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I preach verse by verse. Sometimes word by word. I've joked that my listeners develop creases in the spines of their Bibles from opening to the same page for weeks.
But occasionally, I interrupt the exposition with a remedial mini-series inspired by a difficult passage.
Matthew 5 was providing ample material for sermons on Christian character. But when I got to 5:17, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them," I saw an opportunity to help my congregation connect the Old Testament, New Testament, and today.
At that time, there was a public controversy over displaying the Ten Commandments. Certain displays had received national attention and headlined evening news programs. So I interrupted the sermon series to bring a special bulletin.
The next Sunday I began a mini-series on Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments.
Families wanted to hear how the Law applied to them, and attendance rose. Budding theologues began debating the relevance of the Old Testament. Several people said those remedial messages clarified issues they had secretly puzzled over.
M. Scott Bashoor pastors Bible Church of Buena Park, Buena Park, California
Copyright © 2002 by the author or Christianity Today International,/Leadership journal.
Winter 2002, Vol. 24, No. 1, Page 42
Posted by permission of Christianity Today.
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