"A Thought On Preaching"

What I want to say today is something over the 30 yrs. of preaching I have learned through my listening and reading. I might be talking to myself! Most what we hear from our pulpits is the same tired 'moralising' week after week after week after week. You can count on the certain days that one could almost recite the sermon! Just this last week, I heard from 4 different people living in different areas and they said they knew almost exactly the sermon on mothers day that would be spoken. There isn't a lot said that challenges us to reflect deeply on our faith. There are some good thoughts presented at times, but to develop and challenge our faith seems to be missing. The same things we are so familiar with continually seem to be 'regurgitated'. Please, I don't mean to sound pompous or have a "know it all attitude" but I guess some will see this writing in that light. It sure isn't intended in that light. Nevertheless, the church is in dire need of hearing the whole rich counsel of God and our faith confronted with the God who calls us into His holiness through His gospel.

Prayers that are spoken to God on our behalf sometimes come from a shirt-pocket full of the same old same old with little spoken from the heart on behalf of our needs and awareness of God. Who can say "amen" when prayers are muttered like that? To lead the people of God in worship to His name are prayers that should be heard, by God and the assembly! If we are to sing our faith in the assembly we should make certain that the assembly is hearing, speaking to one another as we address our heavenly Father. We preach/teach in the midst of God's people we should be helping each one stand before the awesome and mighty One, seeing His grandeur and challenging our faith to be molded more and more into the likeness of Christ (Rom. 8: 29). As we preach/teach God should stand before us! Too many preaching/teaching are calling the attention to themselves. It's about them and their lives while the rest are left sitting and listening endlessly while their faith is left without so much as ripple going across it. It is our responsibility as preachers to pay the price in prayerful study and serious reflection on God's word to help God's people draw convictions or at least make sure we make it available. Rich messages from God's word will create a hunger within those faithful hearing and it should. Too many are filling time with endless words we have heard or words that never touch the Lord. It makes for a wearied and tired congregation. It makes me realize the accountability before the Lord that we answer for and that should stir the sincere of heart!