I spent the greater part of today with fellow preachers. The SEND Twin Cities Network hosted a Preaching Workshop on the Constancy of Preaching, and it was a great reminder of the joys, privileges, challenges, and necessity of preaching God’s Word for God’s people.
I had the privilege of speaking to the brothers first on the topic of the preacher’s vision. What does the preacher hope to see? What is the outcome he longs for as he carries out the mission of preaching? If the mission of preaching is successful by God’s grace, what is the desired result? That desired result—what he hopes to see—is the preacher’s vision. My main point was that we should follow in the footsteps of the preachers—the proclaimers of God’s Word—outlined in Scripture. Whether it was Moses, Samuel, Ezra, or Paul, the preachers in Scripture aimed for glory and good. The preacher’s glory and the preacher’s good? Absolutely not! The preacher’s aim in preaching is God’s glory and the good of his people, which is their Christlikeness.
The highlight of the morning, though, was listening to Pastor Tony Merida speak about preaching with joyful perseverance. He reminded us that, despite the prevailing global and even church-wide sentiment against preaching, we must still be mastered by certain convictions which, if true, necessitate preaching. This is good for both pulpit and pew to hear. If what we believe about the Word of God is true, if what we believe about the resurrection is true, if what we believe about Jesus, the Spirit, and the office of the pastor is true—then we must continue to preach and sit underneath preaching for the glory of God and the good of the church. He asked a piercing question: If God wrote a book, wouldn’t you want to preach it?
I walked away greatly encouraged to “keep preaching Christ until we see Christ.” May Jubilee always be a church that holds preaching in high esteem!
Much Love,
Pastor Lew