Preaching Thoughts (Part 3)

It's all about the text!

I love creativity and I love thinking of new ways of sharing old truths, but you have to start with the text. I'm concerned whenever I talk to a leader who tells me he's doing a series of teachings on _________, but hasn't figured out what Bible verses he's going to teach. It's the classic case of the tail wagging the dog.

We start with the text because when you break it all down, that's all that matters.

The lights don't matter...

The staging doesn't matter...

The bumper video doesn't matter...

The graphics don't matter...

None of it matters unless it's there to give us insight into God's Word. I love all of those things and we incorporate those things into our weekly services, but it's the Scriptures that God has promised to bless. It's the Scriptures that God has said He would magnify above His Own Name.

May we be people of the book. And may we then use all the other mediums God has given to us to illustrate it and inspire others...

Comments

[Scott Hodge]

some good thoughts bob. thx.

[Brian Ayers]

Amen.

[JayCurl]

I agree whole heartedly that our message could and should be founded in the word and that the word should inspire us....

I have also seen that God has worked through me to in the way you have described above. I wouldn't want to limit God or box him into a narrow view. I believe He is great enough to work in a variety of ways and I'm not going to limit His inspiration.

[LukeM]

I was just thinking about this the other day... when I was racking my brain: "what should we teach on next?" Teaching is so much simpler when we allow the topic to flow from the text. Thanks for the reminder!

[Charles Nestor]

Bob,

Great thoughts! I heard a quote from our dear brother Jon Courson recently that I thought was great. You can apply it to teaching and really all of ministry.

"Think outside the box but inside the Book!" - Jon Courson

[jay hardwick]

spot on, bob. very well said.