I had several people come up to me this weekend after the services and say “that is the best sermon I have ever heard”! Now if you are a “Preacher”, that is what you do, comments like that will absolutely make your day😄 and I certainly was on a high this afternoon as I thought about those responses. After a bit of time passed and I came down off of my high I got to thinking and wondered what it was about my sermon that evoked that response. If I could figure out what it was maybe I could do it again. As I was thinking along this line I thought, “why do you preach, anyway?” What is my purpose and goal as I study all week and then preach a 40 minute sermon 3 times. I wrote out my conclusion so I wouldn’t forget it.

1. I believe without a doubt that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. He inspired and supervised the writing of it over thousands of years so we could know Him and His will for our lives. When I preach I teach what the Bible means and how to make application of it to our lives. I work hard to make that teaching easy to understand and also easy to put into practice in our lives. That is a noble calling and I don’t want to blow it.

2. I believe without a doubt that the Bible is alive, living, supernatural, and that God speakes to our heart, our soul, and our spirit through the preaching of His Word. It is mind blowing to think that I have the responsibility and priviledge to teach the Word of God. I work hard as I study and write to preach and teach in a way that holds people’s attention. I want those who listen to be fully engaged and not bored. For me the ultimate sin would be to bore people with the Word of God.

3. I want people to have a genuine encounter with the living God when they listen to me preach His Word. They would not be hearing me but God and they would know it without a doubt that God is speaking to their innermost being through His Word as I teach it. As I read that back to myself it sounds a bit arrogant but it is still true. God speaks through people and I desperately want to be one of those people whom God is speaking through.