Continuing my series of posts, appreciating Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching, here are two quotes from p.64 on why we need preaching:

Every Scripture calls us today in some manner to repent and believe afresh, for the Christian just as much as the non-Christian.

If teaching is like a signpost which explains clearly to us where we ought to go and how to go there, preaching is like a friendly but firm shove from behind to get us started on actually going there and to keep us moving.

I coupled these together so that the push mentioned in the bottom quote would have a context. But, what a picture this is and what grace from God to give us preaching for such a reason. I hope you are encouraged as you consider listening to God’s Word this coming Lord’s Day.

As I’ve mentioned Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching really affected me, so I am blogging some thoughts/quotes that stuck out to me. Another one is found on p.61:

We need repeated preaching, because by nature we will never repent and believe. We will ‘move on’ from the simple gospel of daily repentance, daily taking up the cross, daily faith, to a supposed higher life, a more sophisticated life, some kind of super-spiritual life in which repentance and faith are too ordinary and simple to be practiced. This is what will happen unless we sit under faithful preaching.

What really stuck out to me in this was how I need preaching. We don’t tend to think in those ways. Many of us think that our Bible reading is sufficient and what Ash is communicating here is that while that is good, the preached word wields a power that the Spirit uses to keep us centered in the things that really matter. I know I need this. I need sermons I am preparing to affect my heart so that I don’t keep up the same. We need preaching. It matters for our “todays”.

Continuing my series of posts on Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching, we come to a quote on p.57…

This has implications for the size of churches. It places a question mark over the ambition of church leaders to see their churches grow and grow, and suggests that planting new churches or reinvigorating smaller existing churches may reap relational dividends in terms of how well those with pastoral oversight can know their people.

This quote comes in a section where pastors are encouraged to be with a specific people week by week, spending time with people. Ash’s point is not against church growth, but on a deeper level, calling readers to realize that by knowing our people and their knowledge of us, we can preach in ways that engage our people better.

This is yet another reason why I believe pastors should be moving all the time, seeking to pad their resumes or getting more money at a bigger church. Check your motives. God may call us to faithfully give His Word to a group of people for good reasons. We should do this with joy, honoring our Master. Be faithful to this calling.

I mentioned in a previous post how much I’ve enjoyed Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching and promised to post some thoughts on Chapter 2. Here’s the second installment.

On p.55, Ash writes:

The more deeply converted I am, the more appetite I will have to sit under the preached word, and the less concerned I will be to have the opportunity to participate in a dialogue, to get my word in edgeways, to make my views known and get myself heard.

If what we believe about God’s Word is true, then He is the most important speaker. He is the One we would do well to listen to. Remember the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter, James and John were talking about tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. The voice came from heaven: “This is My Beloved Son; Listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7) I know I am guilty of wanting to give my opinion to hastily on many issues. Our concern should be to hear what God has to say.

That’s why this quote from Ash stuck out to me. As I grow in grace, what should characterize me more and more is the desire to listen to Him, not my opines. Come this Lord’s Day to your local church eager to hear God speak.

You might remember that at T4G, we were given quite a stack of books.

Over last weekend, I was able to finish…
God the Peacemaker – Cole (an excellent book on the atonement I was reading when I attended T4G)
What is the Gospel? – Gilbert (Gospel 101 so to speak)
Fear Not! – Duncan (an overview and sound theology of death and afterlife)
What Does God Want of Us Anyway? – Dever (short summary of the storyline of the Bible)
Sticky Teams – Osborne (another good book I brought with me to T4G with practical tips on keeping your leadership team cohesive)

After getting through all of these, I dove into Christopher Ash’s book The Priority of Preaching. Ash trains preachers and this book is a helpful reminder for keeping the Word of God, specifically preaching, at the center of the church’s life.

For a few posts, then, I am going to interact with chapter 2 – “Preaching That Transforms The Church” because in this one chapter I found much that will help me prepare sermons for listeners. Chapter 1 was helpful is showing why preaching must be the core. Chapter 2 gets us into how this preaching can be effective.

So, with all of that intro, here’s the first quote that struck me, from the section entitled “The Stubbornness of People”:

And so I find myself slipping into what has been called the Socratic fallacy, that if I persuade them with rational argument (like Socrates), if I get my arguments clear and educate them, then education will change them. If I teach them the Bible, they’ll get it. I ought to know better, because I know my own heart. (p.52)

What I found so helpful about this is how he went on to talk about Moses (this chapter’s a sermon from Deuteronomy) and how he knew the people. He anticipated their reactions (their unbelieving fears, their pride, and their stubborn guilt). I find that often I am guilty of thinking that if I can get correct information out there that will change them. While it is important the we preach the text accurately, we must lay the ax at the root of the tree and not address surface things. We must go after the heart. The quote stood out to me because my heart is the same way. It takes more than education alone for heart change. It takes God’s Spirit causing my heart to awaken.

What I take away from this is that “preaching is more than merely educating and engaging the mind.” Preaching is holding out the word accurately so that the Spirit can take the truth and wield it for life-change in the heart of another.