Emphasis Preaching Journal

1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Wisdom. We can all use it. This lesson is about the desirability of wisdom in our political leaders, but we can all use it too.

We know that wisdom is more than knowledge. What is it? Three of the world’s great minds give us some insights. Start with the oldest, Socrates. It is said, he claimed, that “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” You are wise when you are in awe, realize how mystical and magical life is. Christians (Jews and Muslims) are in awe of God. That is why Proverbs (1:7) says that, “The fear of the Lord of Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” When you are in awe, you take time, for you know you don’t have all the answers. Augustine was right: “Patience is the companion of wisdom.” You need patience because you know you do not have all the answers. Martin Luther teaches us that lesson:

If you are wise you know your own ignorance; and you are ignorant if you do not know yourself. America could use some patient politicians who are in awe about life and know their own ignorance and try to overcome it. This community would be a lot better off if we were all people like that.
Mark E.

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1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
David’s reign is finished, and Solomon’s reign begins in this passage from 1 Kings. The Lord seeks to empower Solomon with that which he desires. Solomon responds, “’Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?’” How many of us being asked by God for anything we desire would ask for an understanding mind? Is that what we pray for when we are in need? Do we desire understanding above all things? I know I have prayed for health, for employment, for forgiveness, but I have less frequently prayed for understanding and an understanding mind. I have gotten better at discerning God’s call on my life and my need to understand the needs of others. It’s a worthy desire - to understand others, to act as one who understands the needs of others. That may be Solomon’s greatest lesson for us.
Bonnie B.

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Ephesians 5:15-20
Charles Spurgeon once said, “Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are as ships without the wind, branches without sap, and like coals without fire, we are useless.” Paul urges his readers to be wise and make the most of every opportunity. To do so, we have to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Henry Blackaby wrote, “God speaks through a variety of means. In the present, God primarily speaks by the Holy Spirit, through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church.”

Have you ever noticed a glove? If the glove does not have a hand inside, it is merely a shell. It can accomplish nothing. That’s how it is when we try to live without the power of the Holy Spirit. We are as useless as a handless glove. May the Holy Spirit indwell, empower and emboldened us to live for Jesus Christ.
Bill T.

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Ephesians 5:15-20
The alternative to drunkenness and dissipation is singing. I’m not sure that’s necessarily as odd as it sounds. Chemical stimulants or sedatives such as drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, bring about an altered brain state, which I am probably not qualified to scientifically articulate. Addictions produce changes in our body chemistry and our outlook that makes them very difficult to shake. So does singing. Music involves a different part of our brains than speaking. The martyrs bolstered each other’s courage in the writing and singing of hymns, even unto death.
Frank R.

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John 6:51-58
The literal interpretation of this passage led to much misunderstanding. The Jews at the time did not understand. Those averse to Christianity thought of these words as a call to cannibalism. Yet, we know the interpretation of Jesus as the bread and blood that brings eternal life, is celebrated at the communion table as a means of encountering and feeling the indwelling of the living and resurrected Christ. The communion table is where we encounter, as the family of God, the gifts of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is one of the ways we celebrate being one with Jesus. Our lives are transformed and renewed through the gifts of the table, the gifts of bread and cup at Christ’s table. I will always seek this renewal and transformation.
Bonnie B.

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John 6:51-58
John Calvin did a good job explaining what John meant by eating Jesus’ flesh. The reformer wrote:

I acknowledge that Christ is not eaten but by faith; but the reason is, because we receive Him by faith, that He may dwell in us and that we may be made partakers of Him, and thus be made one with Him. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/2, p.260)

Martin Luther elaborated further on this point in a sermon on this lesson:

This union is so constituted that Christ is in us and is truly one body with us, that He abides in us mightily with His strength and power, much more closely than any friend. (Luther’s Works, Vol. 23, p,150)

This lesson about eating and drinking Jesus is really about friendship with him. But too often we take our friends for granted, take Jesus for granted. With that reality in mind, while preaching on this sermon, Augustine contended that we still need an inn to stop over in and heal as we continue the journey. The church, he affirms, is precisely this inn (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol.6, p.503).

Mark E.