“Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16).
“No man can bear witness to Christ and to himself at the same time. No man can give the impression that he is clever and that Christ is mighty to save.” ~James Denny
As far as preaching is concerned, the first priority is one’s commitment toward the Bible itself:
Whose Word is it, anyway? Once we settle that it is God’s Word and that there is “no other stream” from which to quench our spiritual thirst for godliness, righteousness, and strength for life—and even death—we move on to the second important priority to consider. The second is the counterpart, the flipside, and a consequent to the first, and if not dealt with severely, it can become a difficult and impossible barrier to preaching the Bible and for allowing our congregation to hear the Word of God preached:
Preaching is not about you.
One would think that this would be self evident, namely that preaching isn’t about the preacher. But sadly, the world, the flesh, and the devil, along with our egos and bent toward the need for recognition (okay, that’s “the flesh”), are strong forces that make strong the temptation to make the act of preaching and the content of preaching about “me.”
My hesitant call
It is not about you. We must settle this right away. If preaching even hints at drawing attention to one’s self, whether through overt egoistically grandizement or simply veiled references to boast of one’s own self, or even our need to control or be recognized, the Word is lost. When it is about “me,” the act of preaching is no longer the Word of God preached.
I recall very early on in my walk with the Lord dealing with the “call to preach.” I became a Christian during the summer of 1978, two years after graduating from high school. I was in the Air Force, living in Mountain Home, Idaho. I was about a year into active duty when I asked Christ into my life. I remember thinking at the time, “What do I want to do after the Air Force?” I was actually thinking about going into Real Estate and selling homes. I thought I could take courses while in the Air Force, get my license, and be ready to hit the road selling houses as soon as I was finished with my tour of duty. Actually, I thought I could work hard at it and make a lot of money—the more I worked hard, the more money I would make. Sounded like a plan. But something got in the way.
I was barely six months old in the Lord when one of the church elders approached me about teaching adult Sunday School. He recognized that I had picked up on studying the Bible very quickly, and noticed I was very open to sharing the insights that I discovered in my personal Bible study and daily devotions. Looking back, I understand this elder had recognized in me a spiritual gift, although I was very young in the Lord. I am sure there was a tinge of ego being stroked. Nonetheless, I actually became very cautious, even a little scared, and was hesitant to commit. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard a whisper that I should pray about this invitation. And that very day, in my devotions I read Paul’s words to Timothy,
“and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6).
Later that week I approached the pastor to talk about this invitation to teach at Church. I explain, of course the flattery, but also I had Paul’s words to Timothy on my mind. I wasn’t sure I was ready to teach. I was young in the Lord, a new convert. My zeal to be obedient, as a young Christian, overshadowed my ego (at the time). I did not want to fall prey to my own “conceit” and certainly not to the devil. The pastor explained that recognizing this temptation was a good sign. He recommended I give the teaching a try, and we’d continue meeting, as I worked into the new teaching role.
That first time experience taught me so very much. I am glad for the personal encounter with the text in 1 Timothy, as well as my discipleship with the pastor. My “call” came with much “fear and trembling.” I continue to fear, however, it is not just the “young convert” who, in the pulpit fall prey to “conceit” and the “devil.” I have watched and listened to too many preachers who confuse the call to preach with feeling good about themselves; mistaking the call of God for the affirmation others grant for saying things up front in a church setting.
This is serious business, preaching. The call to preaching the Word must be guarded against any sense of ego or conceit or pursuit of self-esteem. Preaching is not about you.
Friday and/or Saturday posts are threads for chapters in a manuscript I am developing,
Letting the Lion Out of Its Cage: Meditations on the Importance of the Sermon . This is first post for the thread (chapter), “It’s not about you”
Everything else fades
The one who climbs the mountain to listen to God and carries the Word back to the people needs to realize that, in the end, everything else but the Word fades. Of course good preachers will utilize and harness what is available to help people understand the Word of God preached. But even the best and most skilled use and reliance on pop psychology, personal illustrations (which should be shunned like the plague and rarely used), pithy stories, clever antidotes, and illustrations from history, science, politics, and the realm of human scholarship ought not replace sound exegesis and exposition of the text of Scripture. I am not saying that such assistance ought not to be utilized in explaining the text, but material outside the Word is not the Word of God preached.
We hear in the Isaiah text quoted above that all but the Word of God fades away. Israel was to remember this in exile, for it would be the promises of God and the power of His Word that bring redemption. Surrounded by the greatest and most powerful military and political structures and systems known to man, exiled Israel was to remember that there future was based solely on God’s Word to them, for only that Word had the power to bring about a solution to their sin, rebellion, and captivity.
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is
like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades…
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.
As I will discuss later, we often trade away God’s Word for other, lesser things. We’ll always be attracted to pithy or emotive stories delivered by the preacher as if they (i.e., the stories and illustrations) are God’s Word. They are not. No matter how well delivered, or how touching, or “relevant,” or applicable, the tools to drive us to the Word are not the Word of God preached. We should not confuse them, nor allow the congregation to think they are. As the ministers of the Word, we know there is no other stream by which we find salvation and the power to live within the realm of the Kingdom of God. Everything fades, except the Word of God.
The life of God’s community depends on it
Finally, the life of our church, the vitality of the community of faith depends on that very Word that will not fade. As the Apostle Peter in his first epistle writes, the church community is formed by the very Word spoken:
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For,
‘ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER’
And this is the word which was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:22-25).
The faithful minister of the Word realizes that his congregation ultimately depends, not on his preaching prowess, rhetorical skills, mastery of illustrations, or personal spiritual journey. The fate and health of the local community of faith is nourished to health by the only stream of God’s Word. The preacher knowing this is then committed to doing the proper study and homework, faithfully exgeting the text. Every sermon, no matter the form, style, or method of delivery, is s subtle reminder to the congregation that there is “no other stream.”
The posts on Friday and/or Saturday are rough drafts and thoughts for a manuscript I am preparing,
Letting the Lion Out of Its Cage: Meditations on the Importance of the Sermon . This is the final post for the thread, “No other stream.” Next week, I begin the next chapter, “It’s not about you.”
The sermon is worship
There seems to be a tendency on Sunday morning to divide the service in various parts—a worship time, a time for sharing, and then the sermon or message. “We have the worship time where we sing songs and choruses. There are testimonies, bible reading, and announcements. And then, there is the sermon or message.” Through our Sunday morning habits—sometimes by design, sometimes by default—we create silos and do not necessarily show or teach how the “parts” are integrated, or how they are part of a whole, that is worship.
This intentional or unintentional, weekly habit does not fair well for placing a high value on the Word of God preached.
Although my reflections are not centered on the value or theological perspective of the worship service, the sermon still must occupy a high place within the context of worship itself. I would even go as far to suggest that the sermon is worship, just as is our singing and praise and prayer and even testimonies and scripture reading. Furthermore, the delivering of the sermon as well as our listening to the sermon are acts of worship.
Precedent for worship
There are numerous portraits and precedents within the Bible itself to suggest that the preached Word is lifted into the realm of worship. There are many times while in God’s presence, the one or one’s being addressed hear God’s Word and fall down in worship. In the book of Exodus we have a pattern or display that has for much of Church history offered a paradigm for worship and even informed and molded the design of the worship service.
There is a connection, a dynamic relationship between hearing God’s Word in the context of worship and committing to the obedience of that Word:
Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. “Moses alone, however, shall come near to the LORD, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.” Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!” Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” (Exodus 24:1-7).
Without the need of being too formal, the acts of the congregation imitated the acts of Israel, and specifically those which lead up to hearing God at the mountain. And thus, the singing, testimonies, the prayers, the Scripture reading all led up to that one focal and focused moment where God would speak to His people. The Word of God preached was that time in worship where the people finally had prepared themselves and now stood before God to listen, to hear His Word.
Furthermore, acknowledging the sermon as worship (both the act of preaching of it and the act of listening to it) also shows our respect and reverence to the ultimate Author of the Word of God preached. Seen as worship, we subject ourselves under the Word with a confession to obey all that we hear, proclaiming as Israel did, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” This, too, gives the preacher incentive to offer nothing less than the Word, being fully committed to doing one’s homework in order to hear God’s voice in and through the text.
Each Friday and/or Saturday, the rough drafts and thoughts for a manuscript I am preparing will be posted as threads—
Letting the Lion Out of Its Cage: Meditations on the Importance of the Sermon .
Awfully presumptuous—be humble, get over it
Granted, it can be awfully presumptuous of us to suggest we not only have access to God’s thoughts, but to claim the ability to know God’s Word and the authority to declare it so to others. Many outside the Church—and some even from within—perceive this to be a self-appointed, self-absorbed, and arrogant claim by evangelical Christians. And, indeed, there are abuses of the privilege we have as guardians and proclaimers of God’s Word to the world.
Get over it.
So, outsiders don’t like it that we acknowledge the Bible as God’s Word and intend to speak it to the world around us. Nonetheless, such perceptions by non-believers and such possible abuse by preachers should not dissuade us from holding a high view of the Bible and the importance of the sermon, that is, the Word of God preached. Be humble, not arrogant about it. Just do it. Allow the Word to first speak to you, and then, do not be ashamed or put off by how others perceive this as arrogant—preach the Word. In fact, I find that it is this perception that makes us, forces us to dumb down the Word of God preached. We choose to offer lesser things in order to be more accepted, less harassed, or more in-line with popular self-help and political correctness (whether from the right or the left, or that vein of independent thinking, so-called).
When we do not do our exegetical homework, think deeply on a Biblical-theological level, and hold a high value to the sermon, that just adds to the perception that the sermon is an arrogant waste of the modern person’s time or attention.
Get over it. We need to deicide whose messenger we claim to be, and if God’s, then we need to get over how others perceive our commitment to the Bible and how they view our preaching, and humbly do our homework and exegetical study and preach the text of Scripture.
What they don’t know will hurt them
I do not mean to belabor the point, but it is serious to note that when we dumb down the Word or present anything less than the Word of God preached, we offer something other than God’s Word to the congregation. Those who are listening to the sermon might not know they are accepting less than the Word. In fact, most seem to fully trust that what the preacher is saying, along with the verses quoted or alluded to, is simply God’s Word being preached to them. That’s the pastor’s job, isn’t it? The pastor would not say he (or she) is preaching the Bible or God’s Word if it wasn’t. I have often heard, in comments and during congregational prayers, those in the congregation thank God for giving the pastor or speaker His Word to preach or share when in fact it is has not been so. What was preached was something else, but certainly not the Word preached.
When the word spoken, no matter how pious or filled with Christian ideas and evangelical catch-words, is not the Word of God preached from the text of Scripture, we are being deceptive. This is not good. And in the end, it hurts more than it helps. I will talk about this later, but preaching less than the Word, leaves the congregation famished, starving for the meat of the Word, lacking the actual power to sustain a spiritual life. They might not know it is not God’s Word, but in the end it will hurt them, nonetheless, by allowing them to trust in less than the Word.
Comes in many forms
Sermons do not have to be an introduction, thesis statement, and two or three points. Not at all. Let creativity loose! Just make sure you do you homework, exegete the text, and make sure what is communicated is the Word of God preached, no matter the form or style of presentation. I appreciate that God’s Word, the Bible, contains many and various forms—narrative, poems, songs, plays, humanly acted out dramas, choirs, types, proverbs, letters and correspondences between people, court documents, speeches, parables, riddles, stories, mysteries, histories, and gospel, only to name a few.
The canon we call the Bible does not come to us as one type of written word, but various. The collection of documents that make up our Bible gives us opportunity to hear God’s voice, His Word, through a wide range of means. This suggests our own freedom to utilize various styles and forms to communicate the Word of God preached. And, it makes sense. Our varied experience as humans and the multitude of differing personalities among us and the different ways each of us learn begs for different styles, methods, and forms that will reach our minds, hearts, and souls.
A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is
like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.
~Isaiah 40:6-8
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill.
“Then drink,” said the Lion.
“May I—could I—would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.
The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to—do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
“Do you eat girls?” she said.
“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion.
“I daren’t come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.
~C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair
The Chronicles of Narnia continue to hit our local movie theaters. It is great to see the powerful fairytales and feel the impact of the C.S. Lewis storylines. The first to make it to the big screen, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” was a great visual representation of the classic story. Soon “Prince Caspian” will also be in movie theaters as a second installment of the Lewis children stories. Good as “The Wardrobe” was, however, I was sorely disappointed that many of the famous, solidly theological lines in the story were either left out or dumbed down.
The dumbing down of religious and theological thoughts is easy to understand when popular, mass consumption and relative political correctness are needed to bring in the big bucks for movie production companies. The dumbing down of God’s Word preached, however, is unconscionable, for the aim of preaching is not to gain wealth, up-market share, or for personal gain, but to present God’s Word to dying men in need of life, the power of the resurrection, and God Himself. As the quoted passage above from another of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia stories, “The Silver Chair,” there is “no other stream” from which one can quench one’s spiritual thirst.
The scene comes from The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis. Jill, one of the children, meets Aslan, the Lion, for the first time. In the story, the Lion is the symbol for Jesus Christ. Jill is in need of satisfying a dire urge for water. She notices a nice, crisp, clear stream nearby, but there is a Lion standing in the path. As you read the conversation between the Jill and Aslan (above), Jill was afraid of the Lion, but sorely needed to drink. She reasoned with the Lion to move away, but found no room for negotiation. The Lion revealed fully and unashamedly His character, for even one’s fear or need can not change the Lion’s nature. Out of fear and frustration, the girl decides that it best to look elsewhere to satisfy her thirst. The Lion was direct, “There is no other stream.”
This is the problem, “There is no other stream.” There is no other source for which man, woman, or child, community or nation can find the remedy for sin, evil, and death. No other source, than the Bible, God’s Word, that can be God’s voice, power, and source of life—for now and for eternity. When ministers of the Word do not do their homework, and undertake the serious task of exegesis and biblical-theological reflection in order to hear the text—they offer less than the Word of God preached. For those in the place of God on a Sunday morning—or for that matter, at any time one claims to be delivering God’s Word—it is a deception to offer less than God’s Word. For offering anything else suggests that there are other streams from which people can drink. But there is no other stream.
Principal idea
Those delivering messages from the Bible must actually believe and be firmly committed to the Bible as God’s Word, the ultimate authority and only source for life and redemption—presenting or preaching anything else is deceptive and enables others to believe there are “other streams” that can quench one’s need for God, forgiveness, and God-given life.
Whose Word is it anyway?
The answer is almost ridiculously obvious—the Bible is God’s Word, of course. Obvious for sure, but it is a foundational consideration that needs to be at the forefront of any discussion on preaching or when reflecting on the importance of the sermon. I recognize that many who step into the pulpit (or its equivalent) each Sunday do not fully believe the Bible to be God’s Word. I am not concerned with these, but I am disturbed with those who say they believe it is God’s Word and then offer less to their congregations through their sermons.
In 2006, the Barna Group, a Christian polling and statistical organization, found that of all adults, forty-eight percent (48%) agreed strongly that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings. This is up, actually, from 42% in 2002 and 35% in 1991. This is a good thing. But I still found it interesting that in 2006, twelve percent (12%) of those confessing to be born again Christians disagreed that “the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings.” The same Barna polling found a sadder commentary on preachers. Based on a nationwide survey, senior pastors, across a wide range of protestant churches, indicated that only half (51%) actually have a biblical worldview. One of the major categories or indicators for this data is their belief in the accuracy and reliability of the Bible. Among Evangelicals—my target audience—only 89% believe the Bible is literally true and fully the Word of God. When roughly 1,000 adults were asked to describe their view of the Bible, only 28% responded that the Bible is the “actual Word of God and is to be taken literally.” That’s 2.8 people in 10.
I do not intend to debate the subject, although I will produce one essay on the subject of inspiration and inerrancy. But the one claiming to speak for God must fundamentally decide what the Bible is and whose Word he or she is preaching. And then treat it so in the pulpit. Ultimately, it is not important what people in general (i.e., the congregation or even the general population, man on the street) believe the Bible to be; it is, however, extremely serious when the one delivering, supposedly, God’s Word believes the Bible is less than God’s Word to man or treats is so by trading away the Word of God preached for lesser things or personal agendas.
My concern is not with those thinking less of the Bible, up front and admittedly confessing it so even before they even rise to give a sermon—that’s another problem all together. But, my unease comes from those who claim a faithful allegiance to God and His Word, yet offer their congregations less through sloppy exegesis and a disregard for good faithful biblical study.
Each Friday and/or Saturday, I intend to post the rough drafts and thoughts for a manuscript, ,
Letting the Lion Out of Its Cage: Meditations on Preaching the Bible. This is the first post for the thread that will make up the first chapter, “No Other Stream.” Your comments are appreciated. My hope is to include some of the comments, so, obviously pithy, creative, and insightful (whether critiquing or adding or rebuking, and even the rare agreement) would be attractive to my future publisher.