Archive for the 'Preaching' Category

10
Mar

on the listening of many sermons

By couch 0 Comments
Categories: Articles and Preaching

Jenny and I will have the opportunity to travel to Europe for the second time this summer. The first time we did was shortly after we met, and many know of our date with God’s destiny when we happened to sit next to each other on the plane for 9 hours and had our lives forever changed. This time with family, we’ll travel to Barcelona, and also to Italy, with a stop in France. Obviously, we’re excited.

After watching Ratatouille, I was convinced that the rumors are true, surely some of the best food in the world is found in France. That cartoon made me want to eat really good food, even though it was only merely caricatured before me in hues of red and blue. Seeing the “Little Chef” close his eyes and picture the taste sensations popping in his mouth via vibrant colors, you almost could sense them yourself. But it is not the same. I must fly over the sea, go to a restaurant, pay the money, and eat of the fine food myself. Only that is truly real, all else mere pretense and imagination.

It is my fear that the same occurs with the listening of many sermons, or the reading of many books. Praise God for the writing and preaching of His Word, absolutely essential for our growth in Him. However, in a western culture of consumerism, it is far too easy to collect and consume a multitude of sermons without ever having been transformed by the power of God. Much like I cannot truly eat the food of Paris by hearing someone talk about it, we can not merely dine off of the speaking alone.

In this way, sermons are meant to be like menus, offering insight into the track to renewal, to life, to salvation, to lasting satisfaction - even through suffering. It parades the joy that is set before us as believers, and calls us to endure what we must to drink the water that quenches (John 4) and eat the bread that sustains (John 6). And though this rich food is without cost (Isaiah 55), few actually eat what is offered. Why? Because our culture praises collection and form, rarely substance and reality.

I’m speaking to myself here, as I’ve collected sermons and books for years now. I’m not going to sulk in myself for my lack, though I have many sermons, nor delete them to make me feel better. Rather, I want to dedicate myself to hearing the Word, and with the faith there given (”Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17) go on my own treasure hunt for what has been proclaimed. And the Lord, who is the Spirit, will be my guide on the journey.

Eugene Peterson, in his excellent book “Eat this Book” gives a helpful illustration. Suppose there was a family living in an abandoned warehouse. The only windows were blackened and high up on the wall, and the door was chained shut. Building something high one day, the children manage to wipe off a dirty window and look outside. As they do, they see people walking along a path, and they point and stare. This continues for many days, and they continue to point and stare, not only at the people but at the bountiful sky and ongoing landscape - so different in comparison to the drab warehouse. Some of the children, so inspired by what they have seen, fix together some sharp materials and cut a whole in the side of the warehouse. As they come into the light of day, they experience all that they had previously only seen - the path, the sky, the grass, and the air. They call and call for the rest of their family to join, and some do, but others are cautious - preferring to simply stare at them from the window, too comfortable in what they are used to in the warehouse to come out.

Come out, come out oh soul of mine! Come out, come out oh church of God! Experience the reason for the Word of God - not merely to inform, but to form the life of God in us and around us. Let us do what it takes, what sacrifices we must make, to stop pointing at things exposited, and experience the substance therein!

25
Feb

on the preaching of many sermons

By couch 1 Comment
Categories: Heart, Preaching and leadership

Preached my head off and my heart out tonight - the third message in 48 hours I have given. Even though I felt at the height of weakness, the Lord was gracious to me, surely because of His love for me and for the hearers, and His earnest desire and understanding that the messages on His love were necessary, exceedingly more so that I’ll ever know or be able to communicate.

It is an amazing gift of the Lord to preach, and a joy to be "caught up" in the whirlwind of His word, speaking the things you hear, see, and experience, and the things you catch glimpses of, though afar off, but in the straining of prayer and voice attempt to articulate. It is sincerely humbling, for every time you see how much you need the very Word you gave, perhaps moreso than those hearing! And, having reached a pinnacle with the revelation you were given, you proclaim it, only to see, as you do, that there are infinitely higher heights that you have yet to even begin to understand.

You don’t despise the revelation, for it is high to you, but for the greater heights one must continually lay Himself down, trusting in the readiness of the Father to lift us up and take us ever step of the way. You don’t know what to do, either to continue to plead the truth from the peak on which you stand, or continue to press on to higher heights. Then, the word hits you, "My son, do not cease to learn, lest you forget what you’ve already learned." And higher and higher you go, knowing you don’t fully understand where you’ve been but that you must go onward in the hand of a trustworthy guide.

More acutely, there is this restlessness, especially after preaching, this ache that seems to grow. It can be easily dulled by going into some other mind-numbing activity, but it returns again and again. It is the feeling of being poured out, which is a good thing, and it is that feeling that is inspiring us to be filled again, lest we, being in the vulnerable state of emptiness we are in, are quickly filled with something other and darker.

For me, it is also this feeling that reminds me that preaching is never and can never be my highest calling. Oh how I used to think it truly was in God. How thankful I am now that its’ not! It is surely a joy and a blessing, but it reinforces what I know to be true, that my highest calling is my own personal singular pursuit of the knowledge of God. That alone is eternal life (John 17:3), that alone satisfies and sustains, and though I am called to preach, my identity is a child of God meant to be in His embrace. Seasons of preaching will surely come and they will go, but let my heart always be before Him, the all-consuming fire.

To the young(er) preacher, I exhort you - do not be deceived, though many men make a glamorous picture of preaching, they may still be dead on the inside, bored in their life with God. Your heart before the Lord, more than your words before men, will sustain you in the night hour. Then, your preaching, having been placed in proper order, will be more authentic, and God will honor that with grace and favor. So I am believing for myself!