The Work of the Spirit

It is always a risky business for a preacher to fancy himself or herself as a story teller.  And, it is even more risky when the preacher seems intent on telling stories which are centered on personal stuff.  Some personal stuff is acceptable, but sometimes it becomes the main fodder for the sermon and people soon lose interest.  Simon Peter could have told a whale of a story on that Pentecost Day when the Holy Spirit came into the room with such overwhelming power.  He could have even taken his listeners back to the good old days when he was a walking companion of Jesus.

Instead, what Peter preached was Jesus.  To a crowd of people who might not have been the people most interested in hearing about Jesus, Peter preached Jesus.  There is no way to read the sermon Peter preached that day without understanding that everything he had to say centered on Jesus.  From prophetic utterances to the cross to the empty tomb, the preacher preached.  When he finished no one had to wonder what Peter was trying to say.  It was such a powerful moment of preaching that several thousand people had their lives changed and looked for the waters of baptism.

There are times when we preachers seem to lose sight of Jesus in our preaching.  We get caught up thinking the pulpit time is an entertainment gig.  Or, we think that people are really interested in what we think.  What people really want to hear from the pulpit is what the Word of God is saying.  The person they really need to encounter is not the preacher, but Jesus.  Instead of being hesitant to preach too much about Jesus, those of us who preach need to pray the Holy Spirit will do His work in us.  And what is the work of the Holy Spirit.  The work of the Holy Spirit is to point people to Jesus.