Preaching Old Testament Narrative

On Thursday, I'm traveling to Heritage Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario to hear Steve Mathewson speak on "Preaching Old Testament Stories to a Story-Driven Culture." Mathewson is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell and author of The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative.

In a post at Preaching Today, he gives a hint of what he's going to talk about this Thursday. Preachers often use the Old Testament narrative in one of two ways. They preach moralistic sermons, using the characters as good or bad examples. Or, they focus on how the stories prefigure or portray Jesus Christ.

Mathewson suggests a better way:

Preachers who delve into Old Testament stories must look for the ‘vision of God’ – that is, the attribute(s) of God which dominates the story. Then they must look at how the story advances or connects with the storyline of the Bible. The death and resurrection of Jesus is, of course, foundational to this storyline. Preachers must also view the theology of the story through the lens of Jesus’ teaching and apostolic teaching.

Looks like he will continue to explore this, both at this week's seminar and on his blog. I'm looking forward to it.