There may be many kinds of sermons, but two categories come to mind for me. There’s the serious exposition — by the book, where the speaker draws directly from and explains a contiguous biblical text or theme (extracted from many texts); and then there’s the “application” type – where the speaker may grab a text but then read it into daily life (and vice-versa). As admirable as the latter may sound – the application of a text in our lives – it’s often off the mark. I could speak slogans and clichés endlessly – cute little feel-goodisms that may or may not reflect upon the text’s intent, but still, completely miss the mark where it matters.
There are a lot of people who can give a good pep talk. But we don’t need pep talks from a pulpit. We can get them from just about anywhere without looking too hard. We should be getting them from those with whom we share the Christian life. This is why we are not to neglect meeting together – not just in church buildings, but in our lives with each other.
But the words that come from the pulpit must be a true reflection of the words that are in the Word itself. A faithful interpretation, born of diligent study and meditation on the whole of the story-line. We meet in our church building to learn and be refreshed by God’s truth. We take that out the door with us to both live our lives beautifully and to tell others why.
I sometimes ponder the American church in this. I understand the desire for liturgy. There should be an order in worship. But the gathering together for the purpose of instruction — this is a different piece. The Christian life should have this focus: inside the building – learn, grow, and be strengthened by others with whom you share the experience of the church. But outside of the building – live as a Christian in the world. Of course, share life with your Christian brothers and sisters. Meet with them for study, talks, and coffees. Enjoy life with them. But do not neglect the salt-and-light piece. Don’t hide yourself under a bushel – or in a herd of other Christians.
The American “church” made a deal with the devil when they threw in with Trump. They overlooked his obvious lies, deceptions, and adulteries because they wanted Supreme Court justices and a man who’d give the proper lip-service to their causes. They forgot, though, the one who brings perfect justice. Read the Old Testament enough and you can see so many examples of “God’s people” pursuing their own brand of salvation by worldly government. But even when they may have been fooled into thinking they were getting results, in the end, there was always bitterness, hardship, and loss.
And so it will be in America. The “church” may think they’ve gained something with their Supreme Court justices – that they may have won the battle with the overturning of Roe for example. But they haven’t won. They’ve sold out to the wrong side for what will be a short-lived victory. And when the dust settles, they will have lost not only what they were fooled into thinking they’d gained, but also the moral high ground on which they could stand to speak the truth of the gospel.
Yet another thing for you in 2023. You may recall my recommending a catechism or two in the past, and one of those was The New City Catechism. Well, just a couple of days ago, I challenged people to read the Bible daily. Now I add this for next year: go through The New City Catechism as intended – that is, take each of its 52 questions and answers for memorization: one per week, for the entire year. It will change you.
