Did you hear about the pastor who received a query from the State Emergency Service? They wanted to know, “How many people could be accommodated in the church in the event of an emergency?” The pastor said, “I don’t rightly know but we sleep 100 here comfortably every Sunday morning!” That’s a preacher who knows all too well the demands of preaching Sunday by Sunday with interest and effectiveness.
This Sunday in our series on ‘Rediscovering Worship’ we’re focusing on the element of proclamation. In our church, preaching is the element that is given more time in the service than anything else so it’s important to reflect on what we’re doing, including the role of hearers as well as the preacher.
Karl Barth gave an insight into his sermon preparation when he said he takes the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other then he seeks to build bridges between them and between God and his listeners.
Our Bible & Chats group on Tuesday evenings is an interesting group that studies the Scripture that is the text for preaching the next Sunday. They give lots of ideas as to what the Scripture might mean in people’s lives today.
When John Stott was pastor at All Souls in London, he had a group in the church with whom he studied a book each month and they also watched movies to get a better awareness of the times in which they were living. His book ‘Between Two Worlds’ presented the challenge to bridge the gap between the world of the Bible and the world in which we live.
A good preaching experience is like what happened on the Emmaus Road—the Scriptures were opened, their minds were opened, their hearts were opened to the Stranger and those who were bereft and downcast now recognised Jesus. They were uplifted, nourished, they sensed a new future opening up and they ran to share with others what they’d experienced.
Box Hill Baptist Church 