May 19, 2023

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

Hebrews 4:12 esv

“The heart of all preaching is to preach one Christ, by Christ, to the praise of Christ”

— William Perkins

As we prepare to discuss the preaching of the Word in Christian ed. on Sunday I must admit my thinking on the subject is clouded by the recent deaths of the Reverend Doctors Harry Reeder III and Tim Keller. Though distinct from each other in many ways, the centrality of Christ in the preaching ministry of both men towers above their differences. While there is much to be said about the reality of preaching - there are three things to consider in this short email.

First, preaching has authority. The word of God, opened from the pulpit and applied to the hearts of the congregation by the Holy Spirit by grace through faith stands above and beyond all other forms of information and teaching. Second because of the authority held within the preaching of the word, preaching is expository. We preach from Scripture, and nothing else. How absurd would it be to engage in an authoritative act like preaching apart from the authoritative foundation of God’s word in the Bible? Third, preaching is Christ-centered*, and as such all preaching should contain the core proclamation of the Gospel.^ Not all texts have an easy and explicit reference to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus - but there is no crisis in Scripture, or anxiety in the human heart that cannot be answered by and in Christ alone. The task of the preacher is to mine out these connections for himself, and the congregation. The task of the hearer is to confess and repent alongside the preaching of God’s word. Christ himself is the measure of every sermon - and preaching is the tool chosen by God to win this world to himself. 

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* See Luke 24:13-35
^ That is, forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit by grace through faith in Jesus

—Matt Allhands