Next year (2023) is the 500th anniversary of this popular sermon series, first preached in Advent in 1523.
Throughout the series, and indeed throughout his correspondence, Oecolampadius continually refers to the Holy Spirit as "the anointing" (1John 2:27) to invoke the divine authority that lies behind the inspiration of Scripture. But here, in Sermon One, as he introduces the human author of 1John, he takes the traditional line that the author of the Gospel and the Epistle(s) are one and the same: John son of Zebedee and brother of James. And though he banks far more on divine inspiration, he says of the human author, in essence, "Look, if Jesus trusted this guy with his mom, you can trust him, too!" (my paraphrase). Who can argue with that?
Is it budget season? Is it time to develop your 2023 preaching plan? Why not read this sermon series in its 500th year, the series that virtually re-calibrated preaching after 1000 years of drift? [Let me know if you want to buy in bulk for your Sunday school, adult Bible study, pastor's reading group, confirmation, or new member's classes, and we can work out a discount window.]
No comments:
Post a Comment