We need to preach to the people in our pews. Those are the people we have been called to reach. Those are the people we might actually change with the power of the Holy Spirit. Of course, it is scary to preach to those people. They pay your paycheck. But, the people in the pews are the people you have been called to serve. And, serving them as God’s man in the pulpit means preaching the whole truth of God’s word–especially the parts of it that are hardest to hear.
Is A the most famous chord on the guitar? Probably not. I doubt there is a “most famous chord,” and yet, in the hands of one man in a particular setting, nothing can bring a crowd to life like an A chord. I’m learning the guitar, so when I play an A chord, it is not very enjoyable and doesn’t evoke excitement in anyone. However, in a packed stadium when Garth Brooks strums an A chord, people lose their minds. When Garth fans hear Garth Brooks pick and A chord, they know that he is about to sing Friends in Low Places.
But, that same A chord anywhere else might not have the same effect. Garth plays to his audience. He knows what they want to hear, and he gives it to them.
Pastors, when we aren’t careful, we do the same thing. We know what our people want to hear, so we tickle their itching ears with sermons that appeal to their comfort. We preach sermons about the sins out there, we rant and rave about society or the news media or politicians who are leading us further into moral demise. Our people love to hear those sermons. But there is one glaring problem when we preach to people outside of our church.
The people who need to hear the sermon are not there.
Our churches are filled with people who like to hear their pastor go on and on about the sins of others, but the sermons pastors need to preach are aimed at sin that lives within their own congregations.
We need to preach to the people in our pews. Those are the people we have been called to reach. Those are the people we might actually change with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Of course, it is scary to preach to those people. They pay your paycheck. But, the people in the pews are the people you have been called to serve. And, serving them as God’s man in the pulpit means preaching the whole truth of God’s word–especially the parts of it that are hardest to hear.
It is easy to preach about the Democrats or the Republicans and all of their evil. It is much harder to look into a mirror and preach about the sin in our own lives and in our own ranks.
It is easy to stand on the front steps of your church and throw rocks at the sinners “out there.” It is much harder to deal with the sin inside the church and to love those “out there” who might sin differently than you do.
