Friday, December 4, 2009

The Value of Solid Bible Teaching & Preaching


"It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." 1 Corinthians 1:21b

The teaching of God’s Word should be at the very center of a church’s ministry. Preaching should be Biblically solid, contain strong meat, be God centered and Christ exalting. It should also be understandable to the average listener, applicable to the believer, and offer hope to the suffering.

Such preaching is in short supply. There are plenty of gifted communicators in America today, but today’s sermons tend to be short shallow, topical homilies that focus on insipid subjects like “successful” living, emotional issues, and getting ahead in life – but definitely not Biblical themes. These messages tend to be lightweight, fluffy, and without much substance, leaving little more than a short term impression on the minds of the hearers.

Biblical teaching that actually “expounds the scriptures” imposes the authority of God upon His people and exposes us to the content that God intends for us to hear and know. It presumes that God intends the church to learn from both Testaments, as well as all other categories of Scripture – law, history, wisdom, prophecy, gospels, and epistles.

The number one feedback I have received from people at PCC over the last twelve years is how they enjoy “learning the Bible.” From our earliest days up until now, it’s still the same – they are glad to be “learning the Bible.” I am glad that God has used PCC in this manner. I’m convinced it is one of the reasons that has contributed to our church’s health. When God’s people are exposed to a steady diet of milk and strong meat from God’s Word, they grow. As a result, the church will grow too.

I have heard this refrain from unchurched people (which is understandable) and from Christian people who have come from other churches (which I find to be astonishing). Apparently people are sitting in churches listening to preaching for years and years and not learning very much about the Bible!

We have a high regard for scripture and for the primacy of preaching at PCC.

Word of God speak…

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