In an article on preaching, William Willimon writes, "Sometimes in leaning over to speak to the modern world, I fear that we may have fallen in!" (http://willimon.blogspot.com/2007/11/on-not-reaching-our-culture-through-our.html). The article is worth a quick read.
North American culture has completely infiltrated the church. We live in the reality that loyalty is almost non-existent. We've glorified consumerism--getting the best bang for the smallest buck.
How do we counter the culture we're in? We simply do what Christ calls every believer to do. We tell them about the God who is not for sale, who is worth more than all the universe but who can be found like a treasure in a field, or pearl of great price. The cost: everything we own.
Most people, myself included, are not willing to pay up. We want God on our terms in the ways we like. But God will not put up with mediocre worship forever. He will transform our hearts and our minds.
I’m keeping the second service. It is a second opportunity for me to grow in my knowledge of God, and the Holy Spirit communicates that knowledge to those in the pews. As Paul instructed Timothy, preach the Word, in season and out of season, even when people find others to fill their itchy ears with what they want to hear.
Nick, in short, no, the proclamation of God's word must happen all the time, everywhere. A worship service ought to contain the pure preaching of the Word, where God's people are equipped with the true teaching/expository preaching of God's Word so that they can share it with others. Sometimes what people want from a sermon is a x-step method to better finances, better relationships, better whatever. What God's Word does is transform hearts, so that everyone can be better ambassadors, better at doing the great commission.
Certainly, we need to model grace, mercy and love in our community. However, we are not books that can be read. Though people ought to be able to see Christ in us, unless we explain with words, they will not understand. Unless we explain how Christ has transformed us, unless we explain who Christ is, we will look no different from loving, accepting, merciful and gracious Muslims, Buddhists, Mormons etc. What makes us different from other faithful followers of other religions? The God we worship--the Trinity, revealed in the Word.
Respectfully, we aren't seeking to be counter-cultural; we're seeking to equip the saints. If the old adage is true, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink", then we can offer all kinds of training and equipping, but it won't guarantee people will come. We've even offered courses and seminars because that's what people said they wanted, but so few come. Ironically, the ones who come to the special events also come to the second service.
Perhaps we simply need to remind people that we're in a war. This is not peacetime. We are not living for ourselves, we're living for Christ, and that requires sacrifices.
Just a side note, I was listening to a lecture and the speaker made the following comment. "Search for the word love in the book of Acts. In all the sermons that are recorded in that book, the love of God is not mentioned once!"
I wasn't very clear in my previous post. God's love for us is often what gets preached in evangelistic sermons today. It is interesting then that of all the evangelistic sermons recorded in Acts, not a single one mentions God's love for us. Maybe people don't need to hear about God's love so much as they need to hear about God's holiness and humanity's sinfulness and dire need of a Saviour. Greg Koukl (www.str.org) puts it this way. People need the truth. Society says religion is like ice cream, just pick your favourite. Christianity is not like ice cream, it is like insulin and all humanity are diabetics. Without Christ, we die.
Posted in: Let's Keep Thinking about the "Second Service"
In an article on preaching, William Willimon writes, "Sometimes in leaning over to speak to the modern world, I fear that we may have fallen in!" (http://willimon.blogspot.com/2007/11/on-not-reaching-our-culture-through-our.html). The article is worth a quick read.
North American culture has completely infiltrated the church. We live in the reality that loyalty is almost non-existent. We've glorified consumerism--getting the best bang for the smallest buck.
How do we counter the culture we're in? We simply do what Christ calls every believer to do. We tell them about the God who is not for sale, who is worth more than all the universe but who can be found like a treasure in a field, or pearl of great price. The cost: everything we own.
Most people, myself included, are not willing to pay up. We want God on our terms in the ways we like. But God will not put up with mediocre worship forever. He will transform our hearts and our minds.
I’m keeping the second service. It is a second opportunity for me to grow in my knowledge of God, and the Holy Spirit communicates that knowledge to those in the pews. As Paul instructed Timothy, preach the Word, in season and out of season, even when people find others to fill their itchy ears with what they want to hear.
Posted in: Let's Keep Thinking about the "Second Service"
Nick, in short, no, the proclamation of God's word must happen all the time, everywhere. A worship service ought to contain the pure preaching of the Word, where God's people are equipped with the true teaching/expository preaching of God's Word so that they can share it with others. Sometimes what people want from a sermon is a x-step method to better finances, better relationships, better whatever. What God's Word does is transform hearts, so that everyone can be better ambassadors, better at doing the great commission.
Certainly, we need to model grace, mercy and love in our community. However, we are not books that can be read. Though people ought to be able to see Christ in us, unless we explain with words, they will not understand. Unless we explain how Christ has transformed us, unless we explain who Christ is, we will look no different from loving, accepting, merciful and gracious Muslims, Buddhists, Mormons etc. What makes us different from other faithful followers of other religions? The God we worship--the Trinity, revealed in the Word.
Respectfully, we aren't seeking to be counter-cultural; we're seeking to equip the saints. If the old adage is true, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink", then we can offer all kinds of training and equipping, but it won't guarantee people will come. We've even offered courses and seminars because that's what people said they wanted, but so few come. Ironically, the ones who come to the special events also come to the second service.
Perhaps we simply need to remind people that we're in a war. This is not peacetime. We are not living for ourselves, we're living for Christ, and that requires sacrifices.
Just a side note, I was listening to a lecture and the speaker made the following comment. "Search for the word love in the book of Acts. In all the sermons that are recorded in that book, the love of God is not mentioned once!"
Posted in: Let's Keep Thinking about the "Second Service"
Hi Ken,
I wasn't very clear in my previous post. God's love for us is often what gets preached in evangelistic sermons today. It is interesting then that of all the evangelistic sermons recorded in Acts, not a single one mentions God's love for us. Maybe people don't need to hear about God's love so much as they need to hear about God's holiness and humanity's sinfulness and dire need of a Saviour. Greg Koukl (www.str.org) puts it this way. People need the truth. Society says religion is like ice cream, just pick your favourite. Christianity is not like ice cream, it is like insulin and all humanity are diabetics. Without Christ, we die.
Paul