MY FAVORITE KIND OF PREACHING MAY NOT BE GODS When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (I Corinthians 2:1-2). The deacon was a high-powered and well-connected lawyer with an impressive resume. Wanting his church to reflect his own high standards, he pressured his pastor to make his sermons more sophisticated. He wanted more wisdom, a classier presentation. One of the leading couples in the church constantly told their pastor, We want you to preach on sin more. This world is going to hell, and people need to hear sermons on sin. Some want more scripture in sermons. Some want more stories. Fewer stories. Louder. Softer. Stronger. More intimate. The poor pastor. Pray for him. He wants to please, he really does. But he has a much stronger force coursing through his system: He wants to please God. He wants to preach the Gospel message as he sees it and as Scripture calls it. Superiority of speech and wisdom. Thats what impresses the world. A preacher untethered to Scripture and the cross will fall for that bait and try to give it what it wants. When he does, he fails the Lord and abandons Gods people. A sermon filled with worldly wisdom draws the world to the preacher, but no one to Christ. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is the heart of our message, the crux of the Gospel, the essence of every New Testament sermon. Let the pastor tell us about Jesus. Let him point us all to the cross and tell us what God did there and what it means for us. Let him glory in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on Calvary and in nothing else (see Galatians 6:14). And let us all quit telling the preacher what to preach. Pray for him.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 13:06:31 +0000
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