ONE of the most difficult responsibilities of many young pastors is deciding what to say from Sunday to Sunday, sermon to sermon. We see the people sitting before us, obviously confident we will have something important, challenging, and interesting to tell them. And if we really come to think that, we quickly become arrogant fools, thinking that our thoughts, after all, are really what the people want to hear!
I challenge every preacher/teacher to set aside any arrogance, and in humility accept that what we have to say is really of no consequence. Every news commentator, magazine editor, and novelist is bombarding us with their thoughts, witticisms, and commentary around the clock. Why should we add our 2 cents worth to this garbled confusion of differing opinions, unsolicited hype, and, often, conceited drivel?
There is only one thing that separates us from all the noise: our message. If I only tell people what I think, they are free to take it or leave it. But if I can somehow discern what God desires to communicate to His people, and clearly and simply share His Word, I do my hearers a service.
The import of this is simple: My role is to understand God's Word, and communicate it simply and clearly. What I think isn't important. My opinions are only my opinions. I don't need to fret about what to say each week. It's not a struggle, because the message isn't mine.
I challenge you to pick a simple paragraph of Scripture--any paragraph--and attempt to understand what God desires to communicate in that short passage. You may need to understand a larger context, examine it's historical setting, its context, its original hearers, its human messenger. But don't get sidetracked. God placed those words in His Word to have some impact on me and you.
When you've understood, as best you can, what God desires to communicate in that paragraph, then share that with your people. Put your arrogance aside. Its not about you. Do your people a service. Tell them something straight from God's Word.
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