Writing a compelling and captivating novel is an art form which many aspire to but few achieve. Crafting words in such a way that they paint pictures and create strong feelings and emotions in the minds of your readers is no easy task. It is the same as we preach.
Preaching is not a clinical academic presentation of truth. We've been studying Peter's Pentecost sermon over Easter and it is full of passion, challenge, and conviction, it creates emotional responses as you hear of Jesus death and resurrection, as he puts the crowd in the dock and us their with them. Peter's words paint a picture of the suffering Messiah, drawing the crowd to look on him they pierced. And it's not just Peter, each of the gospels paint pictures and stir your imagination as you read their retelling of events. They evoke powerful emotional responses in us, creating empathy and anger in equal measure.
In our preaching we must not do any less. Our job is to unchain scripture and allow it to do its Spirit crafted, Spirit filled work. We must not present it as clinical truth, or as an rational academic paper. Preachers we must preach to make people feel - not to manipulate them, not to whip up emotions so that a hyped up crowd respond in the moment - but we are to preach the passage so that people feel.
Work hard at crafting words that paint pictures, build paragraphs that capture the tension in a text, or the joy, or the gut wrenching sorrow. Read the bible well - the bible itself does that as it is read, so read it well, quote it well in your preaching. Help people feel the bible as they hear the bible and you proclaim its truth.
If we teach Easter, Christ's suffering, betrayal, isolation, rejection, trial, death and joyful universe transforming resurrection as a propositional truth devoid of feelings and emotion have we really preached it at all?
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