Why Do We Do That? - On Preaching

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. - 2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV)

“I like the singing best!”

“Not me. I come for the announcements. How else will I know what’s going on around here?”

“What I really enjoy is the meet and greet time.”

“I don’t care what happens during the worship service as long as they have good snacks in the cafe.”

With all of our opinions about what we enjoy and like most during our worship services, what does God say is most important? His Word preached.

One reason why we devote so much time during our worship services to the reading and preaching of God’s Word is because this is what God says is most important to Him when we gather. The apostle Paul tells a young pastor that there will be a time when people will ask for other things to happen instead of preaching. They’ll request more songs, or videos, or skits, or announcements and there will be a real temptation to listen to them.

But Paul says to the young pastor, “Don’t do it! Preach the Word. Never stop preaching God’s Word for this is what they need most from you.”

Now this doesn’t mean that the other things are unimportant; it just means that they all submit themselves to the time we need to preach the Word. The singing, announcements, prayer time, etc...all should support the preaching of God’s Word.

For more on this topic, a helpful article is On Preaching? by Brad Wheeler.