Quotes from Scott M. Gibson

The business we are about is the ministry of the Word, and the ministry of the Word seeks to grow up believers in Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament was the Bible of our Savior, the apostles, and the early church. We cannot understand them or their work if we ignore the fount from which they drank or the authoritative library from which they read.

That Christ was to be born of a woman, as the seed of Abraham through Isaac and of the fourth son of Jacob is clear. That the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses and a sin-bearer for the race and that he would suffer and die as the means of propitiation are right there. Where he would be born, his earthly poverty, the precise circumstances of his death, and the certainty of his resurrection from the dead are all laid out in meticulous detail.

we should not need a magic wand or a decoder ring to interpret Scripture),

Perceiving preaching as discipleship gives preachers a more meaningful way of approaching those to whom they speak. No longer are their listeners an audience or even a congregation; they are believers, followers of Jesus Christ, disciples.

When you see yourself as a discipler, you will rethink how you preach, what you preach, and why you preach.

In sum, we have attempted to show at least four major respects in which our exquisitely beautiful and precious Old Testament is a necessary source of much preaching by expositors of our time.

Lay people learn hermeneutics from their pastors' preaching. Whether we like it or not, they learn how to interpret Scripture from how we handle Scripture in the pulpit. So what do we teach listeners about hermeneutics when Jesus makes a surprise appearance in a sermon from Proverbs?

As we demonstrate how every text reflects aspects of or needs for God's grace that are made plain in the fullness of time, we honor the unity of Scripture, God's progressive plan of redemption, and the many ways that the Holy Spirit coordinates the whole Bible to reveal the grace of the Savior and the futility of any other hope.

it is the aim of God to renew the affections of believers so that their hearts will most desire him and his ways. This is as contrary to antinomian preaching as heaven's blessings are to Satan's lies.

People may be impressed with this celebrated personality or that evangelical icon, but the evangelical luminary doesn't have a clue about your church, what they need, and what God wants you to communicate to them as they move toward maturity in Christ. And that's good!

Given such an emphasis on the written Scriptures in the prophetic tradition, understanding the prophets as authors of books, rather than merely proclaimers of divine judgment and salvation in particular social settings, should be the central focus of the question of preaching from the prophets.

While Kaiser has steadfastly refused to silence the prophets, he also repeatedly warns against giving them the last word.

Provision of divine redemption in the face of spiritual need is the consistent message of Scripture and the chief means by which human hearts flood with love for God that is power to obey his commands

By helping a congregation grow in their understanding of the ways in which the arguments and theology of the New Testament are dependent upon an understanding of the Old Testament, a pastor or preacher may both demonstrate a personal love and passion for the Old Testament as the Bible of the authors of the New Testament and develop such a love and passion in the church that it becomes more "Berean" and less likely to fall into Marcionite ways of thinking.

His is the eternal decree, his is the love that drew salvation's plan, his is the initiative in sending the Son, his is the power that raised Christ from the dead and put all things under his feet. "To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!" (Eph. 3:21 NIV).

Kaiser well understands what many people often fail to realize: that God knew perfectly well that there would be a twenty-first century AD back when he was inspiring Moses to write down the Old Testament law, and that the words God revealed in that law would remain essential information—in fact, life-and-death stuff—for believers of all ages, not just Old Testament Israelites.