Sunday, January 29, 2006

Relevant Preaching

I read this a few days ago in Paul Powell's "A Pastoral Letter."

Years ago Elton Trublood warned about the cult of contemporaneity. The church, he suggested, can become so obsessed about being relevant that it becomes irrelevant. The church is to be an original not a copy, a voice not an echo. We don't have to work at making the scriptures relevant; they are eternally so. Just preach them and the Holy Spirit will make them relevant.

How do we do that?
  • Preach with enthusiasm. The word comes from two Greek words that mean "God in you." When He is in us, it touches people where they live.
  • Preach with conviction. God's word is alive and powerful. It is like seed. It has life itself.
  • Preach with empathy. Be sensitive to the people to whom you preach. The late Browning Ware said, "If you scratch any person deep enough, you will find hurt."

Well said!

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