Living Water for Thirsty Souls by McMickle - Essay Example

Living waters for Thirsty Souls--Critical Review Summary The fundamental principle of “Living Water for ThirstySouls: Unleashing the Power of Exegetical Preaching” is that preaching is supposed to be grounded, as well as centered, within the genuineness and instructions found in the Bible. McMickle's approach has eight steps, which cover limitations, literature, language, locality, links, existence applications, leads, as well as lessons, and, without a doubt, reflects the long-established line of attack for undertakings biblical exegesis. These instruction tools are warranted to take the reverend through the changeover from content to sermon, resultant in a prosperous harvest of sermonizing material. Living water for thirsty souls: unleashing the power of exegetical preaching is comprehensive with example sermons to demonstrate every stride of this method (McMickle 46). Interaction and Dialog with these Concerns from Individual Experience I have attended sermons more than a few times when I visit a chapel. I have listened to sermons that were sometimes distorted and proposed something impractical at some instances. As I read “Living Water for Thirsty Souls: Unleashing the Power of Exegetical Preaching” I found out that these preachers did not use a line of attack that could make whatever they were preaching as practical and realistic as possible. They tried too hard to make things fit into some contexts that made people wonder whether the examples that were provided really applied to what was in the scripture. After reading the book, I learnt that almost all the sermons that I had attended did not utilize even a quarter of what McMickle come up with in his approach (McMickle 65). The sermons had no type of limitations. This made the preachers to go out of context and confuse the individuals attending the sermon, me included. The preachers sometimes totally lost the audience's attention to the sermon by going out of topic and confusing it even further by not going back to what they had been initially preaching. This hindered me personally from getting any type of lesson from the sermon, which, I felt, was quite unfair to me, as well as to the congregation. I believe that “Living Water for Thirsty Souls: Unleashing the Power of Exegetical Preaching” is valuable when it uses the strategy of putting limits to the sermon, so that they can fit well with whatever the scriptures say. A lesson can be learnt from the sermon effectively, and at the same time without struggles to learn something from the sermons offered by priests (McMickle 76). In most of the sermons that I attended, sometimes I would find myself lost among the literature that was being presented for a particular sermon. This is because the preacher would read from the literature that was not related to the sermon at all. This is not good for any sermon because I felt that literature presented toward the congregation ought to be relevant and related to the sermon as a whole. I felt at most of the sermons I attended that I had not learnt anything because of the literature ignorance and the lack of its proper presentation. The literature should be totally in line with the sermon being presented to the congregation. For the better comprehension and easier understanding of the literature it must be explained in depth (McMickle 87). During sermons, a number of preachers utilize a number of expressions and words that have different meanings; sometimes I felt that sermons were misinterpreted. I attended sermons and found it hard sometimes to follow it because of the language that was utilized in the sermons, or the manner the preacher interpreted the scriptures to us. The interpretations would not fit the context of the literature of the scriptures. This made me spend time on trying to figure out why the preacher had come to such an interpretation instead of concentrating on the message that was being passed on by the preacher. I believe that preachers ought to utilize good interpretations and even confer with other preachers on scriptures so that they can provide good, correct, and simple interpretations to their congregations (McMickle 128). I attended a sermon once in a church that was extremely hot, not well ventilated, children crying, and in an extremely noisy environment. I was unable to concentrate on the sermon because I spent most of my time trying to get fresh cool air and trying to get what was being said because of the surrounding noise. I found this quite distracting; at the end of the day I had bits of the sermon, but not a connected, useful, full sermon; instead, I had grasped a few things here and there about the sermon, but had not learnt the lessons because the location for the sermon was not conducive for it at all (McMickle 145). I have attended a number of sermons that, I felt, had no links between the sermon presented, the literature, as well as the elucidations. I believe that links are extremely important in any sermon. There should be connections to what is being explained or talked about because without connections the sermon would be a number of ideas and lessons that do not have a relationship or eventual meaning to the congregation. Last month I attended a sermon that the preacher used life applications to show how the scripture links to daily experiences. The life applications he made had no affiliation with what the scripture was about and even worsened the sermon elucidation. Life applications are sometimes extremely effective in sermons because they show the congregation that the scriptures can be applied to real life experiences today. The life applications, however, ought to be specific and be 100% related to the sermon, as well as the scriptures (McMickle 166). A number of sermons that I have attended do not have any leads to make way for the scriptures or even the sermon as whole. It is like writing an essay paper or telling a story, there should be an introduction that gives one headway of what may be coming next or what the sermon is about so that the congregation can be interested to know what is coming next. This can be a statement that hooks the congregation to the sermon, so that all their interest can be drawn to the sermon and nowhere else. When stories, for example, have leads to a sermon, lessons should be elucidated in the middle or at the end of any narrative or sermon. This is important because, if there is no lesson to learn, there is no need of listening to something. An individual would rather gain from something, than not gain anything at all. Individuals go for sermons not because they cannot read the scriptures, but because they feel they need better elucidations and a lesson at the end of the sermon from individuals who , they believe, have a better understanding of the scriptures and can be able to pass the message on to the congregation in a simple, effectual manner (McMickle 186). Critical assessment: Doubts, Questions, its Effect on your Understanding, etcetera I had the opportunity to read various paperbacks on the manner in which to approach the undertaking of sermon improvement. “Living Water for Thirsty Souls” is a realistic and at the same time deeply religious work. It envelops every base of time-honored exegesis, however, in a manner that is comprehensible even for the preacher who is a beginner preacher. The author, M. McMickle, offers particularly supportive advice for coming up with numerous sermons from the identical exegetical endeavor. That is of a lot value to any person who is required to sermonize to the identical addressees on a customary basis, as well as still requires deep, nevertheless brand new sermons (McMickle 189). I wish that every seminary textbook could be this appropriate, as well as easy to utilize. Dr. McMickle makes available practical counsel on the manner in which to make sermons come animate for him, as well as for the people attending worship. “Living Water for Thirsty Souls” is with no trouble understood, matter-of-fact, as well as invigorating. It is supposed to be essential reading for any person with interest in studying homiletics. It will convert an individual’s sermons. Exegetical sermon is an obligation for a time where a sermon given is made to fit into the post-contemporary masses, which are filled with individual exposure, eisegesis, as well as sensationalism. McMickle offers a set-up to free the pulpit from judgment, as well as lift the preeminence of scripture (McMickle 205). On the other hand, I feel that “Living Water for Thirsty Souls: Unleashing the Power of Exegetical Preaching” helps preachers to make a schedule and plan of how they will take on the sermon, which I find to be impractical. It is like the preachers have to cram and go over the sermon over and over again, so that he does not stray from the McMickle’s eight step approach. This may make the preachers to get a place and question themselves whether they are on the right path, which step they have not taken, leading to them questioning their work and the sermon as a whole (McMickle 210). To err is human; and sometimes preachers find themselves in an eisegesis situation if the preacher had interpreted a scripture in one way and gets to the pulpit and feels that he has another interpretation that may fit best. The preacher will not have any time to change all the eight steps so that they can fit into the sermon. This needs planning, and the preacher might find himself in an awkward situation of confusion, resulting in delivery of an effective sermon and mixing up everything he had planned to put across to the congregation. So, yes, to some extent I have doubts about McMickle’s eight step strategy of limitations, literature, language, locality, links, existence applications, leads, as well as lessons. I believe that preachers ought to utilize this approach for undertakings of biblical exegesis and sensationalism, but at the same time they must be prepared for any unexpected surprises that may arise, so that they can execute the sermons with superior preeminence without eisegesis and sensationalism of any kind, which is a very important in the priesthood and sermon delivery (McMickle 212). Works Cited McMickle, M. Living Water for Thirsty Souls: Unleashing the Power of Exegetical Preaching. Judson Press. 2001. 218 p. Print. Read More