The Romance of Preaching

As I had mentioned in my last post I have been reading Preaching & Preachers by Martyn Lloyd Jones and it has been extremely beneficial to me. It seems to me that I have very few conversations with individuals where there is an almost unhindered joy as they speak of preaching that is affecting their lives. Again and again I will hear people recount their love for worship within their church context, or how they love the expression of Spiritual Gifts, but alas, very few times do I have conversations like this regarding preaching. I find this a great tragedy. I think there are multiple doors at which to lay the blame, but it is very sad.

Lloyd Jones would echo my sentiments exactly, I think he would be heartbroken at this age of 'preaching' within churches. Why am I so certain of that? Well listen to these words that expose his thoughts regarding preaching and the wonder of it

"Let us hurry on to something much more important - the romance of preaching! There is nothing like it. It is the greatest work in the world, the most thrilling, the most exciting, the most rewarding, and the most wonderful. I know nothing comparable to the feeling one has as one walks up the steps [now the pulpit certainly is not 'up' any stairs] of one's pulpit with a fresh sermon on a Sunday morning or a Sunday evening, especially when you feel that you have a message from God and are longing to give it to the people."

His words betray his idea of the importance and prominence of preaching I think. Maybe he was just a product of his time and church has moved on? I do not think so at all.

Preachers, is that the way you feel about preaching. Is it something of such significance to you that you labour in prayer and preparation to present the greatest 'fresh' words for the joy of your peoples and the glory of God? Or is it just the dull part of the meeting after the worship, which gets a minor percentage of the time in your gathering time?

Lord restore preaching that transforms lives and explodes the minds and affections of hearers with the glorious truths of the word of God!

Simon

KISS & Preach

The family and I had the joy of traveling to the Isle of Wight for 6 days last week. We were blessed with the use of a Caravan belonging to a couple in the church. Oh, and when I say caravan, I mean something far more than the petty vehicles abused by Jeremy Clarkson and the boys on Top Gear. This was a fixed, three bedroom beast and it was very comfortable and accommodating.

Anyway, one of the essential elements of being away for me was to just be still and allow God to speak to me. I felt I needed it more at this time than I have on previous occasions as I think leading a work is more demanding than other roles I have had, so it leaves you a little emptied after 5 1/2 months. Time spent reading Martin Lloyd Jones on Preaching and Preachers, combined with good times in the two letters to Timothy in the NT drove home two vital things to me.

Firstly, preaching is unbelievably important and if one has the gift to use it to lead and feed Christ's people. I think I had begun to doubt the role of preaching in some very small manner. Maybe doubting my own gift and listening to too many voices instead of seeking to honor God by being His messenger of His truth to His people with His power and His anointing. I must invest in this more and not feel I am failing the people of God while I am investing in greater capacity and devotion in this area.

Secondly, K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid. There are an infinite number of things that grab your attention and sap your energies as you lead a changing work. There are also a huge number of voices and opinions trying to inform you how to spend your time and what should be done. I felt the Lord just remind me to seek Him, to pursue my intimate relationship with Him and to listen to His voice. Also to flourish within my gifting and style and not to impersonate or deviate.

Make sure you give time to the voice of God, He does speak.

Simon

For those who haven't seen her yet!

The wife is off running, yeah I do feel guilty but keep it down would you, Malachi is swimming with his uncle so I decided to bring the new LJ down to the office to watch me as I work. I am preparing a document for those who are being Baptized at X1 to read through and to discuss in a group tonight- so excited about that.

But I know a ton of you good friends out there are moaning at me for not getting a picture of Madison Shae out there for you to see, so here is a humble attempt. Excuse the old bloke.

SImon

The Glory of Christ

John Owen was one of the most incisive writers of his generation. His generation was that of the Puritans so that is saying a lot. I love returning to his words when I am needing to be pushed deeper in my understanding of Christ and I did so today as part of some preparation. Here is some words he has to say regarding The Glory of Christ

"In Christ we behold the wisdom, goodness, love, grace, mercy and power of God all working together for the great work of our redemption and salvation. The wisdom and love of God are in themselves infinitely glorious. But we cannot see how glorious they are except in the redemptions and salvation of the church which is achieved only in and by Christ. Then the beams of their glory shine on us with unspeakable comfort and joy...
...We believe in God only in and through Christ. This is the life of our souls. God Himself, whose nature is infinitely perfect, is the highest object of our faith. But we cannot come directly to God by faith. We must come by the way and by the helps he has appointed for us. This is the way by which he has revealed His infinite perfections to us, which is Jesus Christ who said, 'I am the way... No one comes to the Father except through me.' By our faith in Christ we come to put our faith in God Himself. And we cannot do this in any other way but by beholding the glory of God in Christ..."

Deep stuff hey.

Simon

Thinking His Thoughts, Seeing His Way

It is still very early days as a pastor here in Watford; seems I have had to learn so much in such a short space of time. One pivotal area of learning is that of Pastoral Counseling. Many, many people are overwhelmed with problems no matter into which Pastoral context God places you, so it is good to seek His wisdom and insight as to how to best go about this. I have been led to a book (mentioned by several individuals actually) and early on am struck by what the author (David Powlinson) has to say regarding how knowing God changes your awareness and understanding of Humanity, allowing you to search far deeper than others who 'lock' His views regarding human nature out of their process.(Both the nature of others and your own)

Here are some brilliant words from the opening pages:

"To think Christianly is 'to think God's thoughts after him.' Of course, our thinking is both finite and distorted. We never see it all; and we often misconstrue what we do see. We see in a glass darkly, skewed reflections in a battered bronze mirror - but we do see. God, who sees all things directly in full daylight, enlightens the eyes of our hearts. We see surfaces, catching glimpses of interiors; God sees into the inky or radiant depth of every heart, all the way down to the fundamental hate or fundamental love. Our glasses are sometimes rosy, sometimes jaundiced, sometimes bluesy, sometimes mirrored on the inside of the lens (so that all we can see are the turbulent contents of our own interiors). The madness of our hearts generates warped spectra. But God sees all things in bright, clear light - and this God is the straightener of crooked thoughts."

Seek His thoughts...

Simon