In Agreement

I agree with the Apostle Paul.  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith..."  (Romans 1:16)  I believe there is an inherent power in the gospel, but then, I also believe the same about all of the written Word.   What we know as sacred Scripture is not ordinary writing written to entertain or to inform, but to change lives.  Stop and think for a moment.  How would our lives be different if there was no Word of God to transform our lives?  Who really wants to think about a world without the Word?

 

I have preached this Word of God for over forty years and have experienced its soul shaping power for almost a lifetime.  Whenever I preached, my hope and prayer was that the Word preached would be persuasive.  It has never seemed that any sermon was actually done right unless there was an intention on the part of the preacher to preach persuasively.  A sermon written and spoke to educate or inform is not sermon.  A sermon is a moment when the preacher speaks in the name of God and prays for everything that he or she is worth that the Word will have the persuasive power to change lives.  No one should preach expecting less. 

 

I believe that the Word of God has that kind of power.  Too many sermons are preached with timidity.  Too many are preached as if it is a "take or leave it, it really doesn't matter"  message.  When the Word is preached, it is a means through which the Holy Spirit seeks to unleash holy power in the world.  No one should dare to preach who is not persuaded that it is this reality awaiting him or her in the preaching moment each Sunday.  The Word of God has power.  The preacher is a messenger of that power in preaching.  Anything less is but a watered down substitute which tickles human ears and breaks God's heart.