The News
The News
In 1 Corinthians 15:14, Paul says“…and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” The word preaching is an interesting choice of words. Paul and the other writers of the New Testament could have used several other words to define their communication of the gospel, but they chose the word preaching which comes from a word meaning to herald. In New Testament times, there was no internet or newspapers to give people the news of the day. A herald or crier would walk through the streets or stand at a corner preaching or heralding the news.
In today’s news programs, both hard and soft news are presented. Soft news is “news you can use.” It’s practical news such as the latest fashion or diet—perhaps a heart-warming story or a sports report. Hard news is crucial news that affects you, such as politics, war, terrorism, or inclement weather. A crier or herald in Paul’s day would only be heralding hard news. The point here is that the gospel is hard news—news that affects your life in a profound way. News that is about life and death, about eternity—about a relationship with your creator.
Is preaching in churches today primarily about hard or soft news? In the interest of attracting the unchurched and keeping the attention of church members, are pastors today often emphasizing subjects such as burnout, stress, busyness, relationships, and emotional challenges? Or, are we heralding the good news of Scripture first and then applying it to various aspects of life?
Please understand, I think there‘s a place for application of Scripture in preaching. I recently completed a sermon series on “The Relationship Principles of Jesus.” Seventy percent of Jesus’ messages were on how to apply His teachings. I guess my question is, “Have we crossed the line from preaching the Scripture to using the Scripture to teach soft news?”
As I said in last week’s blog, we often struggle with how far to take attractional evangelism. Pastors want people to invite their friends to church. Members do not want their friends to be offended or embarrassed. We pastors want our messages to be relevant to the church and their guests. Many feel if we “tell it like it is,” that is, hard news in a hard way, we will discourage people from inviting their friends. Then evangelism will suffer.
I have a deep burden in my soul to reach people for Christ. Church members need to invite their friends to church. So how can pastors and members work together to reconcile these issues? How would it look? Here are some thoughts:
1. Pastors would be committed to preaching the hard news of the Bible, not exclusively using it to preach soft news.
2. Pastors would preach the hard news with a gracious heart, admitting that they too struggle with sin, guilt, doubt, and failure. The pastor who preaches hard news in a hard way may believe he has earned that right through his good life and works, but in doing so demonstrates that he is not seeing or appreciating the grace of God in his own life.
3. Pastors would preach the Word, explain the Scriptures, and apply them to everyday life. This would include soft news when applicable. He would be careful to leave out terms that only the churched would understand, and handle “hot button” issues with truth and grace.
4. Members would invite their friends by sharing with them that their pastor teaches the Bible in truth and power, but with a heart of grace. They would encourage their friends to come and hear the truth that will help them understand Christ and how to live in this world.
5. Pastors would weave the gospel message of salvation into every message. Some are critical of the salvation message merely being added on to the end of a sermon. Yet, every passage of the Bible screams the gospel of Christ .Every member should be assured their guest will hear the gospel and have an opportunity to receive Christ.
An understanding between pastors and church members would go a long way in having both the heralding of the Word and attracting unbelievers to the church.
What do you think?
In 1 Corinthians 15:14, Paul says“…and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” The word preaching is an interesting choice of words. Paul and the other writers of the New Testament could have used several other words to define their communication of the gospel, but they chose the word preaching which comes from a word meaning to herald. In New Testament times, there was no internet or newspapers to give people the news of the day. A herald or crier would walk through the streets or stand at a corner preaching or heralding the news.
In today’s news programs, both hard and soft news are presented. Soft news is “news you can use.” It’s practical news such as the latest fashion or diet—perhaps a heart-warming story or a sports report. Hard news is crucial news that affects you, such as politics, war, terrorism, or inclement weather. A crier or herald in Paul’s day would only be heralding hard news. The point here is that the gospel is hard news—news that affects your life in a profound way. News that is about life and death, about eternity—about a relationship with your creator.
Is preaching in churches today primarily about hard or soft news? In the interest of attracting the unchurched and keeping the attention of church members, are pastors today often emphasizing subjects such as burnout, stress, busyness, relationships, and emotional challenges? Or, are we heralding the good news of Scripture first and then applying it to various aspects of life?
Please understand, I think there‘s a place for application of Scripture in preaching. I recently completed a sermon series on “The Relationship Principles of Jesus.” Seventy percent of Jesus’ messages were on how to apply His teachings. I guess my question is, “Have we crossed the line from preaching the Scripture to using the Scripture to teach soft news?”
As I said in last week’s blog, we often struggle with how far to take attractional evangelism. Pastors want people to invite their friends to church. Members do not want their friends to be offended or embarrassed. We pastors want our messages to be relevant to the church and their guests. Many feel if we “tell it like it is,” that is, hard news in a hard way, we will discourage people from inviting their friends. Then evangelism will suffer.
I have a deep burden in my soul to reach people for Christ. Church members need to invite their friends to church. So how can pastors and members work together to reconcile these issues? How would it look? Here are some thoughts:
1. Pastors would be committed to preaching the hard news of the Bible, not exclusively using it to preach soft news.
2. Pastors would preach the hard news with a gracious heart, admitting that they too struggle with sin, guilt, doubt, and failure. The pastor who preaches hard news in a hard way may believe he has earned that right through his good life and works, but in doing so demonstrates that he is not seeing or appreciating the grace of God in his own life.
3. Pastors would preach the Word, explain the Scriptures, and apply them to everyday life. This would include soft news when applicable. He would be careful to leave out terms that only the churched would understand, and handle “hot button” issues with truth and grace.
4. Members would invite their friends by sharing with them that their pastor teaches the Bible in truth and power, but with a heart of grace. They would encourage their friends to come and hear the truth that will help them understand Christ and how to live in this world.
5. Pastors would weave the gospel message of salvation into every message. Some are critical of the salvation message merely being added on to the end of a sermon. Yet, every passage of the Bible screams the gospel of Christ .Every member should be assured their guest will hear the gospel and have an opportunity to receive Christ.
An understanding between pastors and church members would go a long way in having both the heralding of the Word and attracting unbelievers to the church.
What do you think?
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