Only Preaching Scripture...
This weekend I'm going to do something I've never attempted before. I'm going to preach and only speak Scripture.
Let me explain.
As I was preparing to speak on Phil. 3:4-11, I was overwhelmed with Paul's passion--I would go so far as to say obsession--for Christ. In 21 years of ministry I have touched upon parts of this passage, but never felt the bravery to dive into the text and preach it. It's venerated in some way to me. It's so precious and special, that I feel like speaking on it might allow for the risk of diminishing it's value, lessening it's potency. I don't know if you've every felt that about anything, but I just feel nervous to treat this passage in a way that reduces its quality and the beauty of its content. I've always felt that if a pastor can't preach this passage of Scripture, they should just quit ministry, disqualifying themselves. (I know, brutal dogmatism.) Which is why I've probably shied away from it, for fear that I would have to resign if ever I would sully it with my insufficiency. I don't want to butcher this text. I love it too much.
But as I read it afresh this week...I felt so enlivened by Paul's Christology. His passion for the person of Christ throughout his writings is inescapable. It slaps you in the face on about every page of every one of his letters. Especially the prison epistles. So I had an idea.
What if I assembled all the passages from Paul's writings that exult Christ and commit them to memory? What if I internalize them as I memorize them, and then preach these passages one after another in rapid fire for about 30 minutes straight? That way I don't diminish Paul's Christ-crazed passion, I only pour more fuel on it by hitching it up to other passages where he is head-over-heals in love with the Lord and holds high the name and power and supremacy of Christ.
So that's what I'm going to attempt to do.
I've spent more time than usual memorizing and internalizing, ingesting and incarnating the text so that I can speak the very words of God and Paul as a mouthpiece of His Word. I'm uber-nervous, but super excited to share the Scriptures without gobs of commentary. I'm going to let it speak for itself and I'm praying that God's Spirit will use His Sword to pierce people's heart with the wonder of Jesus...the stellar supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. I want people to leave saying, "I don't love him as I should, I want to know him more, love him more, be more like him, worship him more." If that happens...I have done what I've been called to do.
So here goes nothing...
Let me explain.
As I was preparing to speak on Phil. 3:4-11, I was overwhelmed with Paul's passion--I would go so far as to say obsession--for Christ. In 21 years of ministry I have touched upon parts of this passage, but never felt the bravery to dive into the text and preach it. It's venerated in some way to me. It's so precious and special, that I feel like speaking on it might allow for the risk of diminishing it's value, lessening it's potency. I don't know if you've every felt that about anything, but I just feel nervous to treat this passage in a way that reduces its quality and the beauty of its content. I've always felt that if a pastor can't preach this passage of Scripture, they should just quit ministry, disqualifying themselves. (I know, brutal dogmatism.) Which is why I've probably shied away from it, for fear that I would have to resign if ever I would sully it with my insufficiency. I don't want to butcher this text. I love it too much.
But as I read it afresh this week...I felt so enlivened by Paul's Christology. His passion for the person of Christ throughout his writings is inescapable. It slaps you in the face on about every page of every one of his letters. Especially the prison epistles. So I had an idea.
What if I assembled all the passages from Paul's writings that exult Christ and commit them to memory? What if I internalize them as I memorize them, and then preach these passages one after another in rapid fire for about 30 minutes straight? That way I don't diminish Paul's Christ-crazed passion, I only pour more fuel on it by hitching it up to other passages where he is head-over-heals in love with the Lord and holds high the name and power and supremacy of Christ.
So that's what I'm going to attempt to do.
I've spent more time than usual memorizing and internalizing, ingesting and incarnating the text so that I can speak the very words of God and Paul as a mouthpiece of His Word. I'm uber-nervous, but super excited to share the Scriptures without gobs of commentary. I'm going to let it speak for itself and I'm praying that God's Spirit will use His Sword to pierce people's heart with the wonder of Jesus...the stellar supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. I want people to leave saying, "I don't love him as I should, I want to know him more, love him more, be more like him, worship him more." If that happens...I have done what I've been called to do.
So here goes nothing...
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