Paul's admonition to Timothy is still appropriate.
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
In my next few blogs I want to share with you with you some foundations, preparations, and suggestions for improving biblical preaching.
I am including them here in my Thinking In The Spirit blog because I don't want to start a new Blog for something that will be short term. I believe I have some things to share with you. And I pray that God will bless your ministry through them.
FOUNDATION
The first thing you need to settle is why you are preaching. You need to ask yourself several questions here. It may benefit you greatly to ask yourself these questions even if you have your sermon together for this Sunday.
Have you been born again? In John 3:3 Jesus said you cannot even see the kingdom of God if you have not been born again. A call to preach must be linked in your mind to the calling to be a child of God.
Do you have a vital relationship with Jesus Christ? If you are not in tune with Him, you will not touch lives. In Matthew 23:8-10 Jesus said.
“But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.”
We have one teacher. If He does not speak through you, you are wasting your t
Is God telling you to preach? I remember God calling me to preach my freshman year in college. His call was as clear to me as Isaiah's call in Isaiah 6. Proclaiming God's word is my life calling. And it may be yours. But I believe God tells others of us to preach in different ways. Some of you may have been asked by your church or your pastor to preach, not necessarily as a life calling. Others may have been led to start a home church. And you have to fill the needs of those who have gathered with you. But you need to settle this issue.
Do you care about the people you preach to? My pastor when I was in high school once told me, “David, you cannot preach to people that you don't love.” Many years ago I was in a preaching slump. I talked to an experienced preacher about it. He suggested something that proved to be powerful for me. He said, “In the early part of the worship service, look into the eyes of individuals in the congregation.” It is amazing what you will see, when you really look at people. I found myself understanding and connecting with them. This will not keep you from worshipping. In fact, you can pray for each of them while you praise God.
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