This weekend I’m filling the pulpit on behalf of my friend Andrew Hall at Community Bible Church in Ilderton, Ontario. As I’ve been praying and preparing for this week’s message, I’ve been considering what I love and what I don’t love so much about preaching:
I get to worship God by serving others
I certainly don’t pretend to be the most gifted preacher in the world, but one of the best things about preaching is helping people see something in Scripture that they either haven’t seen before or reminding them of an important truth they can’t hear too many times. The last time I was at CBC, one of the best moments I had was a member of the congregation coming to see me after the service and sharing how the message helped her get some clarity on a difficult subject. This week, I’m preaching primarily on 2 verses (Jude 20-21) and I’m trusting that the Lord will bless my efforts to serve this congregation.
I get to worship God by doing something I love
Honestly, preaching is a lot of fun for me. It’s challenging, forces me to get out of my comfort zone (standing up in front of people isn’t my most favorite thing in the world), and allows me to invest time digging into the Word. Even though I’d probably say I’m a pretty average preacher in terms of ability, there’s few things more rewarding for me than this kind of practical worship of God.
As much as I love these things, there is at least one thing I don’t love about preaching:
Insecurity and temptations to please man
As much as I want to serve God and honor the text, it’s really tempting to seek the approval of others after preaching. I don’t know that any of us don’t like to hear that we’ve done a good job, but the danger for me is finding more value in that affirmation, rather than satisfaction in Christ.
That’s a bit of what I love (and don’t) about preaching. If you’re a preacher, what do you love about it?
I love the idea that God is allowing me to proclaim his word!
I love the preparation – getting into the text, finding new meaning personally, let it dwell in my mind like I would savour a good malt – swirling it around and around to find the right nuances. It’s particularly good when God just dumps something in your head and you realise that it’s perfect. I spoke on the theme of stewardship through the parable of the prodigal son last year, and it all stemmed from a “God moment” on my morning commute (by bicycle – where all the best thinking happens!)
In my current church we’re coming out of being very “theology-lite” for a number of years, and so I have to avoid the temptation to over-fill a sermon with theology.
I hate the feeling when I start well, but don’t feel I finished well.
I hate the feeling that I always get that I haven’t prepared enough.
I hate looking out over the congregation and not being able to tell the difference between the silence of God impacting people’s hearts, or just their brain wandering and wishing I’d go away….
I love the moments when people truly learn, either in head or in heart, something new from God.
Brother, I’m glad you’re filling in this weekend! May the Lord give you grace, power, and confidence as you proclaim Jesus Christ and him crucified! Filling in is a hard role – there’s nothing that strokes and kills the ego quite like being a visiting preacher! The proclamation of the Word week after week removes some of that (people know me more and more and aren’t as impressed with that one sermon), and also stokes that ego (praise from some can still go to the head!). Blessings!
Thanks Andrew! Looking forward to being there and grateful for this encouragement!