Sunday is coming and
it is time to prepare the sermon. What shall we preach? The short answer is:
The Word of God (II Timothy 4:2?). Not just preach about the Word but from the
Word. The ideal is that every sermon is Word-based, Spirit-anointed,
Christ-centred, and God-honouring.
And, it is important
that the Word preached is the Word received by the preacher. Downloading
prepared sermons from the internet is not fresh manna.
Hungry Christians
are complaining about what is preached. Here are some of the options:
1.
Motivational
messages: These can
encourage people in practical areas (how to be successful, raise good children,
build self-esteem) but tend to ignore basic sound doctrine like repentance, faith,
sin, the resurrection and last judgement.
2.
Politics:
The pulpit is used to
exhort people to back a political cause, often though not always from the left.
Such sermons will often be politically correct.
3.
Mish-mash:
These are poorly-prepared,
waffly comments that might be strung together but the necklace is not made of
pearls.
4.
Word
of God: We need to
proclaim and expound God’s Word, which is good seed to the non-Christian, milk
to the baby in Christ, and strong meat to the mature. It is a lamp to our feet
and light to our path, quick, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.
We can all agree
that Number 4 is the only way. Yet, there is something else. We have to make
the Word applicable to daily living. If we don’t, then it’s like healthy food whose
nourishment is not absorbed into the digestive system, thus denying the
benefits of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Burning Issues
A while ago I
received an (group) email from a young Canadian Christian named Brady Shearer,
who runs a business called Pro Church Tools https://prochurchtools.com
He did a survey
about what people, particularly younger wants, wish their pastors would talk
about. None of these are milquetoast items - they are hot, spicy, provocative,
and potentially explosive. The topics are also very current. Yet, if the church
won’t talk about these issues, be assured that the world will - and we will not
like the answer they’re giving.
Using the topics
Shearer gleaned, let’s look at these one-by-one. I would also like to make
clear at the outset that I don’t claim to have great expertise on all these
topics, nor do I claim to have the definitive answers. Yet, as one who has been
observing and commenting on the world scene for years, I do have something to
share. If any of my readers can come up with a better understanding of these
subjects, from a Biblical view and with a good attitude, I would be more than
happy to hear.
Shearer’s topics
included:
1.
Politics:
abortion, ill treatment of immigrants, systemic racism, normalisation of sexual
abuse.
2.
Mental
health
3.
Domestic
violence: 1 in 4 women will experience severe violence by an intimate partner
in its lifetime.
4.
Abuses
of all forms: Spiritual, sexual, power
5.
Pornography
& masturbation
If you are a
preacher, would you address some or all of these issues? If so, how would you
do it?
In our next issue,
we will look at the ‘hot potato’ issue of abortion. TO BE CONTINUED
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