 |  Preaching ancient truth to modern people.
Fall 1997
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Preaching That Connects
October 1, 1997
I'm intent on laying up treasures in heaven,
but I'm concerned my reward for preaching may be small.
Great would be my reward, I'm sure, if I preached with painful reluctance, but the real reason I preach is I simply love the ministry of the Word. At no time am I more self-indulgent than when I sit down to study and later to stand to preach God's Word. Not that I follow my own agenda, but God's agenda is such exquisite pleasure.
In National Geographic, T. H. Watkins writes about the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. It has classic desert beauty: graceful sand dunes, buttes that glow orange in the morning light, rugged canyons, sandstone wedges jutting into the sky.
Watkins writes that the area is "endlessly various and fascinating in its forms. Much of this I have come to think of as my own country. … I have spent several years exploring this western landscape, driving its roads, flying over it, hiking into its canyons, camping along its rivers … sometimes writing about it, most of the time just thinking about its warps and tangles of rock and sky."
My feelings are the same for the endless grandeur of Scripture. To study and preach the Word is to explore limitless terrain. Someone has said when you thank God for something, you enjoy it twice; similarly, when we preach the fruits of our study, our pleasure in God's truth multiplies. The more I do so, the farther the horizon stretches, the more colorful are its truths, the more striking is its righteousness.
Preaching's grace
But Scripture isn't just beautiful landscape; like Mount Sinai it is sacred ground. My sandals come off at the thought I handle the words of God himself.
A sermon series can become a monument in my life. In my first pastorate, ...
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