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Here is a review of Rev Jasper Williams' whooping system. The Advertisement of the system is as follows: Do you want to learn how to whoop? If so this volume is for you! Preachers and pastors will be taught the mechanics of whooping, in addition to being able to view and listen to various styles of whooping. Can you learn to Whoop with this system? Read this post to see my review.

I just realized that I do not have any posts that give an outline of my method for exegesis. Here is the basic process.

1. Prayer - You should not open the Bible without praying for the guidance of the Spirit in understanding the principles found in the text.
2. Initial Observations - Now before you really get into thinking deeply about the text you want to get the initial impressions. Read the text and simply note whatever comes to your mind. A title may come to your mind, a theme may come to your mind, and even a gospel song or hymn. Whatever comes to your mind write it down. Here you are at your most creative point. However you will need to refine these observations later.

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Biblical Preaching is in the middle of a series of articles defending homiletic training. It is interesting how some will study to get a job, but when it comes to preaching, they think they should just do what comes naturally and not put any study into the subject.

I would encourage all to go over to the Biblical Preaching site and read the discussion there. What I want to talk about in this article though are the different ways that you can get homiletic training.

Read Books

The first thing you can do is read books. There are a number of books that are available to help you learn how to preach. One of the books I recommend is Best Advice for Preaching. The book was written with new preachers in mind and will give you advice on various aspects of preaching.

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Jeremiah Wright, pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ, wrote an article that is included in Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Global Vision and Action for the 21st century Black Church about the legacy of Samuel D. Proctor for preachers in the 21st century.

Intellectual Excellence

Wright summarizes the legacy into four components. The first of these is Intellectual Excellence. Here Proctor pushed not only for his own excellence, but also excellence in his students. As preachers, we must always strive to do the best we can intellectually. The Gospel we handle and the God we serve demands that we push for intellectual excellence.

Cultural Relevance

The next component is Cultural Relevance. There is a lot of talk about "relevance" today. Often this is the "seeker-sensitive" approach that seeks to speak in terms that the people want to hear. however, Wright is speaking about a cultural relevance that comes from speaking from a particular cultural framework. We preachers cannot set aside our background when we preach, and we must use it to address the groups that we are called to preach.

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Olin P. Moyd gives an interesting quote on page 121 of his important work The Sacred Art: Preaching and Theology in the African American Tradition. He writes:

The preaching opportunity always occurs at the intersection where the human situation of a particular group and the Word of God meet in time and place. The sermon must be true to the text, applicable to life situations, and always relevant to present conditions and aspirations of the community being addressed. There must be divine answers to the cries, "What must I do in my present situation?" just as there are answers to "What must I do to be saved?" Preaching in the African American tradition always responded to both of these questions.

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Peter Mead, at Biblical Preaching.Net, gives two options for turning a text into a half hour sermon in this article. Mead provides two options. The first is to carefully plan how to drive the main point into your people. This would include tactically deciding how you will present the idea. Mead succinctly summarizes this option as follows:

Option 1 is to take half-an-hour and make that main idea so clear, so transformative, so evident from the text, so applicational for each life.

Option 2 is to simply throw together information about the text, or other things irrelevant to the point, that obfuscates the point of the message.

I think this is an important thing to ask about everything that we are preaching. Is the tidbit that I am about to add to the sermon actually helping to drive the main point home, or apply the point, or celebrate the point? If it is not, then set it aside. Over the course of your preaching ministry you will probably have a chance to brig it back, but it is not a helpful part of the sermon you are currently working on unless it serves the point of your sermon.

We've come this far by faith

Leaning on the Lord

Trusting in God's Holy World

God's never failed me yet.

Can't turn around

We've come this far by faith.

While in the depths of slavery, no one could have imagined. We just wanted to survive the pain of the middle passage. When your family was being ripped apart, your dream was much lower, you just wanted to survive, to have the master stay out of your daughter's room tonight, we dreamed that our husbands and wives would not be sold tomorrow....

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This is a popular thought in the Black Church. The Lord is not only "going to" bless me, but the Lord already is currently blessing me. The song betrays an attitude of gratitude on behalf of the worshiper. We don't come to God only to request things from God, but to acknowledge the "goodness of Jesus and all he has done for me."

One might wonder what has God done, but the singer of this song answers "he woke me up this morning and started me on my way. Certainly the Lord will bless me, but any adequate understanding of God must begin with an acknowledgment of what God has already done.

As we continue to preach and teach in the Black tradition, we must always keep in the mind of the listener that God has already done so much for us that should elicit praise and works of Love. (Galatians 5:6)

Something within me that holdeth the reins.
Something within me that banishes pain;
Something within me I can't explain,
All that I know, there is something within me.

We often think of the Christian life in terms of what God will give us materially. We hear preachers speak of food on the table and a house and a job. We hear about how God will make you successful on your job or take you to the correct job if you lose that one.

However, one of the greatest gifts God has given to you is that "something" that is within you. That "something" that guides and directs you. That "something" that tells pain to stand back. That "something" that keeps you stable in an unstable world. I can't really explain that "something", but God has placed this "something" within you.

Today as we seek to live the life of God, let us keep in mind this great gift that God has given to us which is simply this "something" within.

I shall not be, I shall not be moved
I shall not be, I shall not be moved
Just like a tree, Planted by the waters
I shall not be moved.

Sometimes the sick think of the blessing of God as a cure. Other times the one who has suffered job loss may see the blessing of God as getting that job back or finding a new one. In these cases the blessing is a reversal of fortunes. The blessing is God taking the problem and eliminating it.

But in our lives we often don't get the cure. Sometimes we have to live with the diabetes till we die, sometimes we have to learn how to handle the migraines, and yes sometimes we have to learn how to manage with the arthritides. In addition, some of us may have to recognize that a new job may not be soon on the horizon and happy days may not be here again.

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