Is it possible to preach from the Bible on a Sunday morning and not mention Jesus? I fear the answer is ‘Yes – all too easy’. Especially when we preach the Old Testament. But even the NT can be preached in a Christ-less way. How much Jesus is there in our sermons on the Sermon on the Mount or the Fruit of the Spirit?
I was taught to always ask myself, ‘Would a rabbi be happy to preach that sermon in a synagogue next Saturday?’ If the answer is ‘Yes’ then I have not done my job as a Christian preacher – to prove from the Scriptures the necessity and supremacy of Christ crucified (Acts 17:2-3 cf. 1 Cor. 1:17-2:5; 2 Cor. 4:5; Phil 1:18; Col. 1:28 and some great Spurgeon quotes here).
The other day I was talking to a friend who'd been to an Islamic wedding and heard a sermon in the mosque on the importance of faith. I thought his comment on the sermon was revealing: "You could have heard that sermon in any church." What does that say about our preaching?
Are we preaching about 'God' and 'faith' and 'prayer' and 'goodness' in such a vague way that our sermons would be perfectly acceptable in the mosque or synagogue? Is that the sort of preaching that you see in the book of Acts? Where is the out-of-this-world, unimaginable message of the Cross which blows up the wisdom of the world, offends the religious and saves the perishing?
If you're concerned about these issues and you're in the Nairobi or Kisumu areas do join us at Raising the Bar early in 2014.
I was taught to always ask myself, ‘Would a rabbi be happy to preach that sermon in a synagogue next Saturday?’ If the answer is ‘Yes’ then I have not done my job as a Christian preacher – to prove from the Scriptures the necessity and supremacy of Christ crucified (Acts 17:2-3 cf. 1 Cor. 1:17-2:5; 2 Cor. 4:5; Phil 1:18; Col. 1:28 and some great Spurgeon quotes here).
The other day I was talking to a friend who'd been to an Islamic wedding and heard a sermon in the mosque on the importance of faith. I thought his comment on the sermon was revealing: "You could have heard that sermon in any church." What does that say about our preaching?
Are we preaching about 'God' and 'faith' and 'prayer' and 'goodness' in such a vague way that our sermons would be perfectly acceptable in the mosque or synagogue? Is that the sort of preaching that you see in the book of Acts? Where is the out-of-this-world, unimaginable message of the Cross which blows up the wisdom of the world, offends the religious and saves the perishing?
If you're concerned about these issues and you're in the Nairobi or Kisumu areas do join us at Raising the Bar early in 2014.
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