One of the joys of discipleship is scheduling someone for their first sermon or Sunday School lesson. A few days later it's not uncommon for them to ask the question, "What should I preach on?" I give the same answer every time:
Jesus.
It's not just the Sunday School answer, it's the topic of every faithful Bible exposition. Whether they preach on Genesis 1:1 or Revelation 22:21, or 31,100 verses in between, the answer of what is the main topic of the passage is Jesus.
I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:2
The faithful chaplain must always know how he is getting to Jesus. Whether it's a sermon, a counseling, or a unit engagement, we are not, as Adrian Rogers said, "Just making the world a nicer place to go to Hell from."
If you leave Jesus out but get everything else right, you've denied the faith saying that the Bible can be rightly understood without the main character in the spotlight. And worse, you've necessarily elevated your hearers and/or one of their idols into that vacancy.
From every town and every village and every hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to London. . .Your business in when you get to a text, is to say, "Now what is the road to Christ?" and then preaching a sermon, running along the road towards the great metropolis–Christ. I have never yet found a text that had not got a road to Christ in it, and if I ever do find one that has not a road to Christ in it, I will make one; I will go over hedge and ditch but I would get at my Master, for the sermon cannot do any good unless there is a savour of Christ in it. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon
More:
1. Not all of your hearers will be pleased to hear about the only name given under heaven by which we must be saved. The goal is not to bring unnecessary offense, but to be faithful to the one who sent you. How do you think Jesus wants you to act in light of his statement to his disciples, "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)?
2. As my wife and I walk out of a church service, its tragically common for us to say to each other, "That sermon needed more Jesus." Have you ever preached a sermon without mentioning the name of Jesus? Would you change anything about that sermon if you were going to preach it again?
3. Jesus goes by many names and titles: "Immanuel", "the Logos", "Son of Man", "Prince of Peace", "Messiah", etc. If the name "Jesus" is going to bring unnecessary offense, is it possible to use a different name and still be faithful? Years ago I had a conversation with a homeless Jewish man whose hope was in a rebuilt temple where he could finally find peace, I took him to Haggai 2:9 and showed him that peace was found in a greater temple but that the rebuilding of the second temple did not bring the promised peace or hope; I left him contemplating a better Temple (John 2:21), not made with stones, but a body prepared beforehand for the Messiah to wear (Hebrews 10:5).
4. Resources:
Papa, Matt and Matt Boswell. Christ the True and Better. Nashville: Getty Music, 2020.
Prince, David. Jesus the Hero: Family Devotional. Lexington, KY: Ashland Avenue Baptist Church, 2016.
Greidanus, Sidney. Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.
Shearer, Canyon. Honing the Congregation to Be Attentive to Expository Preaching at First Baptist Church New Lebanon, Ohio. Louisville: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2020. https://repository.sbts.edu/handle/10392/6133 (Read specifically on the Road to Emmaus starting on page 26)
No comments:
Post a Comment