Discussion Post: Preaching Legacy
After reading about the legacy of four different preachers, I want you to
identify how each of these preachers relates to one of the aspects of any
of the first six steps of McDill’s model that you have explored thus far.
Nineteenth-Century European Preaching: Part 1
Robert Murray M’Cheyne-Preaching the Love of God in Jesus
Christ-1813-1843
$$$$$$$$$$$ Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s hermeneutical approach to Scripture is
best expressed as a “doctrinal typological approach to
preaching.”[1]$M’Cheyne used a God-centered method that aligns with
Wayne McDill’s model skill 6 style of preaching. $$McDill posited that [2]
“the Bible is not written to reveal man, but to reveal God.” $M’Cheyne‘s [3]
theology for preaching was entrenched in the “knowledge of God’s free
love in Christ; nothing was more wonderful than the love of
Christ.”[4]$M’Cheyne believed that Scripture required “preachers show
forth Christ with tones of tenderness.” $His preaching centered on [5]
“Christ crucified, buried, resurrected, and glorified.” $M’Cheyne believed[6]
that ministerial fidelity is contingent on “saturating a sermon with Christ
because the more ministers have Christ in their sermons, the more they
faithfully preached.”[7]
$$$$$$$$$$$ M’Cheyne combined his “exposition into extended exhortations
and applications; this also aligns with McDill’s model skill
6.”[8]$M’Cheyne’s division statements were “textual and so feeling, and
they brought out the spirit of a passage so surprisingly.” $His preaching [9]
was specific in its application, with exhortations directed “distinctly at the
lost, the awakened, the backslider, the afflicted, and the true
believer.”[10]$According to McDill, division statements are “clearly and
carefully worded theological truths; they express the theme of sermon
divisions, the portions of the exposition that correspond to the various
elements of the text writer’s thought.”[11]
Alexander Maclaren: The Art of Hermeneutics for the Practice of
Homiletics -1826-1910
$$$$$$$$$$$ Alexander Maclaren‘s passion for the Scriptures and his prominent
“commitment to the original languages, as derived from his
understanding of Scripture as divine revelation.” $Maclaren “grounded [12]
his preaching in the biblical text and applied it to the lives of his hearers,
both as Christians and as citizens.” Maclaren also inundated his [13]
messages with “personal applications for everyday Christians called to
engage their culture; such as his sermons “show how his heart and mind
were anchored on essential Christian truth.” .$Maclaren’s skill as an [14]
“expositor and his proficient application of the Scriptures emerged from
his unwavering doctrinal convictions. $But the most “daunting aspect [15]
of his interpretative task was determining an application of the sacred
text that was both appropriate to the world of the listener and yet
accurate to the original meaning of the message.” .$Maclaren’s [16]
faithfulness to the “biblical text and commitment to contemporary
relevance provide contemporary preachers with the opportunity to
develop a model for textual application through careful analysis of his
expositions.”[17]$This is aligned with McDill’s model Skill 2, “inductive
thinking begins with details, the particulars.” $ By “examining portions [18]
of “Maclaren’s sermons in each of four primary Hebrew genres (Hebrew
narrative, prophecy, gospel, and epistle) the influence of his theological
convictions on his methodology for applying various biblical texts can be
observed.”[19]
