Reticence on Preaching Through the Gospel or Epistles of John.

Ed Walsh

Ed Walsh

Puritan Board Senior
from: oed.com
Reticence; n.
Reluctance to speak about something
or to express personal thoughts or feelings freely; etc.
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A special greeting to all you pastor/teachers who labor in the fields of Emmanuel. I invite you in particular to participate in this thread of mine. Of course all are welcome.
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A former pastor of mine, now teaching in a Seminary out of the States as doctor of Old Testament Studies, told me that he would not even consider a preaching series on John's Gospel or Epistles.

That seemed a bit strange to me, so I'm asking the pastors and preachers out there in PB land,
"What is your opinion of his opinion?

I almost made this a poll, but I couldn't imagine this being a widely held view.

Any takers?

Thanks in advance,
EW
 
I think I would want to further understand the rationale behind this pastor's statement, as it seems odd for a preacher of Word to say he would not even consider XYZ text. It would seem to fly against 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which states:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
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That said, I am 12 sermons in, preaching through Galatians to our congregation and I see great value in preaching through epistles.
 
Polanus1561 said:
Those statements regarding the Trinity and the upper room discourse is so rich
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Agree completely!
Maybe I'm a bit odd, but my favorite commentary on chapters 14-17 is a Lutheran.
The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel
By
R. C. H. LENSKI
 
yes
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He didn't say. But neither did he say that he wouldn't preach from those books. Only that he wouldn't do a series going through them verse by verse. My guess at the time by his expression was that there are sections of those books that he's not yet comfortable with.
 
Polanus1561 said:
John is hard to preach. Those statements regarding the Trinity and the upper room discourse is so rich.
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It is of course speculative since I have no knowledge of the person referenced by the OP, but I could certainly see this being a factor in reluctance/caution on how to tackle. I would think it could be a challenge to strike a balance between "keeping forward progress in the book" and "not doing a too high-view of the text". I'm going through Matthew with the family, and the sermon on the mount was particularly slow when there are verses or 1/2 verses that warrant their own focus. If there are large sections in John like that, it would be intimidating
 
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