Issue 38 Hidden Treasures in the Minor ProphetsBlog | Minor Prophets – essential reading for preachers
Minor Prophets – essential reading for preachers
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 01.03.24
Have you ever had the chance to show a visitor around your local sightseeing hotspots for the first time and found great pleasure in watching their faces light up? I love it when I get to introduce my international guests to Big Ben or take them on their first day trip to Oxford or Windsor. What a privilege it is to be part of their joy and wonder!
A similar pleasure is yours as a preacher if you get the opportunity to run a series on the Minor Prophets. Many in our congregations have spent little, if any, time reading or studying those short books at the end of the Old Testament. This means you may well have the privilege of being the first person to introduce them to the beauty and significance of these treasures. I have enjoyed preaching through a whole book in a single sermon – for example, the story of Jonah, and digging deep in a multi-week series, such as through the book of Malachi. The following books have helped me in both preparation and the engagement of the congregation in these powerful, but mostly unexplored parts of Scriptures.
The Prophetic Imagination Walter Brueggemann (Fortress Press, 2001)
Brueggemann’s short but powerful book is now over twenty-five years old but, like the Minor Prophets themselves, packs a huge punch beyond its meagre page count. I would recommend reading this book as a scene-setter for your preparation. Brueggemann does not offer a commentary, but rather an apologetic for the vital role the prophet has in the life of the church and society. Brueggemann is a heavyweight theologian, so expect a challenging read, but look out for all those sentences that will force you to reconsider some of your basic assumptions about life and ministry.
I found this quote particularly challenging when I reread the book recently: ‘The prophet does not ask if the vision can be implemented, for questions of implementation are of no consequence until the vision can be imagined. The imagination must come before the implementation. Our culture is competent to implement almost anything and to imagine almost nothing.’
