Introduction

Perhaps your past has brought you to a point in your life of complete helplessness and hopelessness; when everything seems black and you don’t know where to turn; when you want to forget the past because it only brings you pain. Sometimes, the experiences and hurts of the past just don’t seem to go away, do they? The memories still stare you in the face as if it were yesterday. Old attitudes and habits still plague you.

Perhaps you’ve spent your life in an attitude of self-sufficiency, “I’ll-do-it-my-way,” “I-don’t-need-God” kind of attitude. But now you’re not so sure anymore. Perhaps you’ve perpetuated the habits with which you grew up. Your home life was anything but stable, perhaps abusive even. And now you realize that you’re just a carbon copy of all that you despise about your past and you desperately want to leave it all behind. Or, perhaps you’ve worked all the angles; you’ve taken all the tax breaks (interpreted the income tax rules liberally), and you’ve gained a measure of success and status.

But all of a sudden your life has come unravelled. Your empire has come tumbling down, and like Humpty Dumpty “all the kings horses and all the kings men can’t put it back together again.” Perhaps you’re facing the night of your life right now.

Well, remember this: The night of agony always comes before the dawn of relief. That’s the primary teaching of our text. The darkness of dread precedes the light of liberty. Chaos of conscience goes before the calm of communion. The trauma of struggling blocks the tranquility of resting. The turmoil of striving pre-empts the security of trusting.

A few years ago I had a frozen shoulder. I had never heard of such a condition before. One morning I woke up and thought I had slept on my shoulder the wrong way. But it didn’t go away. In fact, it gradually got worse so that by the time I went to the doctor, it was fully frozen. The pain was excruciating. In fact, one time I was waiting for my wife in a store, and someone brushed up against me, making me move my arm quickly. I nearly passed out, the pain was so bad. When I began physiotherapy treatment, the physiotherapist said, “I’ll have to hurt you to make you better.” In other words, the night of agony always comes before the dawn of relief.

Twenty years have now passed since Jacob tricked his brother, Esau. And many more years than that have transpired since he chased his twin down the birth canal, grabbing onto his heel for all he was worth. And so began a life of fancy footwork. Up to this point, Jacob has been running away, but ...

I. Running From The Past Doesn’t Solve Your Problems (32:22-24a).

Jacob was a product of his past ambition. From his birth he couldn’t stand to be in second place. He had to be number 1 and he set out to prove that he was the best. He cheated his twin brother twice (first, out of his birthright and second, out of his father’s blessing), pulled the wool over his old father’s blind eyes, and conned his father-in-law out of the best livestock. Jacob was a product of his past ambition.

And Jacob was a product of his past environment. He had been raised in a dysfunctional home. He observed his parents’ divided affections – his father Isaac loved Esau; whereas his mother, Rebekah, loved him, Jacob. He recognized his father’s lack of leadership and godly example. He learned from his mother how to stretch the truth convincingly. And then there was his twin brother, who was so much like him and yet so different: Jacob was a mother’s boy; Esau was a “man’s man.” Jacob was level-headed (Mr. Cool, the strong quiet type) and ruthless to get his own way; Esau was rough and ready, an outdoorsman, but complacent about life (he undervalued the things that mattered, like his birthright). Jacob was the product of his past.

So, when things turned ugly at home, Jacob began running. He ran to uncle Laban’s house where through cunning and clever manipulation he prospered. By this time he had 12 children and he had accumulated a significant net worth.

But, when things turned ugly again, he began running again. When Laban wasn’t looking Jacob loaded up his animals and his family and left without even saying “goodbye.”

And so you can see how Jacob’s past shaped his values and character. For him the end always justified the means. Friends and family were treated just like anybody else - if that meant stealing, fraud, scheming, treachery, so be it. With friends like him, who needs enemies?

But God is at work again in his life. When God tells him to return to his family in Canaan, Jacob thinks it’s a great idea to escape from Laban’s clutches, manipulation, and jealousy. But what he didn’t know is that God was saying: “Jacob, it’s time! Time to deal with your past!”

Running from the past doesn’t solve your problems because (1) the past has a way of catching up with you (22-23). It caught up with Jacob here at the river Jabbok. So far, he had gotten what he wanted but at a great cost. We don’t know if he ever saw his mother again and he had certainly severed his relationship with his brother. Up to now, he hadn’t worried about meeting Esau again. He could patch things up; he could buy him off with presents. After all, he was wealthy now (32:1-5). But Esau’s wrath has been festering for 20 years. When he hears that his brother is returning, his anger boils over.

Jacob’s men return from taking peace offerings to Esau and they report that Esau is coming with 400 men (32:6)! Jacob intuitively knows that this isn’t a welcome home party. Esau means business: this is all-out war! Jacob’s fancy-footed, slick-handed scheming now looks pretty inadequate. He has just run right into a brick wall, and with no more tricks up his sleeve, he has to face the music. He has to look himself square in the face and he has only one place to turn – that’s to God!

He could have kept running, I suppose, but he didn’t. Perhaps by this time he was sick of running, tired of the sleazy side of his character, hated who he was and wanted to put it right. Perhaps he had finally reached the end of himself and his self-sufficient, self-improving, ambitious lifestyle. Or, perhaps he knew that he had just run out of options: he’d tossed the dice just one too many times. Whatever the reason, he played his last card (22-23) by dividing his company into two, so that if Esau got one party the other could escape (cf. 32:7f.), and he sent them on ahead while he was left alone.

Running from the past doesn’t solve your problems because (1) the past has a way of catching up with you and (2) eventually you have to stop running. There comes a time when you’re “left alone” (24a).

To be “left alone” with God is both frightening and exhilarating. Jacob had been alone with God once before when he was on the run at Bethel, as we noticed in a previous article (“When the sun sets: Jacob meets God,” Gen. 27:41-28:22). That time it was exhilarating. There was the vision, the ladder, the angels. And God’s promise to Abraham from years ago was renewed so that Jacob declares: “Surely, the Lord is in this place. And I did not know it…How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the very gate of heaven” (28:16). That was exhilarating and undoubtedly Jacob made a genuine commitment to serve God at that time. But he still has issues to deal with. He still has the old “end-justifies-the-means” ethics to deal with. He still has his old scheming character that he had inherited from his mother to deal with. He still has the past to deal with before God.

Last time his encounter with God was exhilarating, but this time his encounter with God is frightening! Now he meets God again – not at Bethel, but at the river Jabbok. Jabbok is the place where we stop running and fighting; the place of intense blackness - the midnight of the soul; the place where the moment of truth dawns - that we’re completely spent, no more ideas, the past has caught up to us, we’re at the dead end in the road, we’re trapped in the web of our own weaving; the place where we are alone; the place of wrestling; the place of a meeting with God.

Running from the past doesn’t solve your problems but…

II. A Meeting With God Brings You To Your Senses (32:24b-29).

Jacob wrestled tenaciously and desperately all night “until the break of day” (24b). Perhaps he wrestled about his past behaviour and habits - his duplicity, lies, scheming, fraud; about his present predicament which loomed large - his pending meeting with Esau; about his future destiny: “How could he change once-and-for-all and face the future? How could he be a man of integrity, at peace with God and other people?” You can be sure of this, a meeting with God stops you in your tracks (25). When God “wrestles” with you, you don’t go anywhere. You may struggle but you can’t get away.

Many of you have probably experienced a night of wrestling with God. Some people are very content with the way they are - complacent, no longing for God, no hunger for him. But others would do anything to change the way they are and what they’ve done. Great people have wrestled with God in the night of their lives. After his tryst with Bathsheba, David cried out in the agony of his soul: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13). After his seduction by Delilah, Samson pleaded with God: “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once” (Judges 16:28). After Elijah had succumbed to Jezebel’s threat, he moaned: “I, even I only, am left and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kgs 19:10). After Peter had denied the Lord with oaths and curses, he “went out and wept bitterly” (Lk. 22:62).

Some people come to Jabbok and decide to keep on running. They never face their past – only live for the present – and they don’t care about the future. They banish the past into the closet with all the other skeletons of their lives. They just rationalize what happened - make lifelong excuses: “I was a victim! It wasn’t my fault. There are lots worse than I.” They keep on running hoping that in the end they’ll escape. But there is no escape from God.

Some people decide to keep on running, others decide to wrestle this thing to the ground. They’re at the Jabbok where God stops them in their tracks. In fact, the only way to overcome your past is to “wrestle” with God. Maybe that’s where you are right now. Perhaps you’re plagued with regrets - about your family, about relationships. Or, you’ve abused your position of power - in your family, your church, your work. Or, perhaps you have a secret sin that for years you’ve tried to cover up or beat, but you can’t. Maybe you’ve neglected God in your Christian life and you have lived like an unbeliever; you’ve hurt someone and never been reconciled; you’ve suffered from abusive relationships that torture you; you’ve engaged in immoral behaviour that torments you; your shady business dealings keep you awake at night; your cheating on exams gives you cold sweats; your unfaithfulness to your spouse haunts you; you have character traits that you long to change – a poisonous tongue, a bitter spirit, a hot temper, or a critical attitude.

And now you’re at the point you can’t stand it any longer. Your conscience is driving you crazy if you don’t deal with it. You can’t cover it up any more nor can you ignore it. Now, naked and exposed under the midnight sky you wrestle with God. The veneer is stripped off; you look yourself straight in the mirror and you’re forced to face it head on - no more hiding down the dark alleys of your past, no more mind games, but a head-on confrontation with God.

Be aware your hip may be dislocated in the process (25). Jacob had been a survivor. He had always won out. Every time there was a dispute, he came out smelling like a rose. Every time he was in a fix, he came up with a solution. But now he would have an experience like none other. God would permanently wound him.

When you wrestle with God you may be wounded. You’ll certainly lose; God always conquers. And sometimes he has to cripple you. When you wrestle with God, you feel his body next to yours. You feel his power as he inflicts a wound. And when you feel that stabbing pain in your hip, you know the reality of his presence and his power. Wounds bring contrition, repentance, yearning for God. A. W. Tozer put it like this: “I doubt that God can use a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply.”

Where was your first Jabbok? When have you been wounded as you wrestled with God? When did you feel the stabbing dislocation of your hip as God deals with you and your past? When were you driven to call on God in your trouble?

A meeting with God (1) stops you in your tracks and (2) a meeting with God makes you cry for a blessing (26-29). Jacob knew all about the blessing of God. He knew how God had blessed his grandfather, Abraham, with a son at 100 years old. He knew how his father, Isaac, had been delivered from the jaws of death on Mt. Moriah. And he himself had received a blessing from his father. To wrestle with God is to plead with God for a blessing.

If you’re in pain today that others have inflicted on you, then cry from the bottom of your heart: “O, God, I will not let you go until you bless me! Rid me of the pain from all those years of abuse. Take away the torment of my mind. Remove the pangs of conscience that hang like a thick cloud.”

Perhaps you’re the perpetrator of sin – you’ve inflicted pain on others. Then cry to God in the agony of your soul: “O, God, I’m sick of the past. I need a second chance, a new beginning. I hate who I am and what I have done. I desperately want a fulfilling life. I want to put right the wrongs I have done. I desperately want to know You. Change me, O God!”

If you need to get right with God about anything, say: “O, God, I will not let you go unless you bless me! Forgive the sin of my life - my self-sufficiency that left you out; my infidelity, lusts, envy, covetousness; the pornography I’m addicted to; my pride; my unfaithfulness to my spouse; my cheating; my fraudulent habits; my deceitfulness; the abuse of my body with drugs and sex.”

God will honour your cry and bless you (27-29), just as he honoured Jacob’s cry and blessed him. And he’ll radically transform your life. He’ll bless you with a new name, a new identity (28). God asked Jacob: “What’s your name?” (27). That seems like a strange question for God to ask – didn’t he know Jacob’s name? Perhaps God asked Jacob his name to remind Jacob of the last time he had been asked that question, “Who are you?” (27:18). That question was asked by his old, blind father and Jacob had lied to him. Now he is before an all-seeing God and he gives his correct name. He acknowledges who he was and God responds with a great promise: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed” (28).

Jacob’s name told the story of his life. It was his identity as a usurper, whose birth portrayed what his life would subsequently be - the second-born twin who sought to overtake his first-born brother by grabbing onto his heel as he exited the birth canal; the one who would seek to trip others up and overtake them.

You need to acknowledge your old name, who you really are. Then, God will give you a new name – a new name that will take away the stigma of the old life; a new name to remind you that, formerly, you took charge of your life but that you struggled with God and finally prevailed; a new name that acknowledges that now “God is the ruler of your life.”

Running from the past doesn’t solve your problems but a meeting with God brings you to your senses, so that now…

III. Facing The Future Gives You Renewed Hope (32:30-32).

(1) You can face the future with renewed hope when you’ve “seen the face of God” (30). God breaks through our past and opens the future so that we can say: “I have seen God face to face and yet my life has been delivered” (30).

The place of wrestling is the place of divine appointment. It’s the place where we suddenly realize that the person with whom we wrestled is none other than God, that we have actually met God face to face and lived to tell the tale!

Have you ever seen God face to face? No one can see God and remain unchanged. You’ll get a new name and you’ll lose your independence. You’ll walk with a limp and lean on a cane for the rest of your life. To walk with God means to lean on him, to claim his power. Remember, Esau is always at the gate threatening, swaggering, waiting to throw us off the path. He’s the Judas (betrayer), the Diotrephes (pre-eminence), the Demas (loved the world), the Alexander the coppersmith (opposer). Whenever he shows up, he whispers: “We’re at the Jabbok again.”

You can face the future with renewed hope (1) when you’ve seen the face of God, and (2) you can face the future with renewed hope when the sun finally rises (31). As an aside, notice how the author has book-ended this segment of Jacob’s life with these two expressions: “The sun had set” (28:11) and now “the sun rose” (32:31).

Jacob emerges from the night and “the sun rose upon him” (31a). When God breaks through our past, the darkness of night becomes a beautiful sunrise. Sorrow may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning (Ps. 30:15).

Perhaps the sun hasn’t shone much in your life recently. You may have spent a lot of time in darkness, desperately longing for the sun to finally rise. Is that what you want more than anything today, to walk out of this service into the sun rise of your life? To feel the sunshine of God’s love shine upon you? To know the beauty of God’s truth as it infiltrates your soul? To bask in the radiant heat of God’s all-embracing mercy and power?

As he goes to meet Esau, Jacob “limped on his hip” (31b). The limp serves two purposes: (a) it reminds us that we can’t stand on our own, that we’re totally dependent on God, that we must lean on him. Every time you take a step, get out of bed, put your shoes on, you’ll know that a life lived for God is a dependent life. So, it reminds us that we can’t stand on our own, and (b) it preserves us from ever trying to run again. It ensures that we stay close to God.

The subsequent practice by the Israelites of not eating “the sinew of the thigh” (32:32) would surely have served as a constant reminder to them of what happened to Jacob that memorable night when God changed him from one who was running away to the man who was returning to be the leader of God’s people.

Final Remarks

Remember our thesis: The night of agony always comes before the dawn of relief. This scene closes at the dawn of a new day. In the early morning sunlight we see Jacob limping into the sunrise across the Jabbok, ready to face Esau with courage and joy. Now his life can begin anew. If you need to settle things with God and with other people, don’t continue to fight it, to put it off, to rationalize it. Don’t think there will be a better time. There’s never a better time than now.

Don’t be afraid that it’s too late or it’s too complicated. No amount of years is too long for God to span. It took Jacob years to deal with his habits, attitudes, and self-reliance until God wrestled him to the ground. And he has gone down in history as the father of the Israelites. No life is too far gone for God to bless.

If you had to choose whether to bless Jacob or Esau, whom would you choose? You’d probably choose Esau, because we look on the outward appearance. But remember that God looks on the heart, for where we see a cheat God sees a champion; where we see a runner God sees a wrestler; where we see a liar God sees a leader.

God sees into your life with all its past and he wants to bless you for the future. For you that may seem like a daunting task, but, as Max Lucado puts it: “For God… it’s all in a night’s work.”

If this message today has touched a cord in your life, why not make a commitment to God now, whether you have suffered pain or inflicted pain; whether you’ve been running or you’ve stopped running? Remember, God pours healing into hearts that are hurting; God gives grace to people in pain; and God extends mercy to sinners and saints who repent.

Perhaps this was what the hymn writer had in mind when she wrote:

I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
no tender voice like thine can peace afford.

I need thee, O I need thee; every hour I need thee!
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

2019 秋季版

A ministry of…

作者: Roger Pascoe 博士, 主席,
圣经讲道学会
剑桥, 安省, 加拿大
邮箱: [email protected]
电话: 1-519-620-2375

第一部分:加强讲解式讲道

“强化应用” （第二部分）

介绍

在本杂志的上一版，我们讨论了怎样强化讲道的应用部分。在这一版，我们将继续这个主题。

作为传道人，我们应该记住神学是完全实用的，因此也必须实际应用在我们的讲道中。真理不仅仅意味着知识，它也意味着实践。真理的实践必须成为我们讲道的重要部分。这就是我们所说的应用。

但是许多传道人往往发现，决定如何应用他们所宣讲的真理使之既与今天的听众相关，同时又符合经文，是一件很难的事情。所以，这里有些想法可以帮助你在讲道中采取相关的应用。

A.发现好应用的有效提示^[1]

首先，审视经文中的情况。问如下问题…

#1:当时的问题、事件或环境是什么？

• 圣经作者是写给谁的？
• 为什么作者在那个时候写信给这些人？
• 需要指出的问题、状况、试炼或痛苦是什么？
• 作者责备、纠正、劝告或解释的本质是什么？

#2:圣经给出的解决方案或要求的行动是什么？

• 作者是如何指出问题的？他给了他们什么指导？
• 神直接向他们指出了吗？如果是，那么神指示他们做什么或者成为什么？

#3:人们的反应是什么？

• 圣经作者期望或者要求什么样的回应？
• 人们如何接收信息以及他们对解决方案如何反应？
• 他们对作者的指导有什么样的态度？

第二，审视当下的情况。问如下问题…

#1:今天人们的需求和问题有什么相似之处？

• 我们和经文中的人有什么相似之处？
• 他们的生活状况和我们今天有什么相似之处?要具体。

#2:对当下的状况，经文中是如何解决的？

• 关于这个问题，圣经告诉了我们什么？
• 哪些圣经原则可以应用到我们自己身上？

#3:今天我们该如何回应？

• 基督徒该如何回应经文关于这个问题的指导？
• 当下我们应该做什么来纠正这个问题？在我们的态度、信仰、优先考虑的事情、价值观、意志以及关系中，有我们需要纠正的东西吗？
• 我们必须做什么来顺服神的话？

第三，你讲道的实际应用要具体

• 我的会众在他们的生活中如何处理相似的问题？
• 我们和经文中的人有什么相似之处？
• 我期望我的会众有什么反应——认罪、悔改、遵行、怀疑、拒绝、生气、发问、反对、接受、顺服？

当你问这些问题的时候，试着通过明确地指出当前情况的类型给以回答。对于他们如何将真理应用到自己的生活中，要试着给出具体的指导。

应用要在你会众的生活中具体、真实。想出可信的，实际的例子，哪怕因为保密的原因你不能说出实际情况，在这种情况下，如果合适的话，你可以请求某个人做一个与主题相关的个人见证。

所以，当你考虑经文中真理的实际应用时，要准备好回答自己问题和挑战的答案。神想要整个会众做什么、相信什么以及改变什么？神在会众每个人的生活中要他们做什么、相信什么或者改变什么？神想要他们成为怎样的人？

并且要常存盼望，例如，圣灵在我们里面，帮助我们顺服真理；我们的命定是确定且牢靠的，最终我们会从试炼中得到救赎；我们能因在基督里的信心和未来的盼望而有喜乐。

最后，说明你建议你的会众采取什么样的行动。要具体并举例子。 他们需要采取什么样的行动才能使真理进入他们的生活，使他们活出神子民该有的样子？他们应该采取什么样的具体措施？并在这个过程中向他们提供帮助。这是你作为牧师的责任，不是简单地告诉他们根据圣经真理他们该如何做，而是切实帮助他们实现这个目标。

比如，如果这个主题与基督徒忍受苦难有关，试着给他们一些具体的建议来应对这些考验他们信心的难处（身体上的、精神上的或者情感上的等等）。例如，（1）他们可以来记一些相关的、使人有信心的经文（2）他们可以和基督徒朋友一起祷告，互相帮助；（3）他们可以将他们的难处与咨询师、牧师或者圣经学习小组分享。给出经文，说明为什么担当彼此的难处是合乎圣经的。

结论

.记住，并不是每一段经文都可以直接转变成应用。换句话说，你不能假设当时圣经里发生的事情和现在的完全一样，或者我们必须像他们当时的反应一样。你如何过渡到今天的应用取决于经文。这就是你必须忠实于圣经作者意图的地方。

B.好应用所具备的特点

1. 好的应用会突出信息的迫切

它必须有一种紧迫感，那就是必须现在就采取行动—比如，信从福音，顺服神的意志，停止有罪的习惯和接触等。

2.好应用会反映信息的强度

我所说的强度指讲道中那些强调—鼓励人们对神话语以及传道人的劝戒做出积极回应。这不是一次愉快的炉边谈话，而是呼召。耶稣的比喻总是呼召人们做出某种行动，例如好撒玛利亚人：“去照样行吧”（路10:37）

3.好应用会与信息的目的相呼应

应用必须与讲道的目的直接相关。它必须来源于讲道的目的也指向讲道的目的。无论你为你的讲道定了什么目的，你的应用必须通过使人们的生活有切实的不同来实现这个目的。

4.好应用会激发出信息的动机

任何一场讲道的目的之一就是推动你的听众采取某种行动。你想要激发的动机就是那个能够触摸心灵，引导思路，刺痛良知、引导意志并付出行动的东西—不是通过掌控或者威胁，而是圣灵引导的、被真理唤醒的对神话语的回应。“我们最终的目的是推动意志，使它转到另一个方向，加快它的步伐，使它能够按着神诫命的方式歌唱” [2]

5.信息能够帮助人们意识到自己的问题，并面对和处理。好应用能够强化信息这方面的功能。

在应用中，信息以个人和直接的方式帮助听众意识到自己的问题（不再是间接或者非个人的）。他们可能面对真理“原则”没有回应，因为它是间接或者非个人化的。但是，当面对真理的“实践”时，回应是不可避免的，是必须的。

.讲解式的讲道的本质就是让人们意识到自己的问题，并去面对和解决，不论是直接或者间接。在大多数讲道中，这种应用有两种形式。例如，先知拿单斥责大卫（撒下12），以间接的应用（讲故事）开始，但是以直接的应用结束：“你就是那个人”。耶稣在他的应用中也通常是直接的。

间接的方式，有的时候人们可能听过就忘了，他们错过了重点而不知道如何回应。但通过直接的方式，你不至于会冒这样的风险。提后3:16-17似乎表明，圣经真理的应用应该（1）直接明确，而非间接和暗示；（2）说服并指责，而非建议和容忍（使徒行转中使徒的讲道）。

6.好应用使信息产生说服力

应用的主要目标是说服听众遵守真理，无论它是在整个讲道中，还是在最后，或两者皆有。讲道中的解释是为接下来的应用打基础。因此一篇讲道既是信息性，又有改变性。

说服的能力来自于圣灵将神的话作用于人的心灵、思想、意志和良心。说服的工具是传道人将真理与生活结合，以至于听众看到改变的必要性，并被说服去做些什么。

当圣灵开启人对神话语的理解，并通过传道人的应用展示神话语的实际，这就是改变的强大催化剂。

为了使应用具有说服力，真理的讲解和它的应用都必须被恰当地、礼貌地、谦卑地呈现出来，以便听众能够接受。

7.好应用会从信息的解释中浮现出来

应用必须被经文驱动，正如解释被经文驱动一样。 不要使用经文任意弹出你想要的应用。这是对你的读者和经文缺乏诚信。你的应用一定要出自经文，与经文作者的意图相符，并且你应用的要点与经文的主要观点一致。

不要使用经文达到你自己的目的。这是对经文的乱用。当应用用于生活的时候，它不能以任何方式歪曲经文。这才是诚信地使用经文。这需要很多的训练。搞明白基于经文的应用跟搞明白经文的意思同等重要。

注意，应用必须来源于经文，与此同时应用的范围需要被“扩展”，如此，经文中隐含的意义才可能应用于生活的诸多方面。因此，一段经文，只有一个意思，却可以有很多应用。

8.好应用会显露信息中牧师的要点。

好应用引导人们去该去的地方。它会在人们受伤时关心他们，在人们违背的时候责备他们，在人们饥饿的时候喂养他们，在人们危险的时候保护他们。

9.好应用会使信息中抽象的真理具体化

不要担心举具体的例子会导致有的听众认为与他们无关—也就是说，他们可能认为既然你并没有提到与他们相关的例子，因此他们就不需要有回应。在这里，圣灵弥补这个空缺。圣灵会使用你给出的例子，使听者的思想和良心中浮现出他们需要纠正或改变的东西等。

应用要具体，把真理与生活联系起来。为了有效地做到这一点，你必须关注生活中的一些情况，在这些情况下，特定的真理以特定的方式应用。作为传道人，你的任务就是使听众明白这点并敦促听众遵行。不要停留在概念层面。很多传道人都如此，他们很难从神学的抽象层面，来到具体的、有形的、生活的层面。

结论

不要忽视应用。在讲道之前要回顾你的讲稿，看看里面有多少应用。足够吗？每一个主要原则都有应用吗？我的导师，Stephen Olford 博士曾经敦促我们说，应用应该占讲道的50%！

C.应用的参考准则

1.找寻真理、应许、命令和例子

应许、命令和例子的给出不仅仅是教义上或者理性上的认同。它们要被反复灌输到生活中。圣经中的真理需要来相信并遵行。

对圣经真理的唯一正确的回应是信心，这不仅表现在被动地接受原则，而且表现在理解它们对生活的意义并活出它们（也就是应用）。注意，真理和例子可能是明确的，也可能是隐含的。

例如，一个明确的原则是：“你应该爱人如己”（利19:18）. 虽然一个明确的原则是什么或者说了什么毫无疑问的，但它在生活中的表现可能因文化而异。我们的任务就是去发现这个具体的真理在今天我们所处文化背景下的应用。

一个隐含的原则可能是那些需要通过逻辑推理才能看到其对生活的意义。例如，“不要奸淫”，说明了纯洁、忠诚和爱的必要性。

寻找这些原则，然后沿着抽象的阶梯向上移动，以确定它们最广泛的意义。接着，把它们应用到我们这个时代的社会生活中去。

2.学习应对应用旧约时会面临的诠释学挑战

想要更多地阅读这方面的文章，我推荐Tremper Longman III所著的Making Sense out of the Old Testament中的“基督徒如何将旧约应用于生活？” (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998), 103-136.

3.了解你所处的文化

这样，你就可以把神的话用在真实的人和真实情况上。没有意义的应用或者已经过时的应用几乎没有影响力。

圣经中的真理原则对任何时代的任何人都有意义。我们的任务就是要把它应用于我们的时代我们的人身上—这就是相关。

4.意识到没有哪两个传道人必须以统一的方式应用经文

这并不是说一个对一个错。这只说明他们的方式不同，或者他们呈现了同一真理的不同侧面，或者他们的会众受益于不同的应用方式。

5.不要在应用时耗尽精力

当应用的时候，保持你对真理的确信和热情。当你将真理个人化的时候，这是保持强度的关键时刻。

6.作为一个这个真理也适用于你并且已经应用于你生活的人来讲道

这并不意味着你必须使用“我们”。有时候，或者一般来说你会用 “你”使应用个人化以及具有说服力。但是，你要确保在你劝戒别人去遵行这个真理之前，已经应用于你自己的生活。

一定要把这作为你准备讲道的一部分。当你准备好讲稿，你要在神的面前回顾它，以祷告地方式回顾，求神向你显明你需要应用于自己生活的真理。

7.视觉化你的听众

看到他们的需要（在不指向个人或者暴露隐私的情况下）。涵盖听众生活的不同状况（例如在家中、工作中、学校中、社区中）——包含每个人。

在每一种生活状况中使用“可能”的情况。“可能你在工作中遇到这种…”等。你可能不能准确地描述每个人所面临的情况，但你会在他们的脑海中触动其他一些情况，在这些情况下，这个应用是针对他们的。

8. 记住应用的四个原则

#1.个人化的原则

这个原则就是传道人要将真理应用于自己的生活。如果你对别人传讲你没有应用到自己生活的东西，你的讲道会没有能力。当你这样做的时候，不但神知道，听众也知道。传道人必须传讲他所相信的并在自己的生活中活出来的东西。

#2.想象的原则

要想恰当地应用经文，它对你必须是真实的。人物、地点和情感必须活在你的想象中。如果它对传道人来说是生动的，那么看到它如何应用于其他人对你来说会更容易。

#3.扩展的原则

当我们对听众讲道并引导他们，一段时间之后，传道人会更了解他们——他们的怕和需要。我们对这些人的经验（他们住在哪里，他们是谁）使得我们能够扩展经文的应用，以涵盖尽可能多的方面。这并不是说我们可以不恰当地或者不准确地使用经文。每一段经文只有一种解释，但是却有针对人们经历和问题的许多种应用。

#4.声明的原则

声明经文的应用必须明确且有权威。经文的应用必须没有任何不确定性。人们来教会是为了寻求明确的方向，为了知道神说了什么，他们必须怎样生活，怎样才能得到帮助来解决他们的问题。因此，应用必须公开声明，这样人们才不会被悬在半空，或者不知道重点是什么。

第二部分 讲道大纲

如果想听关于这些的英文讲道，请点击链接: Link 1 - 启 2:1-4; Link 2 - 启 2:5-7

题目：给七个教会的信：以弗所，正统但冷漠

主题：复兴由神子民的悔改开始

要点 #1:首先，好消息：“表面上看，你们教会在属灵上很健康”

(1)你们持续勤劳地做工（2a）

(2)你们清楚坚决地审判罪恶（2b）

(3)你们信实而不知疲倦地坚持（3）

要点 #2:现在坏消息是：“你们教会内部有严重的心灵问题”

(1)基督的诊断：“你把起初的爱心离弃了” (4)

(2)基督的处理：

(a) “回想你从哪里坠落了”（5a）

(b) “悔改，行起初所行的事”（5b）

(c)警告“你若不悔改，我将把你的灯台从远处挪去”（5c）

(d)对听从警告的人的应许：“得胜的，我必将神乐园中生命树的果子赐给他吃”（7）

2019 夏

A ministry of…

作者: Roger Pascoe博士, 主席

第一部分:加强讲解式讲道

“强化应用”（第一部分）

介绍

你在讲道中所讲解的圣经真理的应用，常常是大多数讲道最薄弱的部分。除非讲道使真理更具体、形象、个人和实际化，否则讲道只是抽象真理的讲解，仍然停留在理论层面（想法、定义、老生常谈）

应用往往是最薄弱的地方可能因为…

1)我们花费太多的时间在讲解上面以至于很难从理论转向应用

2)我们从对经文解释的研究中累积了太多的东西要讲，以至于没有时间来沟通其他的东西

3)我们感到理论和实践之间的紧张

4)我们视真理为真理，非常珍视它，非常享受它，以至于应用它似乎就降低了它的价值

5)我们担心听众的反应。当我们在应用中谈到具体方面的时候，我们的信息就变得个人化，有的时候可能会引起负面的回应，因为我们触摸到人们的紧张神经，暴露了痛点，激发了良知。

6).我们自己必须首先理解经文并且应用到自己身上，才能够将经文应用到其他人身上。这有可能是痛苦的。

讲道往往容易要么强调讲解要么强调应用。有的传道人专注于讲解，而有的着重应用。一方面，对那些准备讲稿并花费很多时间来弄明白经文说了些什么的传道人，往往容易着重于讲解而忽视了应用。另一方面，对于那么花很少时间来研究经文的传道人，往往容易着重于应用而忽视了讲解。

. 讲道既需要讲解也需要应用。如果你不应用所讲解的真理，那么你就无法显示真理怎样与生活相关。我们必须讲解某段经文的含义以及它与日常生活的联系。人们想要也需要应用于他们生活中的真理——他们的人际关系，他们的想法，他们的习惯，他们的信念，他们的问题等等。

只讲解却没有应用就如同讲道的任务没有完成一样。只理解却不考虑如何应用就如同只完成了一半的工作。当你研究这段经文来理解它的含义，你也必须考虑它实际应用的意义。你不能只研究一段经文而不将它们与现实生活联系。这才是真理被活出来的地方。这也是经文的目的——被遵行。

除非我们从圣经的世界来到当代世界，否则我们只是把真理和我们的听众留在了经文古老的背景中，除了知识之外，没有任何有用的目的。

圣经讲道必须从“是什么”到 “那么怎样”再到“现在做什么”。当我们讲解真理的时候，我们解决的是真理的“是什么”（也就是真理意味着什么？）。当我们应用真理的时候，我们解决的是真理的“那么怎样”（也就是真理引起怎样的不同？）。当我们实行真理的时候，我们做出真理所要求的“现在做什么”（也就是我们现在必须做什么以及它会怎样改变我们）。

有的人会说圣灵负责应用的工作，而不是我们。当然，如果没有圣灵将神的话作用于人们的心灵、良心和意志，我们的讲道将毫无功效。最终，神话语的应用只有在圣灵的作用下才会改变生命。但是对讲道来说也是同样的——只有圣灵才能使其产生功效。所以，有人会问，为什么要讲道？

我们讲道是因为讲道是神指定的和我们沟通他话语的方式（罗10:14-15），包括它的意义和应用。圣灵使用我们作为管道来讲解和应用经文。传道人有义务和责任来告诉人们怎样将神的话语具体应用于他们的生活。

应用是圣经讲道不可缺少的部分，因为…

1)它将圣经的真理和听众的生活紧密联系起来。我们的工作是理解原文作者所讲的内容和目的，并决定如何将这些信息应用于我们今天的会众。通过应用的方式，你将刚刚解释的经文与它如何影响你会众的生活联系起来。

2)应用在神在过去对他百姓的教导与今天对我们的教导之间架起了桥梁。

3)它将经文的智慧忠告与每个人的现实生活联系起来——他们对喜乐、与神的亲密关系、被修复的人际关系、遵行神的话语以及基督里的盼望等等的需要。

4) 它克服听众的“那么怎样”的异议——比如“这和我有什么相关？”或者“我必须做什么或者改变什么来回应经文？”

5)它从真理的 “是什么”过渡到基督徒的“如何”应用真理。

6)它清楚说明已经被解释过的圣经真理实际上影响一个基督徒如何在市场、家中、学校、邻舍中生活等等。我们的会众中有很多只是周日来到教会，但是其他的时间就像一个非基督徒一样生活。

7) 它将教导的原则转变成可以实践的东西——可以相信的一个教义；可以采取的一种态度；可以改变的一个关系等

在应用中，我们敦促人们…

a)我们敦促人们将他们所听到的真理“视觉化/具体化”。接受不仅仅是思想上认同也是经历的改变，生命的改变。如果他们只是理解了真理却不采取行动，又有什么益处呢？我们的任务是通过将真理从抽象的理论过渡到具体的、可行的、生动的实际，帮助他们看到（视觉化的）真理（也就是它在现实生活中看起来如何）。

帮助他们“具体化”真理，避免人们主观的判断“神要对我说”什么，也就是，没有试着来理解原文作者想要表达的意思。怎样将圣经真理以具体的、实践的方式呈现出来；怎样将真理与人们的日常生活结合——这对很多传道人来说是很难的。

我们必须让人们看到真理的样子，这样他们才能在自己的生活中看到它并联系起来。我们想看到他们说“是的，生活中确实是这样，我需要这个。我有这个经历”。我们想要真理道成肉身——也就是把真理活出来。毕竟，基督徒的整个生活就在于道成肉身，不是吗？要像基督，也就是让基督的真理在我们的生活中彰显出来。

问题是“我们怎样才能做到？”我们可以通过给出“具体的”情况和例子。这样的情况和例子要适用于不同的听众（他们的年龄、身份、工作、关系、经济状况等），而且能够帮助他们在实际生活中看到你所讲的。

b)我们力劝人们“个人化”他们所听到的真理。我希望人们说“是的，我需要这个。我想要这样或我想要这样做或想要顺服这个或相信这个“等。

c)我们力劝人们“实际化”他们所听到的真理。我们想要他们采用它，练习它，实践它。我们呼吁人们去顺服和遵守神的话因为真理是要被遵行的。我们呼吁人们顺服和实践，以至于他们的生活有真理的样子。我们通过邀请和挑战他们按着讲道中所教导的，以实际的方式改变他们的生活，来帮助他们“实际化”真理。

A.应用必须切合圣经经文

讲解式讲道不是写评论，只要传递信息就可以。它的着重点在于将经文中所阐释的真理应用于信徒的生活。要想应用原则，你必须先要解释这个原则所出自经文的内容。如果没有“是什么”，你就无法解释“怎么做”。你不可能在不了解职责所依据的原则的情况下坚持执勤。因此，应用必须基于你所讲的经文。这可能是现今讲道中的最大缺陷。传道人在没有令人满意地、准确或清楚地解释经文含义的情况下，就离题进入应用。如果听众不理解经文的意思(也就是我们所传内容的权威)，又怎能指望他们遵守呢？

此外，你的应用不但必须基于圣经经文，也必须受到圣经经文的限制。换句话说，你的应用应该仅限于所讲经文的主题和范围。应用必须基于经文中的真理然后适当应用。你不能够从经文中任意提出你想要的应用。就像你的讲解要受限于一段经文的内容和主题，你的应用也是如此。换句话说，应用必须出自你对经文的解释。

虽然如此，但我确实相信我们可以在符合原文作者的总体意图和经文主题的前提下，自由广泛地“扩展”应用。这样可以保证我们在遵循经文的基础上，将经文应用到很多不同的情况以及我们听众面临的挑战。

我们可以合理“扩展”应用的方法之一是通过使用演绎逻辑或推理。因此，应用包括“暗示”。根据定义，暗示为应用扩大了范围。我们生来具备推理的能力。因此…

1)应用要有逻辑。让人们知道这段经文如何引导你的逻辑，得出你现在的应用。

2).应用要具体。举例子。

每一场听道，听众都想知道三件事：

1)你在讲的是什么？（经文的主要内容——也就是主题）

2)你的观点是什么？（对经文的理解——也就是主要和次要论点）

3)你想让我做什么？（经文的推动力——它在我生活中的应用和目的）

记住，你没有权利邀请人们对你没有讲解以及他们没有听明白（也就是没有视觉化）的真理做出回应。

B.应用必须有计划

作为讲解式的传道人，不论是讲解还是应用，我们都应该有计划。

1.我们的应用必须“个人化”

这要求我们指出问题的时候，不要造成不和或冲撞。应用要求个人对真理的接受和顺服。因此，听众必须：

a)接收信息。

b)在心中思想信息——换句话说，反思信息如何影响他们的生活。

c) 通过询问他们需要做些什么来确定需要改变的是什么

d)决定改变并计划实行。或者是需要对某人负责，或者改变常规或习惯等。

为了使你的应用个人化，你必须尝试以具体的和个人的（他们在哪里生活以及如何生活的）方式面向广大的受众，。想想你该如何将你的讲道应用到他们的个人、家庭、工作、教会和社区生活中。也要试着将你的讲道应用到他们的思想和内心——比如他们的态度、信仰、关系（与神以及其他人）、行为、愿望、动机、价值观、优先顺序和性格。

2.我们的应用必须具有“实践”意义

这里我们谈谈人们应该如何回应。仅仅知道信息“是什么”是不够的。我们也必须告诉他们“怎么做”。我们往往止步于“是什么”。“是什么”确实很重要，但是这并不能构成完整的讲道。

a)必须要有基于圣经对信徒和非信徒悔改的呼召

b)必须要有基于圣经对更新的呼召。 每一次讲道，对信徒来说，必须是一次更新和复兴；对非信徒来说，是获得重生的机会。

c)必须要呼召回到圣经的实际。因为我们生活在文化化的基督教时代，而不是基于圣经的基督信仰，所以在我们社会中有一种趋向这种肤浅基督文化的趋势。传道人需要呼召他们的会众回到圣经的实际。

3.我们的应用要有“目的”

我们的讲道必须有目的，有目标。所有的经文都指向基督（西1:27-19）。这是讲道最终也是最主要的目的，以至于人们离开的时候，能够更像基督。这是我们讲道的主要原因。

C.应用必须激励人们付诸行动。

每一次讲道都需要一个四重的运动来激励听众在个人的操练中学习顺服：

1. “思想”必须被我们的讲道所教导（理解力）

每一次讲道必须教导——拓展大脑，去思考和理解以前没有考虑过或理解过的事情。干粮（也就是“肉”）属于长成的人（来5:14）。你必须成长跨越基督信仰最基础的东西。肤浅的教导产生肤浅的基督徒。

2. “心灵”需要被我们的讲道所触摸（愿望）

要想 “促使”一个人行动，你必须瞄准他的“心灵”。心是我们身体的主要器官。“心”这个词指的是一个人生命的隐秘源泉，也是神做工的地方。

为了使听者产生“运动”(行动)，就必须触及心灵。

.触及心灵的讲道，使听众能够和里面的人物或者事件产生共鸣，并接受其中的原则。显然，这需要一个从一般过渡到具体的过程。

圣经中“心灵”指做出决定和选择的地方。是一个人思想和意志汇合的地方。仅仅充实思想是不够的，你也需要触及心灵。

这里的重点是愿望而不是理解力。讲道要激发心灵来回应，是心灵被唤醒。要做到这样，讲道必须有热情。

3. “意志”必须被我们的讲道所引导（决定）

仅仅教导思想和触及心灵是不够的。你也需要引导、强调和塑造意志使其顺服神的话，向自己死，向基督活，脱去旧人，穿上新人（加2:20；弗4:22-24）

如果只有思想和心灵被影响，是不够的。一个人的意志也必须被引导使其自愿顺服神的话并且将它活出来。

4. “良知”需要被我们的讲道所扎（察觉）

在应用中，良知是一个有力的工具。它能有力地推动人去顺服。它能提醒人们哪里没有顺服真理。它也能暴露出一个人的生活中哪里犯了罪需要被审判。

.因此，基于圣经的教导会激发良知，使人们产生顺服。

s结论

整个应用都必须是个人化的、有实践意义和目的，它要影响一个人的整体——思想、心灵、意志和良知。心灵固然是产生行动的巨大推动力，但是如果你能够将思想的转变和心中的愿望结合起来，这会是一个更强大的力量来激发良知，从而促进一个人在意志上顺服神并遵行真理。

D.应用最好贯穿整个讲道

真理的应用穿插整个讲道，听众就不会忘记应用所基于的真理。它使真理和实践紧密结合。将应用和你刚刚讲过的经文紧密联系起来，这会使你的应用更有权威，因为不是你在说，而是经文本身在说。

有的传道人在结尾的时候才提到应用。这也是可以的，但是有几点不利之处：

1)如果你总是这样做，你的听众很快就会知道，那么你就会失去了影响力，因为他们已经准备好不理睬了（“哎，又来了”）。我建议只有为了强调和肯定你在讲道过程中已经讲过的应用时，才将应用放在结尾。

2)它将真理的解释和应用分开来，以至于你的听众不能自然地将它们彼此联系起来。

我认为你应该从引言开始直到讲道的结尾，不断地应用真理。

1)在“引言”中，你应用当你…

a)建立倾听的需要以及这堂信息的必要性时

b)联系到经文的时候

c)用“一句话概括你的讲道”时（也就是，你的主题、主旨）

2)讲道“主体”中，你应用每一个真理原则…

a). 在你的主要观点和次要观点的措辞中。它们的用语应该是应用型的——也就是，使你的听众被包含其中，看到他们自己在真理-原则中。

b)在你解释每一个要点的当中或者最后

c)在举例中

3.在“结尾”，你应用真理…

a)当你总结讲道的时候

b)当你最后一次实际化、个人化讲道的时候

E.为什么应用这样困难？

1.因为它本身就难！这是辛苦的工作因为：

a)它要求经文的准确。

b)它必须和人们以及他们的文化相关。

c)它要求个人的反省和诚恳。

2.因为传道人认为应用显而易见。

你很容易这样认为，即你所讲解的经文与它在你听众生活中实际应用之间的联系显而易见的，所以你并不需要说明，听众自己就会明白。我们很容易认为我们的听众能够自己“得知”真理如何影响他们的生活。

当然，这往往不真实。应用并不会自动跳出来，正如真理不会自动跳出来一样。需要有人指出来。

3..因为传道人曲解了讲道的目的

讲道的目的是为了改变人们的生命使其更像基督。我们通过讲解真理然后说明它如何改变我们来达到这个目的。这就是应用

应用是我们将圣经真理与听众每天的生活联系起来的方法。这意味着举例说明真理在你会众的生活中是什么样的，劝戒你的会众改变，指出错误，责备错误的态度和关系等等。

记住，所有的理论都是非常实用的。它的目的是为了影响一个人的行为、心愿、优先顺序、价值观、目标、关系等等。

一个好的讲道不但教导真理而且让人知道这和“我”有什么关系。一个经过仔细雕琢而完成的讲道才指导应用。真理是为了被遵行（罗6:17）。这才是能够改变你听众生活的东西——不是几个要点的精明措辞，而是真理在生活当中的应用，引起人们的改变。

4.因为传道人需要在讲道之前就彻底地思考清楚应用

太多的传道人认为他们可以对应用进行临场发挥。这是不能够的。应用需要提前的深思熟虑，因为你的会众不同，他们的生活情况也不同，但却都需要被触及。你有…

a)年轻人、中年人、老年人

b)专业人士、蓝领、办公室人员、工厂职工等

c)已婚的、单身的、离婚或者分居的

d)年轻的专业人士、退修老人

e)有子女的、无子女的、单身的

f)公立学校、高中以及大专的学生

g)富人、穷人和中产阶级

要将神的话有效地应用于如此广大的群体，需要讲道之前仔细的思考。

F.寻找应用

我们面对的问题是，当你揭开经文中的每一个真理时，该如何过渡到应用？你在不偏离经文的主题以及原文作者的意图的前提下，如何找到真理在实际生活中的应用？

一般而言，我建议，圣经原则的实际应用不应该超出其在经文中的应用范围。这恰恰强调了准确了解经文主题的重要性。你必须将你所讲解的真理和你的应用直接联系起来。

首先，问自己如下的问题：

a)这个作者写的是什么？

b)为什么作者给这些人写这个？

c)在人们的生活中，有哪些情况需要纠正、鼓励、安慰、确据、责备、引领等？

d)作者如何将这个真理应用于他读者的生活？

e)作者期望从他的读者得到怎样的回应？

这些问题的答案为你的应用设立了参考。

其次，问自己如下问题以发现适于当代的应用：

a)经文中哪些普遍的、不变的真理可以直接应用于今天的生活？

b) 当代哪些情况、挑战、问题等等在本质上与经文的原始听众所面对的相似？我们当代的听众在哪些方面经历与原始听众相同的情况？

第三，从一般性的应用进入具体的、个人的应用。一般性的应用告诉人们，经文中的真理如何应用于家庭、工作、教会中等等。这不错，但是我鼓励你更进一步，在你们的文化和环境下具体应用到生活中去。这个很难。那么，你该如何做呢？

同样的，你通过提问来探究真理的个人应用：

a)这个真理对我会众的日常生活意味着什么？

b)教会中有哪些挑战、需求、生活方式、信仰以及境况需要被处理——个人的、经济的、教会的、社区的、关系的、属灵的、伦理的等等。

c)这个真理可以应用到我们生活的哪些方面？

第四，考虑你期望会众有怎样的回应。你期望他们如何改变他们的价值观、优先顺序、关系、信仰、态度、操练、动机、愿望、性格等等？

最后，向你的会众提出挑战，问他们：

a)神想让我如何对待这个真理？

b)我怎样才能做到这样的改变？我需要做什么？

c)我该如何开始？

G.传讲你所发现的应用

1.你必须了解你的会众和教会

当你问以上的问题时，你不但是针对你自己的生活，也尤其要针对你会众的生活。

所以当你问问题（寻找相关的应用）的时候，你必须通过想象你的会众坐在长椅上，或者浏览你的教会名录，将你的会众放在脑海中，考虑他们的生活情况、需要、问题、挑战等等。

2.你从以上的操练出发列出适合的应用

现在你将经文应用于与其所述需求相对应的实际需求上。这些应用不要让人觉得在针对某一个会众，也不要泄露隐私。这些应用本质上来说仍然是普遍性的，但是通过列举这些原则怎样应用到你会众所处的特殊情况中，你将网收得更紧，也更清楚地说明应该如何应用这些原则。

所以，你可以说：“如果你过一个圣洁的生活，在你的工作场所你应该…（例如，不要和异性过近）等等”。接着你可以给出多种方式来实践这个应用。

你所讲的应用实例会激发你的会众在他们自己的具体生活中来操练。

3.试着给出足够的例子来涵盖你整个会众

你可以通过涵盖不同的年龄、婚姻状况、经济状况等等来这样做。以下四种情况可以包含每一个人：

a)学校

b)工作场所

c)家庭

d)社区

4.如果可能，不要忘记，要点使用应用性的措辞

这样做有几点好处：

a)应用会贯穿你的讲道，而不只是在某一部分

b)你在要点中所建立的原则将是个人化的，而不只是抽象的真理

c)你的要点会有更大的影响力

关于应用的总结

理论，传讲地恰当，完全是实践性的。圣经不仅仅是为了用知识填满我们的头脑，也是为了改变我们生活、思考和行动的方式。特别是，每一场讲道都应该帮助我们通过实践经文中普遍恒久的真理，使我们更像基督。为了这个目的，我们必须清楚准确地讲解经文，并应用到相关的个人化的实际情况中。

Part II: Sermon Outlines讲道大纲

如果想听关于这些的英文讲道，请点击链接: Link 1 - 约 21:15-17; Link 2 - 约 21:18-19; Link 3 - 约 21:19-25

题目：“呼召去服侍”

主题：基督徒服侍的教导

要点 #1:愛主是服侍主的保证(15-17)

a)虽然我们的忠诚软弱，耶稣仍然珍视我们的爱

b)虽然我们的忠诚软弱，耶稣仍然想要我们的服侍

要点 #2:服侍主的目的是荣耀他(18-19a

a)我们年轻的时候要荣耀他(18a)

b)我们年老的时候要荣耀他(18b-19a)

要点 #3:服侍主的模式是跟随他(19b-23)

a)我们回应他的呼召而跟随他(19b)

b)我们的眼睛仰望他而跟随他(20)

c)我们管好自己的事情而跟随他(21-23)

ZONK

Bible Story ZONK:“ZONK” is a nonsense word that can be pronounced the same in any language. It has no real meaning. The original source of this game is unknown to this writer.

ZONK is played using a set of cards, die cuts (cut outs) of a similar design or any similar material where the one side of the playing pieces are identical. For example, if you are using die cut designs, you can use die cuts of leaves (but they all need to be identical) or of an ark, rainbow, heart, etc.

A giant set of playing cards or even a regular size deck of playing cards can also be used or use the CBS4Kids Bible Storying Game Card Pack of 60 story symbols. Use post it notes and on the opposite side of the story symbol print and attach “point” numbers in the 100’s - 1000’s. Attach the cards symbol side down with rolled tape to a whiteboard or bulletin board or on a large table.

Divide your group into two teams. In turn, a player from each team can select up to three cards, return them over one at a time and must state the story the symbol represents. When children name the story correctly they receive the points on the card for their team and that card is removed from play. They can only continue up to three cards at a turn if they name the symbol correctly. If incorrect, the turn stops and that symbol card is turned back over. The game continues until all cards are removed from play.

If you are using playing cards the face cards become the ZONK cards and the Joker cards can be used for SUPER ZONK.

For using other blank cards or die cuts, you will need about 40 plain cards and 8-10 ZONK type cards with the word ZONK written on the back. All cards must look the same on the side facing those playing the game.

The cards are all placed on a bulletin board, whiteboard or other flat surface. If cards are laminated or have a glossy surface you can attach cards will a small section of rolled masking or other tape.

Next you need a set of questions for the game. Bible question can be drawn from basic Bible knowledge or from last week’s Bible lesson or at combination of questions from the last month or quarter, etc.

If you are playing the game with a mixed age group, make a list of questions in categories, i.e... questions for kindergarten – first grade (ages 5-7, different questions for grades 2-5 (ages 8-10) and then other questions for grades 5&6 (ages 11-12) You will need at least 10 questions for each grouping.

Next you form teams. For all the same age or grade this is easiest just divide your group. For mixed age groups, make sure you assign an equal number from each age bracket to each team.

To Play the Game:

1. A player for one team is called on. You ask that player the Bible question. (No helping from their team) If they get the question correct they go to the ZONK board. Then they can begin removing and turning over cards to expose the point value. Whatever point value they turn over, their team gets those points. They may (or may not) decide to continue turning over cards and can turn over as many as they want for their turn. Their team can call out and help them decide what to do. As long as they continue getting point cards their team gets the points, BUT…. if they turn over a ZONK card their team looses all those points in that round. Those cards are removed from the playing field. The player can decide to stop whenever they want. If they stop before turning over before a ZONK card they get to keep those points.
2. The next team player is called on and the game is repeated. That player, if answering correctly, gets to play in the same way.
3. If a team player gets the question wrong, the opposing team gets one chance to answer the question, and if correct, they get the extra turn.
4. If you elect to play SUPER ZONK with a deck of cards and leave the Joker cards in the playing field, if a team player, in turning over cards, turns over a Joker card – their team looses all points up to that level in the game and must begin over collecting points. Since there are only two Joker cards in each deck this decreases the chances of turning over the Joker card.
5. At the end of the game each team totals points and the winner is declared.

Some beginning Bible game questions:

Grades 1 / 2

1. Who climbed a tree to see Jesus?
2. Who was born in the city of Bethlehem?
3. Who was thrown into a den of lions?
4. Who took his family and animals and birds and other living things and went into a boat called an ark?
5. Who ran away from God and took a boat in the opposite direction and was swallowed by a giant fish?
6. What was the name of the boy whose father made him a coat of many colors?
7. What showed the wise men the way to find Jesus?
8. Who came to visit Jesus when he was born and bought him gifts?
9. What do you call a man who takes care of sheep?
10. What is the name of Jesus’ mother?
11. Who is God’s only son?
12. Where is Jesus today?
13. What did God put in the sky to remind us He would never destroy the earth again with a floor and rain?
14. Name three things God created when he created the world

Grades 3 / 4

1. What were the names of the first two children of Adam and Eve?
2. What Old Testament person lost his strength because of a haircut?
3. Who did Jesus raise from the dead who had been buried several days?
4. What kind of animal talked to a prophet in then Old Testament?
5. Who walked on the water with Jesus?
6. What was the name of the boy who had a coat with many colors whose brothers sold him to slave traders?
7. Who tempted Jesus on the mountain to disobey God?
8. Name 5 of the 10 Commandments
9. What was the name of the sea that God dived so the Israelites could leave Egypt and walk across on dry ground?
10. What Pharisee came to Jesus at night to ask him about being “born again”?
11. When God wrote the 10 Commandments He did not have paper. On what did God write the 10 Commandments?
12. How many sons did Noah have who helped him build the ark?
13. What did the boy give to the Disciples to help feed lunch to 5 thousand people?
14. Who asked God to make the sun stand still so his army could win a battle?

Grades 5 / 6

1. How many books are in the Bible?
2. How many books in the Old Testament?
3. How many books in the New Testament?
4. What books make up the “Gospels”?
5. What book of the Old Testament contains the 10 Commandments?
6. What book of the Bible describes the Fruit of the Spirit?
7. Who wrote the first 5 books of the Old Testament?
8. What is the last book of the Old Testament?
9. Which books of the Bible make up the “Pentateuch?
10. Who wrote the book of Revelation?
11. What book of the Old Testament states “wise sayings”?
12. How many did Jesus feed with five loaves of bread and two fish?
13. What is the last book of the New Testament?
14. Who did God tell to take his son and sacrifice him on a mountain altar?
15. What was the name of the king who tried to kill David?