I have blogged previously about my addiction to the method of Bible passage analysis called homiletics. I could be president of the Homiletics Fan Club, if I could find any other fans. Since last year's BSF study was John and next year is Romans, starting my summer doing homiletics on a chapter a day of Acts was a no-brainer. But there was still a lot of summer left. I wanted to study something to do with God's sovereignty, but a word study wouldn't work. Sovereignty isn't even in my Strong's KJV concordance, and much of God's sovereign control of events appears in chapters and books where God isn't even mentioned--like Esther. I have an excellent study book on sovereignty written by Jerry Bridges, but it hasn't been long since I finished that and, even I, cannot forget that quickly. Without my precious homiletics, I was adrift.
So I decided to begin at the beginning, Genesis, where God's activity is far from behind the scenes. I still read a chapter a day, and if I'm not paying attention, I lapse into homiletics without noticing it. My method, like myself, is simple. I stalk sovereignty throughout the passage, write down the instances, add thoughts about the passage I find interesting--like Lot's irresistible rescue from Sodom. Clearly, God does not take no for an answer. Then I look for an application. Most of mine start with: How does knowing God is sovereign over __________ help me with __________ I am experiencing today? Then I spend a few minutes praying and meditating on that truth. Not profound. And, sadly, not homiletics, but it is good to know I am capable of a topical study and the applications have been extremely helpful lately. My needs matching God's truth seem to be a recurring side effect of Bible study. Oh wait, that's called sovereignty.
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