We had a great day at Providence Sunday.
Part of what we talked about was what it really means to be "deep" in the Christian faith.
When I first got in to ministry - I thought that in order to be "deep" I had to throw out Greek and Hebrew words when I preached and explain every technical nuance of the text. Part of me was preaching to impress people with my knowledge... people who weren't even there. (I spent a lot of time teaching 7th grade boys)
I read this quote from Martin Luther as I was reading Total Church today:
When I preach I don't look to the doctors and magistrates of whom there about forty in this church. I have an eye to the many young people, children and servants of whom there are more than two thousand. I preach to these, addressing myelf to their needs. If other people don't want to listen to this approach then they can always walk out! An upright, godly and true preacher should direct his preaching to the poor, simple sort of people... when preacher talk to me they can show off their learning ... but to sprinkle Hebrew, Greek and Latin in their public sermons, suggest they are merely showing off.
How did you do the last time God gave you the opportunity to talk about truth with someone? Did you try to win the argument? Impress them with your knowledge? Or did you try to please God by connecting with them in a way that was easy to understand?
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