When Jesus finished preaching the sermon on the mount, the crowds were astonished at his teaching!  I’m sure one of the reasons for that was because when Jesus taught, he didn’t stay on the surface.  He spoke in simple ways, but spoke such profound truths.  His teaching went beyond behaviour to motives, past the outward  to the inward issues of the heart.  If we imagine being there, we can see why they were amazed!

After that sermon the reader moves into two chapters of Jesus’ miracles.  The crowds were amazed again, and I suspect that part of that related to how Jesus wasn’t superficial with people – it’s not his style, is it?  We see his heart in his actions as well as his preaching.

So what about when we preach?  Are we superficial?  Do we fail to probe the depths of the experience of contemporary experience of the pain of life?  Superficial allows more time for heady exegetical demonstrations.  Superficial allows more time for obscure learned illustrations.  Superficial allows me to avoid the discomfort of being real with the listeners.

But superficial preaching, just like superficial living, simply isn’t Christlike.