D.L. Moody once wrote, "It is God's Word, not our comment on it, that saves souls." [1] How true that is. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, with the power to penetrate hearts and change lives. It has transformational power!
Therefore, in preaching, it is imperative that us preachers give the Word of God pre-eminence. While it is helpful to use illustrations, tell stories, refer to current events, use humour, quote statistics, and share personal experiences, in a sermon the Word of God must be given top priority.
The Word must be the basis of the message. Only the Bible, applied to the heart by the Spirit, can produce the kind of life change God is seeking. All preachers need to heed Paul's instruction to Timothy - "Preach the word!" (2 Tim 4:2)
The power of the Word is highlighted in something God Himself said through the prophet Jeremiah:
""Is not my word like a fire?" says the LORD, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?""
What other book is like a hammer?
The preacher who has a high regard for the Word will give it the highest priority in his sermons. He will resist the temptation to be trendy and preach "contemporary" messages with minimal Scripture and maximum humour and story-telling. (It's sad to hear sermons of this kind).
First things must be first. May we faithfully preach the Word, and believe that God will change lives.
[1] Moody, D.L, Notes from My Bible (Baker, Grand Rapids, Mich, 1979) p151.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment