What Is Bible Introduction
Oswald Lemus
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ...
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. ...
For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. ...
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.
So guess what? Because of that my introductions were boring and uninspired. I have learned along the way from many people, especially when I watch them and one of the most important aspects of creating a message that will stick with your audience is to have an AWESOME introduction.
There are many ways you can craft and introduction that is engaging and not bland. I would encourage you to try to develop what works best for you. But, I want to provide some principles of introduction crafting that will help you in finding this voice for yourself.
Brandon and I here at RookiePreacher are always hammering home this point because it is vitally important. Check out some of our other posts where we talk about this principles as well as our PODCASTS where we address this a lot:
Most of us will do this someway in our preaching. The problem is it is not always done successfully or well. Even if you are holding off on making your main point for a little bit or trying to be inductive in your thought process it is important to introduce in someway how this topic that you are addressing is timelessly important
We need to introduce why this is an important subject, topic, or problem that needs fixed. Introduce some urgency into the problem, maybe introduce the problem but hold off on offering and solutions or the best solution.
Who is Phoebe? Introduced to Roman believers by the apostle Paul, Phoebe appears only in Romans 16:1-2. Paul describes her via three nouns (sister, servant, succourer, King James Version [KJV]) and encourages the saints in Rome to welcome her and assist her in whatever she may need. Scholars speculate it was she who carried Paul's letter to Rome, delivered it orally numerous times, and explained it during the delivery. In a sense, she was Paul's ambassador, the one speaking for him and introducing him to believers in Rome in churches he did not found. This article covers four major areas. It shows the importance of Paul's three descriptive nouns and examines the significance of her role as letter-carrier and presenter. Paul warmly commends Phoebe to like-minded Roman believers. She is a woman he trusts, esteems, and acknowledges as a local leader in Cenchreae. However, many translations diminish the force of what this article argues was her influence in the first century. Paul's introduction of Phoebe bears significance today in terms of women in leadership and the Christian practice of according rightful recognition to a fellow labourer in the Lord. However, this outstanding woman seems to have been undervalued for centuries. Consequently, this article boldly seeks to shed light on Phoebe, an extraordinary early believer, and to carry on Paul's practice of honouring her.
Phoebe, a prominent early church figure, is introduced most graciously in Romans 16:1-2 by the apostle Paul. Although this is her only appearance in the biblical text, the introduction defines her character, encourages a warm reception from Roman believers, and publicly honours her service, status, influence, generosity, and leadership. It conveys the 'remarkable stature this woman had among the early Christians' (Jankiewicz 2013:10).
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
I commend unto you Phebe, our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; that ye may receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succorer of many, and of myself also.
Wilder (2013:43) rightly notes the division of scholars and translators regarding these verses. A study of them and the subsequent list of Paul's friends not only indicates that Phoebe is quite possibly under-recognised today, but also that the early years of Christianity acknowledged the leadership of men and women. Mention of Phoebe lacks any mention of conflict.
Translations and church traditions have changed or diminished meanings of key words associated with her over the centuries. Although Phoebe is given a recommendation by letter by Paul in the same manner as Timothy in 1 Corinthians 16:10-11, her significance for the early Christian missionary movement is far from being acknowledged (Fiorenza 1986:423).
Cenchreae was a port city seven miles east of Corinth and from thence trade travelled to Asia ('Cenchreae' 1985:159; Thurston 1956:478). The Christian congregations of Cenchreae and Corinth were separate but affiliated. According to Acts 18:18, Paul sailed from Cenchreae to Ephesus.
In calling on Roman believers to welcome her, Paul keeps step with the social ethos he mentions in Romans 12-15, specifically that of hospitality and of sincerely loving fellow believers (Perry 2010:17). Familial love focused on Christ exudes from Paul's introduction of Phoebe and then to his personal messages to 26 individuals and several groups.
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