(Here is a printable PDF of the following.)

Preach to Glorify God

The ultimate goal of Christian preaching—as with all other things—is the glory of the Triune God. When the minister proclaims God’s true and beautiful Word, he honors the Persons, attributes, and works of God. But the glory really radiates when the Spirit uses his Word to change lives. If someone is convicted, saved, comforted, inspired, redeemed by the preached Word, God was at work, showing himself to be good, sovereign, gracious, and altogether glorious.

Preach to Transform

In order to glorify God, preaching aims at complete redemption and renewal. The goal is to make the hearer better able to engage reality (God, self, others, world, culture, etc.) from a Biblical perspective. Every facet of every life is fair game; if a person thinks, feels, speaks or acts at all, then those ways of participating in God’s world ought to be made to serve God’s glory. Sometimes the transformation is dramatic, as when a person is convicted and converted. Sometimes the change is externally imperceptible, as when a person is reassured once again of God’s love. Always it should be so that the person loves God with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength better than he did when he first sat in the pew.

Preach against Unbelief

In order to transform people, preaching aims to increase their faith. The desired progression is from sin to holiness (sanctification), which requires faith. A person will only be changed through truly believing the Word of God. Whether Christian or not, all of us have the same problem: we do not believe the Word of God enough to let it shape our lives in every way. Therefore the preacher must target the unbelief in the hearer, and proclaim the Word as a beacon that draws forth true faith from those in whom the Spirit works.

Preach the Gospel

In order to inspire faith, preaching must convey the Gospel. The Good News is that God is for us in Jesus Christ. Helping the hearer understand this goes well beyond a “simple” evangelistic message. The grace of God addresses us at every point in our lives: it establishes and strengthens our faith (and, therefore, obedience). Certainly, preach the Law as well; bad news often precedes the Good News. But the majestic goodness of God, displayed in the Gospel, must characterize our preaching week in and week out. This wins our faith.

Preach Christ from All the Scriptures

The person and work of Jesus Christ is the substance of the Gospel. The beginning, middle, and end of the Christian life must be informed by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus—all the Scriptures are helpful for this. Jesus himself made it very clear that he is the main subject of all the Scriptures. Paul set the tone for our preaching by saying, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Friends, a sermon is not Christian unless it is Christocentric.

Preach with Unction

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” The anointing of the Spirit is necessary for true boldness in preaching. Apart from the Spirit’s empowerment, a preacher might muster some fervor, but he will lack authority, and might not even possess the courage to maintain God’s truth before sinners. The right proclamation of the Word requires holy unction, which comes by the grace of God through prayer.

Preach with Clarity

God himself has condescended tremendously to help us understand his will. Therefore, preachers have no right to dwell in theological obscurity in their pulpits, but are called to preach with clarity. If it is important that the Gospel be understood by all who hear, then preaching should be not only in the common language, but also concise, uncluttered, logical, and memorable. Preachers do well to improve upon these basics of clear communication as they seek to imitate the Fountainhead of all communication, the Word of God incarnate.

Some would say that the main function of the Gospel is to improve life in earthly arenas such as marriages, families, businesses and societies. Though we do not preach a “social gospel,” the Christ-centered Gospel does create those earthly changes for which it calls. Just as marital relationships improve naturally (or supernaturally) as an effect of the Gospel in the lives of believers, so too do relationships improve with the poor, the lonely, the oppressed, the estranged, the outcast—the other. We need to know how those relational changes truly come about, and how they serve the purposes of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

All those who believe in Jesus have been born of God (John 1:12-13), made alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:4-5), and given the Spirit and a new heart (Ezek. 36:26-27). God has radically changed us in his mercy, and has given us a hope that does not disappoint because his love has already been poured out into our hearts through the Spirit (Rom. 5:5). The revealed mystery of Christ in us is the hope of glory (Col. 1:25-27), and we have been sealed by the Spirit for this glorious future inheritance of eternal fellowship with God (Eph. 1:13-14). There is no race, class, or gender division in Christ (Gal. 3:28), but all are one body (Eph. 4:4), one holy temple of the Lord (Eph. 2:19-22), a people of God to proclaim his excellencies (1 Pet. 2:9), and children through Christ to the praise of the glory of God’s grace (Eph. 1:5-6).

Built up on the foundation of Christ (1 Cor. 3:11), we are those who worship God with our lives (Rom. 12:1-2), in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24)—for such worshipers the Father seeks. He does not want our lip service (Is. 29:13-14), but our hearts. Our religion and worship are a stench to God if done from a heart far from him. But what is good religion and worship?

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). “Is this not the fast [religious practice] that I [the LORD] choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn…” (Is. 58:6-8a, emphasis mine).

The thing to remember here is that we are of the same flesh with the poor and suffering of the world. Are we any better than they? Did God see something in us that was absent in them, that he would give us life and health? Does the color of our skin, the money in our wallets, the clothing we wear or the home in which we live have anything to do with who receives favor from the Lord? May it never be!

Compassionate effort toward social justice, when done from a heart close to God, is a major part of the worship God seeks. So let us not withhold the favor we have freely received—whether spiritual or material—from those in need. Let us not sing and pray and fast while ignoring the sufferings of those around us. Rather, let us show that we are indeed in the true faith of God by our good works (James 2:14-26), for which we were created in Christ (Eph. 2:10). Let us eagerly remember the poor (Gal. 2:10). Let us work hard, so that we will have something to share with those who have none (Eph. 4:28). Let us labor mightily with the power (Col. 1:28-29) and the grace (1 Cor. 15:10) of God, to bring the light of the Gospel to every person. Let us hold our faith without an attitude of personal favoritism (James 2:1-13), but pursue Christ in and above all things (Phil. 3:7-11), especially those small things that might benefit the least of individuals (Matt. 25:31-46).

“Whoever serves is to do so as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet. 4:11).

You’re reading this, which means you have access to the internet. You might even own a computer and have the internet piped into your home at lightning speed. This “simple fact” indicates that you are wealthy, comparatively speaking. Maybe “middle” or “upper-middle class” wealthy.

Do you think most people are like you?

Do you think most of your neighbors are in your socio-economic class?

Do you think most of the people in your town or city can afford to eat and drink where you like to eat and drink?

Do you think they own their homes?

Do you think they have “disposable income?

Do you think they regularly get on a plane for their vacation?

If you do, I challenge you to think again.

Where do you think most of your neighbors do their shopping? (I’m thinking Walmart.

Where do they take their families for “special occasions,” like Father’s Day lunch? (I’m thinking McDonalds.)

When you think of ministering to “the poor” in Christ’s name, do you think of these people? What do you suppose is the best way to minister to the majority of people in your town? Go every once in a while to a place where you might encounter the “bottom rung of society” and serve them a meal? That’d be good.

Better yet, live where the people are. Go to Walmart, McDonalds, Denny’s, the community center, that dive bar on the corner. Don’t just visit every once in a while. Integrate your whole life into theirs. That’s what Jesus did. Ask them to be your friends. Invite them over to your home.

You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to have meaningful conversations with people in these places. How delightfully honest they are. How made-in-the-image-of-God they are. “Upper-middle class” people—people more like you and me—are, comparatively, very difficult to talk to. They are refined, guarded, uninterested in spiritual conversation unless it’s a chance for them to strut their philosophical stuff. You would think it would be easier to talk—really talk—with people who are more like you. But this may not be true in this case.

A friend of mine said, “Sit down at Denny’s and ask your waitress how she’s doing. She’ll tell you her husband just left her and she’s holding down two jobs to feed the kids. She wears her heart on her sleeve. Walk into a hip, urban coffee shop and ask the same question. See how they answer.”

Now, I like urban cafe coffee better than Denny’s coffee. But shouldn’t it be about the people? Where are most of the people? Who are they? What are they like? Why don’t you go find out, and live where they are?

The Gospel is about God doing that very thing in order to love you through Jesus. And the Gospel Commission is that we would imitate our incarnate, merciful, generous, suffering Savior. That will probably take some deliberate thought, and some deliberate effort. But it will certainly lead to joy and the spread of the Kingdom.

Friends, family and church members often have questions about why we baptize infants. Here is an audio sermon (mp3) about Christian baptism from Acts 2:36-39. It won’t answer all the questions, but it might be helpful.

If you’re a Christian, you might have noticed by now that you have a tendency to forget the Gospel. Like the people of Israel constantly forgetting the many wonders wrought by the Holy One who delivered them out of Egypt, we too forget the historical work of God on our behalf and in our lives. It’s particularly disturbing when we forget the work of Christ on the cross, and live in fear of God’s displeasure rather than by faith in his love. In fact, I’m frightened by how often I actually forget the Gospel entirely. Is there something wrong with me?

Yes. Terribly. I’m still plagued by sin that dwells in me. That sin is continually resisting God’s authority… and his grace. Grace threatens my sin, it threatens my pride, my self-sufficiency. So somewhere inside of me, some part of me is always trying to forget the Gospel! This is why I (and all Christians) need so desperately to be reminded of the Gospel on a regular basis! We need to be in relationship with other Christians in order to mutually remind and encourage each other with the good news of God’s sacrificial love that we don’t deserve.

There’s a silver lining to this cloud of forgetfulness. I know the Gospel. I understand it. I have rehearsed it for years. I’ve taught it to others. And yet I’m still surprised by it, as if it were brand new, every time I hear it. This could give me a cause for worry, but in fact it reinforces my faith. This situation is entirely unlike any other. I don’t forget other information like this. I don’t need to be reminded by others for my entire life that two plus two equals four, or that the sun is the center of our solar system. These things don’t constantly surprise me. But the Gospel does, because of the resistance of my sin. The only thing that can account for this is the truth of the Christian worldview; there are forces at work within me, and in the world, that want to prevent me from worshiping my Savior and from fully applying the Gospel to my life. Knowing that I struggle with forgetting the Gospel can be discouraging, yes. But it also confirms the reality of the spiritual battles in which we are engaged. And one day these battles will be decisively ended, and we will never again forget the joy of our salvation.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. [Hebrews 11:1]

Assurance is, simply, faith that God’s love for you overcomes any obstacle: not that his love merely has the potential to do so, but that it actually does. Sometimes you’re very conscious of the fact that you’ve put a lot of obstacles between yourself and God. You see your sin, and the guilt and shame can make it hard to believe that God’s love could surmount even this. Again. “Maybe he forgives others who are better at this faith-and-repentance thing, but surely he doesn’t forgive me.” That’s called doubt. The bad news is, doubt is more than just unhelpful when it comes to feeling good about your relationship with God. Doubt is actually insulting to God. Sure, doubt might be genuine, honest, authentic on your part. But your doubt reflects on him, says something about him. How long will you let your doubts declare that God is not trustworthy, not gracious to save you from all your sins?

Doubt, like any other sin, is just another obstacle for God’s love to overcome. The good news is, when Jesus climbed up that hill with the timber on his back, and let himself be nailed up for a spectacle, the message was most clear. Jesus’ own body was like a banner held high for all to see, for all to remember; “God loves you.” The Eternal Father abandoned his Beloved Son to suffer and die so that you would never taste that abandonment, but rather feast forever at the rich banqueting table of his love. He has loved you, and nothing can improve upon it… or undo it. There is no obstacle between you and God’s love—whether in heaven or on earth—that has not already fallen at the foot of the cross. Believe it.

The word “gospel” means “good news.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the communication of God’s goodwill toward us in the person of his Son. Jesus spoke the good news. Jesus displayed the good news in all he did. Jesus lived, died, took up his life again, went bodily into heaven, and sent forth his Spirit to accomplish the good news. Jesus is the good news.

The Gospel does not come to us in a vacuum; it presupposes the existence of bad news: bad news about our desires and actions and relationships, bad news about our destinies, bad news about the human condition apart from the grace of God. Nevertheless, the Gospel comes to us in spite of the bad news, overwhelms the bad news, and one day will entirely eradicate the very concept of “bad” from the universe forever.

The Gospel says that God is for us. He always has been, and he always will be. Even though we rebel against him and seek our fulfillment in anything but him, and even though his holy anger burns at the offense of our sins, he loves us and gave his Son Jesus for us. On the cross, Jesus died, suffering the full wrath of God that our sins deserve. By God’s grace, Jesus took our place, and if you put your faith in him, your sins are forgiven and his perfect righteousness is accounted to you. When God raised Jesus from the dead, it was the proclamation that God wholeheartedly received the work of Christ on our behalf. Since Jesus is alive forever, you can be assured that you have eternal life, enjoying communion with God who will never again be angry with you.

Much more could be said about the essence and effects of the Gospel. Thus the website.

Read the Bible every weekday, marching very simply through the Old and New Testaments simultaneously. Download the reading plan here. (I suggest printing this double-sided, folding to the size of a bookmark, and keeping it in your Bible.)