What to Preach

One of the challenges that preaching presents is the continuing question of what to preach. I've been at Livonia for seven and a half years and that means over 300 sermons preached during that time. There are always several issues to deal with. One issue is balance. It is fairly easy to neglect parts of scripture such as the prophets in the Old Testament. The narrative parts are usually easier to prepare lessons from but I have also done series from the Psalms and Proverbs. I have been looking at Zacharia and asking, "How would I preach from that book?" I still don't have an answer so I probably am not doing anything from there any time soon. But I'd like to. For me the prophets present maybe the biggest challenge for preaching. I will preach at least one series from the Old Testament this next year but I'm not sure what it will be or when.

The second challenge is preaching to the needs of the congregation. There are always various problems certain people face. Some issues are simply life issues that we all face such as sickness or why bad things happen to us. Some needs are things I see that the congregation does not see. Certain idols that we construct that we are not even aware of present one of the biggest challenges to preaching. For example in this country security has become an idol both individually and nationally. The desire to be secure causes us to avoid the very areas where we should be ministering and serving. Nationally our leaders make decisions that put security above justice and basic human rights. This is just one example of an area where preachers need to speak but often people don't want the listen.

There is also an even more important question, what does God want to say to the church? I am constantly aware that when I preach I don't speak for myself but I am God's spokesperson. What a privilage and responsibility that is. As I prepare a series of lessons this is the one question I pray the most about. So I read and study and pray that God will give me a message for his people at Livonia. I love what I do but the challenge is always before me.