Grace For Your Day July 25
Why is preaching so important? Why is it so necessary to hear the Word of God proclaimed every week?
While the numbers vary, a recent study indicates that the average Christian adult in the United States currently spends about 50 hour per year listening to sermons while, at the same time, he spends more than 2,000 hours watching television. The average iPhone user will also spend 35 hours per week on their phone but just a few hours in church which explains why a lot of churches have made adjustments to their ministry because they have taken the pulpit off of the stage and replaced it with a music stand. They have asked the pastor to sit during the service instead of stand. Some churches do not even refer to the pastor’s message as a “sermon” anymore because they call it a “talk” which is unfortunate.
It should not be that way because the Bible places a high priority on the office of preaching. It does not want us to neglect it. Hebrews 4:12-13 says:
The author of the Book of Hebrews tells us why preaching is so important and that is because nothing is hidden from God. Everything is laid bare before His eyes and the Bible is the one thing that explains that to us. In other words, you do not understand the mind of God from watching television or going to the movies. You do not get it from picking up your iPhone, either. You get it from studying the Scriptures. You find it from learning what God has to say in His Word which is why it is important for us to hear it.
It has been said that “I have read a lot of books before but no book has ever read me like the Bible.” It seems to know things about our lives that nothing else does and that is because it is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” It can judge the intentions of our heart which means that it can judge our motivations. It understands us better than we understand ourselves so we need to pay attention to it.
Israel forgot this lesson and, as a result, they spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. The passage right before this tells us that they overlooked the Word of God after they left Egypt. Therefore, the Lord made an entire generation of them die before they could enter the Promise Land and the writer places this in here to remind us not to do the same. We need to take the Word of God seriously which is what we are going to talk about this week at Grace Fellowship Church.
I believe that the hardest thing for the church to do in this day and age is to listen. The most difficult task that we face is to pay attention to what the Bible says because we are so busy today. We have so many different things competing for our attention so this should be a very helpful passage for us to study. Please join us at 9:30 on Sunday morning as we do that and bring your Bibles as we will be studying them intently.
Jeremy Cagle
While the numbers vary, a recent study indicates that the average Christian adult in the United States currently spends about 50 hour per year listening to sermons while, at the same time, he spends more than 2,000 hours watching television. The average iPhone user will also spend 35 hours per week on their phone but just a few hours in church which explains why a lot of churches have made adjustments to their ministry because they have taken the pulpit off of the stage and replaced it with a music stand. They have asked the pastor to sit during the service instead of stand. Some churches do not even refer to the pastor’s message as a “sermon” anymore because they call it a “talk” which is unfortunate.
It should not be that way because the Bible places a high priority on the office of preaching. It does not want us to neglect it. Hebrews 4:12-13 says:
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
The author of the Book of Hebrews tells us why preaching is so important and that is because nothing is hidden from God. Everything is laid bare before His eyes and the Bible is the one thing that explains that to us. In other words, you do not understand the mind of God from watching television or going to the movies. You do not get it from picking up your iPhone, either. You get it from studying the Scriptures. You find it from learning what God has to say in His Word which is why it is important for us to hear it.
It has been said that “I have read a lot of books before but no book has ever read me like the Bible.” It seems to know things about our lives that nothing else does and that is because it is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” It can judge the intentions of our heart which means that it can judge our motivations. It understands us better than we understand ourselves so we need to pay attention to it.
Israel forgot this lesson and, as a result, they spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. The passage right before this tells us that they overlooked the Word of God after they left Egypt. Therefore, the Lord made an entire generation of them die before they could enter the Promise Land and the writer places this in here to remind us not to do the same. We need to take the Word of God seriously which is what we are going to talk about this week at Grace Fellowship Church.
I believe that the hardest thing for the church to do in this day and age is to listen. The most difficult task that we face is to pay attention to what the Bible says because we are so busy today. We have so many different things competing for our attention so this should be a very helpful passage for us to study. Please join us at 9:30 on Sunday morning as we do that and bring your Bibles as we will be studying them intently.
Jeremy Cagle
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