progress through the program over the next three years, I want to share with you the things I’ll be reading and writing this semester (which ends December 6). I do this so that you can pray for me and be involved in the things that will be on my mind. Maybe some of you would even be interested in picking up one of these books and reading it to discuss it with me. I’ll also be sharing my assignments and grades with the elders so that they can ensure I’m being a good steward of this opportunity to study.
May the Lord strengthen and keep you faithful in his service.
Books
Motyer, J A. Preaching? Simple Teaching On Simply Preaching. Fearn, Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2013.
MacArthur, John. Preaching: How to Preach Biblically. The John Macarthur Pastor’s Library. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005. (Parts 1 and 2 only).
Block, Daniel Isaac. For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2014.
Gordon, T. David. Why Johnny Can’t Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub., 2009.
Wilson, Douglas. Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life. Moscow, Idaho: Canon Press, 2011.
Gordon, Karen Elizabeth. The New Well-Tempered Sentence: A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed. Boston: Mariner Books, 2003.
Hale, Constance. Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose. 2nd ed. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2013.
Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language,” in The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell. Ed. Sonia Orwell and Ian Angos. Vol. 4, ed. 1. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Javanovich.
Aquinas, Thomas (read pp. 1-113 [his commentary on John 1:1-34] and pp. 254-308 [John 5:1-47]). Thomas, Fabian R. Larcher, James A. Weisheipl, Daniel A. Keating, and Matthew Levering. Commentary on the Gospel of John. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2010.
Barrett, Matthew. Canon, Covenant and Christology: Rethinking Jesus and the Scripture of Israel. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, an imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2020.
Bavinck, Herman. “The Divine Counsel.” Chapter 7 (pp. 337–405) in Reformed Dogmatics: Volume 2: God and Creation. Edited by John Bolt. Translated by John Vriend. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004
Blaylock, Richard M. “The Doctrine of Reprobation.” The Gospel Coalition, 2020. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/doctrine-of-reprobation/.
Calvin, John. Book 3, chapters 21–24 (pp. 920–87) in Institutes of the Christian Religion. Edited by John T. McNeill. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles. 2 vols. The Library of Christian Classics. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960.
Carter, Craig A. Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition: Recovering the Genius of Premodern Exegesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2018.
Pinson, J. Matthew. 40 Questions about Arminianism. 40 Questions. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2022.
Piper, John. Does God Desire All to Be Saved? Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013. (available free at https://document.desiringgod.org/does-god-desire-all-to-be-saveden.pdf?ts=1646158401)
Arthurs, Jeffrey D. Preaching with Variety: How to Re-Create the Dynamics of Biblical Genres. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2007.
Carson, D A. Exegetical Fallacies. 2nd ed. Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 1996
Fee, Gordon D. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors. 3rd ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002.
Greidanus, Sidney. The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996.
Griffiths, Jonathan. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Vol. 42, Preaching in the New Testament: an Exegetical and Biblical-Theological Study. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2017.
Jeffers, James S. The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999
Paul, Ian, and David Wenham, eds. Preaching the New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013.
Piper, John. The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1–23. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1993.
Schreiner, Thomas R. Interpreting the Pauline Epistles. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011.
Scott, J Julius. Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000.
Adam, Peter. Speaking God’s Words: A Practical Theology of Preaching. Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2004.
Arthurs, Jeffrey. and Russell St. John, “A Response to ‘Time to Kill the Big Idea?’ by Abraham Kuruvilla,” Homiletix (December 1, 2019), 1–8.
Capill, Murray A. The Heart Is the Target: Preaching Practical Application from Every Text. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2014.
Carrick, John. The Imperative of Preaching. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2016.
Carson, D A. Christ and Culture Revisited. paperback ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2012.
Fabarez, Michael. Preaching That Changes Lives. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2005.
Jeffers, James S. The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999.
Kuruvilla, Abraham. “Time to Kill the Big Idea? A Fresh Look at Preaching,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 61, no. 4 (December 2018): 825-46
Kuruvilla, Abraham. “Big Idea—Requiescat in Pace! Authorial Rejoinder to Steven Mathewson,” Homiletix (August 1, 2019), 1-16.
Kuruvilla, Abraham. “‘Big Idea? DNR!’ Authorial Rejoinder to Jeffrey Arthurs and Russell St. John,” Homiletix (December 1, 2019), 1-19.
Litfin, A Duane. Paul’s Theology of Preaching: The Apostle’s Challenge to the Art of Persuasion in Ancient Corinth. revised and expanded ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2015.
Massey, James Earl. The Burdensome Joy of Preaching. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.
Mathewson, Steven D. “Let the Big Idea Live! A Response to Abraham Kuruvilla,” Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society 19, no. 1 (March 2019): 33-41.
Millar, J G., and Phil Campbell. Saving Eutychus: How to Preach God’s Word and Keep People Awake. Kingsford, Australia: Matthias Media, 2013.
Olyott, Stuart. Preaching That Gets Through: God’s Word and Our Words. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2011.
Ryle, J C. Simplicity in Preaching. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2010. (Free online at http://www.gracegems.org/18/Ryle-%20Preaching.htm )
Craddock, Fred B. Preaching. 25th ed. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010.
Kuruvilla, Abraham. A Vision for Preaching: Understanding the Heart of Pastoral Ministry. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015.
McDill, Wayne. 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching. 2nd ed. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2006.
Assignments
Write one paragraph defining expository preaching.
Prepare a critical book review of Block’s For the Glory of God (1000-1500 words).
Submit a preliminary concept for the third year project.
Congregation Survey with report on weekly sermon preparation (2 pages)
Preach one sermon with no notes and write a Reflection Paper summarizing the experience (1 page).
Preach sermon series on 3 John (see notes for details on all that is required)
Sermon analysis of 4 sermons preached through Acts
Transcribe a sermon you have recently preached and complete the “Sermon Analysis Worksheet.”
Research Letter to Church Leadership explaining how I would teach the eternal generation of the son from John’s gospel (6 pages).
Research Letter to Church Leadership explaining how I would teach election and reprobation from Romans 9 (8 pages)
Write short research paper on an area of NT history (4 pages)
Following your reading of Paul’s Theology of Preaching: The Apostle’s Challenge to the Art of Persuasion in Ancient Corinth answer the following question. Given Paul’s statements concerning the preacher in 1 Corinthians 1-2, is it appropriate for the preacher to consider sermonic style and substance and seek to improve their skills of communication? (3 pages).
Discuss any validity and/or cautions with employing the “Big Idea” when preaching the biblical text (2 pages).
Write a reflection paper on what is wrong with the boring preacher and how to avoid such a label (2 pages).
Read Wolfe, Paul D. My God Is True! Lessons Learned Along Cancer’s Dark Road. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. Write a reflection paper on how consecutive expository preaching (lectio continua) best prepares our people to go thought the ups and downs of life (1 page).
Write a research paper answering, “What impact should the pastors cultural setting have upon his preaching?” (3 pages).
Write a research paper on “What makes application in preaching effective and biblical?” (3 pages).