Some discussion starters for preachers.
“Live in the fear of the Lord always”, says Prov 23:17. “Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”, says our Lord, in Matt 10:28. “In all things obey … fearing the Lord”, writes Paul in Col 3:22.
Clearly, the fear of the Lord is not optional. But what effect does it have on people, when they truly perceive God in this way?
Or, as the New Living Translation puts it: ‘May your name be honoured.’
This, the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer, established the Number One priority for prayer. Not me, and my shopping lists of aches and pains, interests and concerns. But God, and his honour. We have not even begun to understand who God is, if we have no interest in putting him first. In reality, God is first: as Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of the cosmos. …
In his book Jesus on Every Page (54-59), David Murray discusses the pitfalls involved in preaching from Old Testament characters. Among other things, writes Murray, this approach is
The Plausibility Problem: the Church and Same-Sex Attraction. By Ed Shaw, IVP, 2015.
As others have pointed out, this is not just a book for those who experience same-sex attraction. It is a book for all of us, calling everyone back to biblical faithfulness and radical discipleship.
The basis of Ed Shaw’s argument is that the orthodox Christian view on same-sex attraction (“Just say no”) is implausible. Why on earth would we deny sexual intimacy to those who are attracted to members of their own sex? …
Kevin Miller asks:-
Four factors are at work here:-
The personality factor. Some preachers’ sermons are intense because the preachers themselves are intense. They are high-energy, in-your-face people. Others of us are quieter, more reflective. We love the Lord, his word, his gospel and his people. …
I am reminded by this post by Justin Taylor that it is 50 years ago today – Tuesday, October 18, 1966 – that an event took place that shook British evangelicalism to the core. The after-shocks can still be felt today.
That event was a meeting of the National Assembly of Evangelicals, held at Westminster Central Hall, London. At that meeting, Martyn Lloyd-Jones was understood by many to be appealing for evangelicals to secede from doctrinally mixed denominations, and should come together in a ‘fellowship, or an association, of evangelical churches’.…
As far as I can remember, I have only ever been criticised once for preaching too short a sermon. And that was the occasion, many years ago, when I actually forgot one third of my message (I had foolishly tried to memorise the whole lot, and I’ve never repeated that particular form of idiocy).
It’s generally a silent tussle between the preacher and his congregation. He wants them to have more, whereas they would quite happy with a little less.…
