Every sermon should have the gospel at its core and an invitational edge. This is not to say that every sermon should aim at not-yet-believers. Most sermons will be heard by people who already have some knowledge of Jesus. But every sermon needs a spirit that invites people to follow Jesus.
How could George Buttrick have known one Advent Sunday morning at Madison Avenue Presbyterian in New York that a struggling young novelist would be present, or that a single question ("Are you going home for Christmas?") would be the spiritual pivot point for Frederick Buechner?
More recently, Efrem Smith, who pastors Sanctuary Covenant, a three-year-old church aiming to be a multi-ethnic, holistic, and Christ-centered community serving urban North Minneapolis, captured the core and the edge of gospel preaching.
One Sunday he preached that the gospel speaks to our lives now as well as our eternal lives: "How many kids have to die, while we go home still talking about churchy stuff? How many homicides have to happen before we stop playing church and become the kingdom of God in the streets? Kids are dying, and we are in church."
As he invites people to be prayed for, many come forward, for healing, for a reconciled relationship with God, for passion and purpose in their life.
The gospel is the core, with an invitational edge.
So we preach the gospel never knowing what listeners have been drawn by the Holy Spirit. We also preach knowing that those who are already Christ-followers need to be constantly re-evangelized, reminded that our faith journeys continue as they began, by grace. And that the way we preach in the pulpit may be a model for disciples to know how to talk about their faith in the marketplace.
In addition, our own souls need it!
"Woe is me," said Paul, "if I do not preach the gospel." I could not count the number of times my own wayward soul has been called back to the Christ who is alive and well … through my own preaching!
As we preach, here are four challenges:
How do we make the gospel clear and fresh?
How do we make the promise of the gospel visible?
How do we present the gospel as winsome and strong?
How do we present the gospel as urgent and compelling?
In part two, Ford will tackle the first question listed above: How do we make the gospel clear and fresh? This article is condensed from Leadership journal. For more articles like this one, visit Leadershipjournal.net.
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Posted by Brian Lowery at 3:43 PM on July 8, 2008
