Definition
The student is able to persuade others with respect to biblical and theological truth through oral, written, and electronic media.
Overall Reflection
For my competence in communication, I am submitting three sermons preached during the Summer 2013 which demonstrate my ability to speak before a live audience from God’s word. I am also submitting a small clip from my Lay Institute course done during the the Fall semester 2013. During my time at DTS I have learned about and experienced so much of God’s grace. So it became one of my personal goals to to be able to communicate and demonstrate God’s grace. The three sermons are a three part series about the God of grace. And the video clip presents a Christocentric reading of Philippians. I hope you enjoy!
Learning Reflection
As I developed and demonstrated communication, I have learned tons about myself, about people, about ministry, and about God. First, I learned that I really enjoy preaching a lot. Preaching before Summer 2013 was difficult and I believed that whatever ministry I had in the future would not include preaching. But by God’s grace, the repetition of preaching taught me how to simplify the process and develop a style unique to my design. (The preaching courses at DTS were a significant factor in simplifying the process.) With each sermon I think you will hear that I am slowly but surely finding my voice. I learned a lot about God too! Each sermon reflects an ever-deepening appreciation of the character of God–that he is holy and gracious (sermon 1), that he saves us independent of our works (sermon 2), and that he wants us to live out our union with Christ free from the power of sin (sermon 3). Demonstrated in the sermons and the video clip is the ongoing challenge I have from moving from information to presentation.
Lifelong Development
As a result of the experiences documented by these artifacts, I will continue to develop in communication by: (1) limiting the amount of time I spend in study and consciously spending more time on the presentation; (2) continuing to take teaching and preaching opportunities to learn my unique voice; (3) starting to consult more people in the process of preparation; (4) spending more time on my knees — whatever gift I think I have in communication is nothing without the Giver empowering it; and (5) spending more time with the people I will communicate with outside of the sanctuary and classroom — I believe like that will ensure people know I care about them and what I am talking about. I know this will be a significant factor as I teach Special Education for Teach For America.
Artifacts
Preaching
Sermon One – June 23rd, 2013
Description: The first in a three part series on the grace of God. This sermon lays the groundwork for the following two sermons. This artifact is important because in it I demonstrate that grace is even in the Old Testament and cannot be separated from God’s holiness. By the way, each of the three sermons were preached at my church back home in Federal Way, WA. Attendance averages 200 people.
Sermon Two – July 21st, 2013
Description: The second in a three part series on the grace of God. This sermon builds from the first and concerns times when grace is in danger in our own lives–namely, times when we begin to trust what we can do for God and not what God has done for us in Christ. As an artifact, this was my least favorite sermon out of the series, but for some reason God enabled it to resonate with a lot of people.
Sermon Three – August 4th, 2013
Description: The third in a three part series on the grace of God. The sermon is the conclusion of the thoughts began in June. There is a logical procession to the sermons: God’s gracious character, God’s gracious salvation, and God’s gracious requirements. This artifact was chosen because it captures my unique voice–specifically, the comment about Facebook! The audio quality gets poor about 2/3 in.
Lay Institute
Description: Here’s a brief 2-minute clip from teaching at the Lay Institute. I chose this clip because it gives you an excellent window into how the class worked. Mostly lecture, with PowerPoints presentations, and handouts. This is me summarizing the class.
jesus thirst 