Learning from a Legend by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781498226103
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Published: 2016-09-29T07:00:00+00:00

134. Fred Craddock, “Storytelling,” sermon available to members of Preaching Today on the website www.preachingtoday.com.

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Apprenticeship: Passing the Torch

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.

—2 Timothy 3:14

You are heirs to a great tradition of black preaching. And I hope to God that you will forever honor it.135

—Gardner C. Taylor

Recently, at a church near our town, the director of the middle school and children’s ministry invited all the fifth-graders forward to the front of the sanctuary during Sunday worship, and he handed each of them a Bible. This is an annual tradition at the church but, as a new person, it was the first time I had witnessed it. The director reminded the kids of Paul’s exhortation to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14-16:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

For good reasons, he told the kids about the life-giving and authoritative place of Scripture; he encouraged them to get to know God better through Bible reading; and he reminded them that being a Christian was not just a church thing, but should also spill over into their homes and schools. As a parent of young children, I was so blessed and encouraged by the charge. As a guest, I was thankful that the church was unapologetic about its commitment to investing in children.

I also experienced an unanticipated response. I have studied 2 Timothy 3:14–16 before. I have heard several sermons on this text, whether at Sunday worship, ordination services, or in the seminary classroom. I have even preached from this text more than once. Why I never noticed the significance of verse 14 until that particular morning, I’m not sure. “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.” Perhaps preachers like myself are in such a hurry to get to verse 16, “All Scripture is God-breathed . . .” that they miss the beautiful challenge of verse 14. One verse later, we learn that Timothy knew the Scriptures “since infancy,” presumably an allusion to the faith which began with his grandmother Lois, continued in his mother Eunice, and now lived in him (2 Tim 1:5). Timothy’s call to “preach the Word” was not a command to do something new. It was a command to do something he had seen before. In other words, Paul does not exhort Timothy to create a new practice or to become novel and cutting edge. Rather, he challenges him to carry on what he’s

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