Not long ago, a friend and mentor of mine died and went into his (very much unearned) reward with Jesus Christ. James A. Nestingen was known to many – in the Lutheran world and outside of it – for his bold testimony to Christ and the salvation he bestows. Jim was many things, above all, a family man. But his public vocation was that of preacher and teacher of the church. His scholarship on the Reformation has shaped our understanding of the sixteenth century, and his personality was larger than life, leaving an impression on all he encountered. There are many contributions of Jim's career that we should remember. But one worth noticing is Jim's understanding of preaching – what it is, what it does, and how we should do it. He was famous for telling his seminary students that if you stand in the pulpit, you must "hand over the goods." This inspired the title of a series of essays published in his honor. Jim's turn of phrase might seem folksy, but it reveals a significant insight about preaching. I want to say a bit about Jim's view of preaching as delivery of the comfort of God's predestination.
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