Phillip Jensen exhorts preachers and congregations to commit to drawing closer together through the life-changing activity of the ministry of the Word in corporate gathering.
…preaching has other functions in church life. It engages and unites the congregation in our common discipleship. As we sit week by week together under the word of God we are being united in following Christ. The preacher trains the congregation not only in what to expect of the sermon, but also in the pattern of Christian thinking and respect for God’s word. The preacher pastors the congregation; just as the pastor pastors the congregation by preaching. When people talk of a minister as a good preacher but a poor pastor, or as a poor preacher but a good pastor, they are really contrasting his public speaking with his private counselling. For nobody can preach well without pastoring the sheep as nobody can pastor well without preaching to the flock.
So this year let’s seek to improve our church’s preaching by praying for our preachers, preparing ahead by reading our Bibles, learning the Scriptures in small groups, discussing the sermons after church. And as preachers let us not only prepare to teach the Bible but prepare to teach people the Bible, even engaging the congregations in questions and answers. For what greater treasures are there than God’s word and God’s people?
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