Restoring Preaching To Our Churches

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.” - 2 Timothy 4:2

It may seem strange that preaching needs to be restored to our churches. In most churches, the preaching of the Word is of utmost importance. Still, I make a claim that there are certain churches that are in dire need of good preaching.

The temptation of this age is for preachers to alter the church service to be more politically correct. Some are doing this already. Rather than preaching, the pastor merely gives a “talk,” or a “life lesson.”

Let me be clear. A pastor is not a CEO, a life coach or a motivational speaker. He is a preacher of the Gospel. It is time for us to be unashamed of this calling.

Let me be clear about the kind of preaching that needs to be restored to the American church.

1.  BIBLICAL

First of all, all preaching should be Biblical in nature. Paul encouraged Timothy to “Preach the word.” We are not to preach newspaper articles or the latest copy of Sports Illustrated. A preacher needs to preach the Scriptures. Sermons should come straight from the Bible. I am a firm believer in expository preaching. Preach verse-by-verse, line-by line, word-by-word. The congregation does not need to be informed about the preacher's philosophy or political preferences. The congregation needs to hear what God has to say and this can only be done when the Word is preached. The people need to hear, “Thus saith the Lord.” In this critical hour, people need to hear the truth of God's Word.

2.  PASSIONATE

Secondly, good preaching should be delivered with some spiritual fire. Martyn Lloyd Jones once defined preaching as “logic on fire.” If a preacher is not passionate about his message, how can the congregation get passionate about it? In some circles, the word, “anointed,” is used to describe the special touch of God on a sermon. While some may wish to debate the descriptive terminology, the absence of God's blessing on a preacher and his sermon is obvious.

3.  EVANGELISTIC

Regardless of the text, every preacher should never fail to proclaim Jesus Christ to his congregation. Although a typical Sunday service should be designed to engage believers in worship, the preacher should never fail to make the Gospel known to his hearers. Even if his sermon isn't specifically about the Gospel, he should make it a point to present the Gospel for the sake of any unbeliever present. Basically, evangelistic preaching is Christ-focused, God-exalting preaching.

While it may be more popular to give lectures or a pep talk to a congregation weekly, spiritual hunger can only be satisfied with strong, Biblical preaching. We need this restored to all of our churches.

Each week, spiritually hungry people fill the pews of churches, yearning to be fed spiritual food. May God raise up pastors who will spend quality time in the spiritual kitchen so that a hot, nourishing meal may be served each week.