Preaching on Fathers' Day Can Be Hazardous!

Thankfully, I was on vacation on Fathers' Day Sunday.  Not that I especially like being on vacation, but because I didn't have to twist a text to apply it to fathers.  How did you manage that Sunday?  I worshiped in a church in Maine.  The pastor selected Luke 15's parable of the Prodigal Son.  I appreciated his emphasis on the father portrayed in the parable, though some of the principles he developed for us to follow may have been stretching the truth.  It shows how difficult it is to preach with greater accuracy if we are too focused on being relevant.  Often the occasion of the sermon takes precedence over the occasion of the Scripture.  Or, our purpose for choosing a sermon on Luke 15 for Fathers' Day overrides the purpose for which that Scripture was given by God.  God help us for the sake of your reputation!

The Relationship Factor in Pastoral Preaching

Which do you love more, the preaching or the people?  Yesterday Michele and I enjoyed the rare opportunity to worship with another faith-family.  The pastor, Lanny Kilgore, is a good friend of mine and a very good shepherd.  What struck me about seeing him preach was how much he enjoyed the parishioners during the sermon.  I could tell that he loved them as much as he loved preaching.  In his book, Preaching & Preachers, Lloyd-Jones quotes Anglican preacher, Richard Cecil: "To love to preach is one thing, to love those to whom we preach quite another" (p. 105). Sometimes when I hear sermons, I get the impression that the sermon would sound the same and the preacher would preach the same even if nobody was listening.  The people really didn't matter to the preacher, but only the sermon mattered.  Ask yourself how much the presence of listeners affects your delivery.  May our Lord give us a heart that loves His people as much as we love the proclamation of His Word.