Preacher’s Personal Life

When You Cannot Keep Going, Can You Go Again?

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Speaking truth in a world of lies is not easy.  Serving God in a world that hates Him is not comfortable.  Standing for what is right in a world hell-bent on evil is anything but pleasant.  We all know this.  We all feel it.  And there are times when we feel it more vividly. 

What causes discouragement?  Of course, there is the insidious work of the enemy to tear down our resolve and distract our hearts.  Then there are the people who stand opposed, with their ideologies, threats, and apparent power to harm.  But perhaps the greatest discouragement comes from those who should know better.  As the years pass, I see time and again the difficulty posed by other Christians and their reasons why we shouldn’t speak truth, serve God, and stand for what is right quite so boldly. 

I have been encouraged by reading through Jeremiah again in recent days.  God called him to speak God’s message to God’s people.  What could be difficult about that?  In Jeremiah 11:18-23, we see the men of his own hometown conspiring to kill him because he spoke for God.  In Jeremiah 26, he speaks God’s message in the temple courts.  Surely there, the people of God would be responsive to the truth?  No, the prophets, the priests and all the people wanted to kill Jeremiah.  Is it possible to imagine a time when speaking the truth brings condemnation and calls for elimination and death?

In Jeremiah 37-38, we see the prophet being lied about, beaten, imprisoned, and thrown into a cistern to die.  And yet, Jeremiah continued to speak truth, to serve God, to stand for what was right.  Yes, his message was controversial; it was unpopular, as it went against the prevailing narrative, and he knew the consequences of continuing to speak.  And still, he continued to talk about truth, to serve God, and to stand for what was right.

The passage that grips my heart and lifts me to speak again is Jeremiah 20.  In this passage, it was also a priest who opposed Jeremiah.  Pashhur the priest beat the prophet and humiliated him at the gate.  And yet, Jeremiah continued to speak the truth, for God, boldly.  From verse 7, we get a glimpse into the suffering heart of the weeping prophet.  It was not easy to speak God’s truth and to stand for what is right.  We read his cry to God as he is humiliated.  We read his despair as the words he speaks don’t land in the hearts of his listeners, but seem only to rain down blows on his own soul.  Jeremiah seems worn down, his reserves gone, his motivation in tatters.  Later in the lament, he is cursing the day he was born, even the man who came out and announced the news of his birth to his father.  Sometimes the despair can be so vivid that you despise the fact that you were even born at all.  And yet . . .

And yet, there is verse 9.  If it is so hard to speak the truth and stand for what is right, serving God amidst the hostility of the enemy, and even of God’s own people, then maybe it is not worth it?  Perhaps lying spent on the ground, his fuel tank emptied, his inner drive stalling, his motivation poured out in his tears, maybe he should stop speaking?  And yet . . . “there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot.” 

The tears soak the ground.  Tears of grief, of anger, of hurt.  Tears not just at the evil of the enemy, but at the blindness and unwillingness to see among those who are supposedly on the same side.  Tears of loss, tears filled with fear for the future, anger at injustice, weariness from the fight.  The tears may soak the ground, and our energy may be all spent.  And yet, is there not a burning fire still burning in our hearts and shut up in our bones?  We cannot hold it in.

And so, like the weeping prophet of old, we rise to our knees, prayerfully resolute.  We stand again.  We take a breath.  And we speak.  We speak the truth, we serve God, we stand for what is right.  Will those who should be with us change course and start to agree?  Maybe.  They can be won, one heart at a time.  But perhaps they will continue to whisper and plot against us.  Is it worth it?  Can we, like Jeremiah, go again?  We can if we remember who is with us.  “The LORD is with me as a dread warrior.”  (Jeremiah 20:11)

Are you wearied from the battle?  That may be because of opposition from our spiritual enemy, or human forces arrayed against God’s truth, or even from “friendly fire” that sucks the motivation from you.   Pour out all the angst that is built up inside.  Pour it out until there is nothing left.  And then ask yourself, is the fire still burning in my heart and shut up in my bones?  “Alright then, Lord, if you will go with me, I will climb back onto my feet and go again.  I will speak the truth.  I will serve my God.  I will stand for what is right.  The LORD is with me as a dread warrior.”

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Confidence for the Storms (Psalm 27)

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

During a storm in life, people often look back to the calm moments before everything turned chaotic.  It is strange to look back on a moment of tranquility when you had no idea what was about to take place.  Psalm 27 reflects that experience.  In the first half of the Psalm, David appears to be filled with faith and peace.  Then, in the second half, there is more than a hint of fear in his words.  Where other psalms begin with fear and end with faith, this psalm seems to reverse that pattern.

However, it may be helpful to see the psalm differently, not as part 1 followed by part 2, but as an outer layer and an inner layer.  In the outer layer, David seems gripped by the reality of God’s greatness.  He knows that God is greater than any enemy.  He has seen it in the past, and he has confidence for the future.  “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (v 1)

He begins the psalm stating that God is the refuge of his heart (translated “life”), and his heart will not fear, even in the face of enemies, armies, and wars!  (Psalm 27:1-3)  Then at the conclusion of the psalm, he declares confidence in his future experience of the goodness of God and calls on others to strengthen their hearts by waiting for the LORD.  (Psalm 27:13-14)

We live in tumultuous times.  Whether we are in an active war zone or not, it seems that most of us are living in countries where tensions are running high.  How can we have confidence in the Lord, strengthening our hearts as we wait for Him?  Perhaps it is not enough to know that our God is bigger than our enemies, although that is undoubtedly true. Perhaps we should examine what happens in the inner layer of this psalm.

In verse 4, David describes his devotional determination to dwell in the house of the LORD and gaze upon the beauty of the LORD.  It is in the security of God’s presence that he can get to know God for who He is.  To be close to God is to be hidden in God’s shelter, concealed in His tent, lifted on a rock.  The word translated as “shelter” carries the sense of a lion’s lair.  Is there anywhere safer, presuming the Lion is good and is for you?

The secret to confidence in God is to meet God in the secret place.  To gaze upon Him.  To know Him.  Jonathan Edwards wrote of Christ that He “has infinite loveliness to win and draw our love.”  He went on to say that the angels in heaven, who can look on His face all the time, have never run out of reason to praise Him, even to this day.  How lovely He must be!  And so it is that we too can draw near to God in the person of Christ, and day after day, gaze upon the face of our God. 

In fact, in troubled and tumultuous times, our people need us to do just that.  If we are going to lead our families, our ministries, our churches, then we need to be spending time hiding in God’s presence, gazing on and getting to know the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Not only does David declare that he will seek God’s face, but God invites him to do so.  It is a bit like playing hide and seek with a small child.  Hide and seek is a classic children’s game.  One person counts to 100, while the other players hide.  Then the seeker goes hunting for the hidden.  It can be frustrating if the players are too creative.  But when you play the game with a toddler, it can be so much fun.  They want to be found!  All you need to do is say out loud what you are thinking, “I am thinking she might be behind the armchair?”  And a little voice will giggle behind the curtain.  “Is she behind the television?”  And a little voice will say, “No!”  It is all about the moment of discovery, the unbridled joy when two faces meet.

“Seek my face,” God says.  And as leaders of God’s people, may the cry of our hearts be, “Your face, O LORD, do I seek.”  We need to gaze on the beauty of His character to have confidence in His strength.  The greatest one is for us, so let’s not hold back.  Draw near, gaze, and grow in confidence.  Fearful times will come, but faith-filled leaders will emerge from God’s presence confident and ready.

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Mentored by the Text

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

I recently had the privilege of speaking at the Josiah Venture Spring Conference.  What a joy to spend those days with great people in a beautiful place, enjoying an excellent Bible book!  In light of that time, I have been pondering the idea of being mentored by the biblical text.

To begin the series of messages, I suggested that if we could time travel, we would be changed by spending half an hour watching Jesus, Moses, Daniel, Paul, or whoever.  If we could just be there and see them in action, we would be mentored by the experience.  But we have the Bible!  So why not allow the experience of the text to mentor us?  Time spent watching Jesus (in this case) should surely mark our lives in significant ways.

Here are some thoughts on “Preaching as Biblical Mentoring” –

1. The move from then to now is essential, but the move from text to sermon can be overdone.  I have seen sermons so crafted that listeners may marvel at the sermon construction but lose the passage.  Maybe our sermonic work of art is not as valuable as the inspired text.  After all, whatever we can do with the text is not as good as what God did when He inspired the text.  So perhaps we need to consider how to let the passage drive the message more in our preaching. 

2. Overly crafted wording can hide rather than reveal the inspired text.  In the detail of the sermon, do we demonstrate our linguistic skill rather than elevating the text itself?  Our wordcraft may impress listeners, but is our goal to impress them?  Surely our pastoral goal should be for them to encounter God Himself in His word?  Let us make it our goal to communicate rather than to exhibit our craftsmanship.

3. The shape of an overly crafted sermon can hide rather than reveal the shape of the text.  I remember one moment as a student in a class.  I was the member of our group who went up to write our outline on the whiteboard.  “That is incorrect,” the teacher declared, “you have to make all the points parallel.”  I was taken aback and responded, “But, isn’t that the shape of the passage?”  The teacher looked at the Bible.  “Yes, it is the shape of the passage, but your outline has to follow the rules of rhetoric, so it is wrong.”  I politely pointed out that Haddon Robinson (who was in charge of the preaching department at that seminary for many years) had taught us to reflect the shape of the text in our sermons.  It became clear that there was a point of difference between these two excellent teachers.  I’m with Haddon.  Let’s aim for sermons that reflect the shape of the text rather than squeezing the text to fit our rhetorical expectations and standard sermon shapes.

4. Overly crafted rhetoric can hide rather than reveal the experience of the text.  As we preach, we should communicate clearly, with good organisation and a thought-through structure.  But sometimes, our sermons can hide the text and keep listeners from experiencing the tensions and contours of a passage.  So let’s use whatever skill we can, but remember that our goal is not to present the work of art that is our sermon.  No, our goal is to bring our listeners into a rich experience of the passage and, in doing so, to encounter God as He reveals Himself there.

5. We should preach so listeners can “see” the movie projected in their hearts.  I find it helpful to imagine every listener with a movie screen in their hearts.  If I prayerfully and carefully present the message to them, a movie should form on that screen.  It is easy to offer theological insights and speak theoretical truths.  But those screens will remain blank.  However, suppose I can effectively describe what is on the page.  In that case, my prayer is that they will not only understand it but also experience it.  And when they experience it, it will change their lives.  It can be like being mentored through the text by God revealing Himself in that passage.

I am sure there are more angles to consider on this subject.  Perhaps too much of our ministry uses the Bible, begins with the Bible, or connects to the Bible, but what people really need is to experience what God has given us in the Bible.  Supremely, the Bible reveals Him.  Let’s prayerfully shape our ministries so that people can encounter Him and not simply learn theological truth at arm’s length.

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Please check out The Biblical Preaching Podcast, on YouTube (click image below), or on any podcasting platform (Spotify, Apple, etc.)

Biblical Ministry?

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Most people in Christian ministry would like to think they have a biblical ministry.  But what does that mean?  Is it simply an evaluation of whether what they do is in the Bible?  Or maybe better, an assessment of whether their values and methodology reflect biblical qualities?  This would be a good question to ponder prayerfully.

Let’s take a few minutes and consider what role the Bible plays in your ministry.  I will start with some troubling ones I have observed, then move on to better options.  I have seen all of the troubling Bible roles over the years.  Perhaps one or two have crept into my ministry at times.  How about you?

5 Troubling Bible Roles:

1. Token Requirement – This is where a Christian ministry uses the Bible here and there because it is expected or required.  The driving energy for the ministry comes from the individual’s drive, the rhythm of habit and tradition, or the necessity of keeping their position.  But the Bible seems inert, a lifeless requirement quoted here and there to endorse what is happening in the ministry.

2. Quotes and Springboards – This is a slightly more specific version of number 1.  This is where the Bible gets used to either endorse the message or to launch the message.  Please understand me: the Bible is capable of both roles.  However, in this case, it feels more used than living.  The person makes their point, then adds a proof-text.  Or the preacher reads a bit of the Bible, then launches away from it to preach what is essentially their own set of thoughts (often leaving the Bible far behind in the process).

3. Magic Charm – This is where the Bible is used superstitiously to “guarantee” the effectiveness of the ministry.  The people of Judah treated the temple as a guarantee in the days of Jeremiah, but they didn’t know what God was doing in their day.  So, Christian ministries can hold up the Bible or quote a verse, thereby guaranteeing that their ministry should be successful.  Again, the Bible seems to be used rather than alive.

4. Blunt Weapon – This is where the Bible gets used without precision.  Instead of being the sharp scalpel wielded by a careful and kind surgeon, biblical words get plucked out of context and used for delivering blows to the poor recipients.  Without God’s grace, character or plan, and tangible reliance on the Holy Spirit’s work in the heart, the Bible gets used to beat people into behavioural submission.

5. Self-Support – Maybe you have come across this one too?  It is where the person doing the ministry uses the Bible to affirm their personal limitations and quirks.  Instead of being humble, teachable, and open to help, the minister quotes the Bible to self-affirm, self-support, and defend from criticism or concern. 

5 Better Bible Roles:

A. A Rule Book (An Instruction Manual) – I will start here because this could easily slip into the troubling list above.  It is good to recognise the authority the Bible has in life, ministry, etc.  We should be looking to see what God’s Word has to say about each issue we face and each difficulty we navigate.  At the same time, I hope you can also feel the awkwardness that can come when the Bible is seen as just a rule book, an instruction manual, or a guide for life.  It can so easily lose its vitality and begin to feel lifeless – one common factor in the list of troubling Bible roles.  So yes, the Bible does have authority, and we should submit to what it says, but let’s not be satisfied with that.  Let’s go on to the rest of this list!

B. An Inspiring Book – Again, this could be an inadequate label.  Sometimes, a work of art can inspire those beholding it, but the Bible is much more than a well-written collection of books.  It is inspired by God, meaning it uniquely comes from God, breathed out by him.  The writers were not just inspired by something divine, pulling out a pen to try to capture their feelings at that moment.  They wrote Scripture, carried along by the Holy Spirit, giving us the unique Word of God.  And if anything that has ever been written should stir our hearts and change our lives, it is God’s inspired and uniquely inspiring Word.

C. An Equipping Book – Whatever your ministry may be, the Bible has been given to you so that you may be “thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim.3:17)  Whatever your ministry may be, if it is biblical, there will be an element of helping equip others for life and ministry.  When the Bible is active in a ministry, both the one doing the ministry and the recipients of that ministry will be fashioned and formed for ministry in some way by the life-changing Word of God.

D. A Life-Giving Book – Because the Word of God is alive, it is also life-giving.  An encounter with biblical ministry can draw a dead heart to Christ, it can call back a drifting believer, it can motivate greater godliness, inspire Christlike sacrifice, launch cross-cultural missionaries, lift drooping hands, strengthen weak knees, and comfort the grieving believer.  When people encountered the Word of God incarnate (Jesus), their lives were changed.  In the Gospels, many people meet Jesus and leave more alive than when they came.  The same can and should be true of biblical ministry.  After all, the Word of God inspired (i.e. the Bible), is a life-giving book.  Biblical ministry should result in many leaving more alive than when they came.

E. A Him Book – Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders for thinking they were so Scripture-saturated that they knew God and had life.  His rebuke?  They thought they would find life in diligent Scriptural study, but the Scriptures were “about me” (see John 5:37-40).  Above all else, the Bible’s role in life and ministry is to reveal God to us, ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ.  While we may treat the Bible as a me-book (what I need to learn for my life), actually, it is a Him book (whom I need to meet to know life).  As someone involved in ministry, I need to come to the Bible and look for Him. 

My God, I need you.  More than I need anything else, I need you.  As I open your Word on my own, show me your heart, your character, your plan, your Son.  Captivate my heart afresh with yours.  Then, by your grace, would you allow me to share that life with others in my ministry?  May they see you because they need you, just as I need you.  Amen!

Final thought – One time, a friend and supporter gave me a very generous gift.  I still remember his words close to three decades later: “When others speak, I can tell they are repeating their notes from when they went to seminary.  When you speak, I get the sense that you have been studying the Bible fresh.”  I pray that I will not grow stale but have a freshness to my preaching.  Let’s encourage one another in that!

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Click here to listen to a recent episode of The Biblical Preaching Podcast. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel, or follow on Spotify, Apple, etc. We would love to stay connected as we think about preaching together:

James and the Greatest Gap

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

The book of James is a fascinatingly practical epistle. Some have called it the Sermon on the Mount in letter form. On the one hand, we shouldn’t expect anything less than practical from the son of a carpenter. On the other hand, we don’t want to miss the profound theological thrust of the letter.

After addressing issues of suffering, true religion, favouritism, the use of the tongue, and the right kind of wisdom, we arrive at James chapter 4. Now, James drills below the practical matters of the letter. Yes, there is a gap between conduct and confession, which seems to bother James. We could frame this as a gap between past habits and new identity, but James presents a more significant gap that we must face.

In James 4:1-3, he goes below the surface to explain what is going on and what is going wrong with his readers. Why do they have conflict? Very simply, it is because of the passions that bubble away inside them. Their conflict comes from their wants, like shoppers fighting to get bargains at the opening of a sale, like children fighting over the happy meals in McDonald’s, or even like chicks pushing to be in prime position to receive the worm from the mother that is bringing food into the nest . . . we clash, because we want.

It is encouraging to see James give a glimpse of the heart of our Father. We only need to ask since he is willing to feed us. So, the problem is inside each one of us – our selfish desires cause havoc in our lives.

What is the solution? Our world and Western tradition tend to tell us that self-control is the solution to our passions. Yes, we have an engine that moves us along, but we need to get a grip on the steering wheel and take control of ourselves. Interestingly, James does not instruct his readers to get a grip. Instead, he gives them a glimpse of what is happening inside God.

In James 4:4-6, we see inside God’s heart. What do we find? We see his jealousy over his people; he calls them “adulteresses.” James is not focusing on the women of the church; he is focusing on the people of the church, who are the bride of Christ. As the bride of Christ, we are flirting with the world. And God’s heart is grieved. It is jealously yearning for us to come back to him.

Here is the real gap that we need to face. Not just the gap between our conduct and our confession, nor even the gap between our past habits and our new identity. It is the growing gap between our hearts and his. Where there is unfaithfulness, God yearns for us to return. Where there is drift, God yearns for us to come close.

James 4 is like God has sat us down in a chair and confronted us with our drift. “What is going on?” We seem to be far from him. We seem to be motivated by other things. It may be overt unfaithfulness, or it may be signs of drift. It may be something that is not bad in itself, but it has become more important than him. Our career, bank balance, hobbies, favourite sports team. Just as we see in Hebrews 12:1-2, there is sin that entangles and everything that hinders—bad things, “good things,” but alternatives to him.

So, how do we respond when God lovingly confronts us for the drift in our spiritual marriage? If we stick out our chests and get defensive, claiming the right to define our spiritual health on our terms, then we reek of pride. God opposes the proud (James 4:6), but will we humbly admit the drift?

In James 4:7-10, we have the wonderful invitation. If we humble ourselves, submit to God, and resist the devil, we can draw near to God. We deserve his rejection, but that was also true before the cross. God loves us and gave Jesus to win our hearts to him. And as we drift, he continues to love us and waits with arms open to welcome us back to him. There may need to be mourning and grief over our unfaithfulness. Turning to our heavenly bridegroom should break our hearts as we see our waywardness and drift. But as we resist the devil and repent, turning back to our bridegroom, we will find that he also draws near to us.

The most critical gap in Christianity is the gap that can develop between our hearts and his. He may take James 4, sit us down in a chair, and confront us with our adulterous drift. But he does so lovingly, longingly yearning for our hearts to draw near to him. And as we do, he will draw near to us.

Hallelujah! What a saviour we have. 

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Please check out the new Biblical Preaching Podcast – in this episode, Peter Mead and Mike Chalmers discuss the four most important questions for all in ministry:

Getting Stuck in Sermon Prep (Podcast Post 7)

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

I was chatting about preaching with a friend on Sunday after preaching in his church. We talked about ways we sometimes get stuck.

Sometimes, the outline won’t quite work, and we keep looking at the text until eventually something clicks. Once it clicks, we can’t understand how we could not see the passage’s logic before.

Sometimes, the details of the message are the issue. What illustrations would work? How can I introduce the sermon? And so on. Again, the breakthrough moment is always a real relief and cause for rejoicing.

Sometimes, everything seems jammed up, and we simply can’t get the sermon to work.

In the latest episode of the podcast, Mike and I discuss seven specific logjams and offer some ideas that might help you break through the next time you get stuck.

But here is a thought: let’s be careful not to see the ideal as a jam-free future. While logjams can feel like hard work, there is also a blessing in them. Without the logjam, there might not be the desperate prayer. Without prayer, there would not be sweet moments of answered prayer as God lifts us in preparation for Sunday.

Jonathan Thomas on Revival (Podcast Post – Episode 5)

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

“A reawakening of religious fervour” – that is a dictionary definition of revival. But in our latest podcast episode, Jonathan Thomas says we shouldn’t want revival. Jonathan has studied revival and produced documentaries on the subject. It was so good to interview him recently.

I remember reading Walter Kaiser’s book on the sixteen biblical revivals. Psalm 85:6 says, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” It is thrilling to read of seasons of God’s work being so tangible and imminent. Think of the revival under Josiah and Jeremiah or in the book of Acts. Kaiser finishes his book with these words, “I conclude that there can be no revival without the Lord initiating it and carrying it out. But I also conclude that no one can hide behind the doctrine of God as the explanation for why we have not had a revival in our day.”

So, how should we, as preachers, think about revival? After all, while we might assume we are unlikely to experience a revival, we cannot ignore the fact that revivals tend to involve preachers. I encourage you to watch these two podcast episodes, be encouraged by Jonathan’s thoughts, and join the conversation via the comments under the episode. (As always, please subscribe to the Cor Deo YouTube channel to easily find more content like this as it is released!)

And to find out why we shouldn’t want revival, here is part 2:

Imitate Who?

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

There are some strange stories of people imitating other people.  For instance, in 1951, the Canadian Naval Ship the Cayuga was engaged in the Korean War.  It took onboard three Korean fighters who needed immediate surgery.  The ship’s surgeon, Dr Joseph Cyr, went ahead and removed a bullet from the chest of one man, amputated the foot of another, etc.  He performed sixteen operations onboard and surgeries on shore in Korea.  But that man was not Dr Joseph Cyr.  With no training in surgery, Fred Demara had “borrowed” Cyr’s credentials to get into the Canadian Navy.  He had also imitated his way into being a Psychology Professor, a university administrator, a prison warden, and a Trappist monk.  It truly is a bizarre story.

And yet, perhaps it is even more bizarre that the Apostle Paul instructed the Ephesian believers to “be imitators of God” (See Ephesians 5:1).  There are a handful of places where believers are urged to imitate Paul or even to imitate Christ (e.g. 1 Corinthians 11:1).  Still, the instruction to “imitate God” is unique to this verse.  Let’s probe Paul’s point.

What is Paul’s instruction?  “Therefore, be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1).  Paul is not suggesting that we pretend to be God or that we in any way usurp God’s position.  For humans to invite worship, to function as if they are the central character in the universe, or to give the impression of being all-knowing, and so on, would be spiritual treason.  God is God, and I am not. 

On the other hand, we are very much expected to reflect the good character of God in every area of life.  For instance, in the verses before and after Ephesians 5:1, we see instruction as honest, gracious, self-controlled, generous, kind, forgiving, loving, self-sacrificing, holy, and pure – all beautiful aspects of God’s perfections.  (See Ephesians 4:25-5:4).

It would be fair to say that whatever is good about God’s character would be good to emulate and imitate, as long as we never blur the Creator and creature distinction.  It would also be fair to notice that since the Fall of Genesis 3, humans have been much more inclined to get these categories reversed.  How many people act as if they are the centre of the universe, worthy of worship, all-knowing, and in control, but lack the kind of goodness we have just described?  The Fall absolutely messed us up!

Why should we imitate God?  Because we are “children” (Ephesians 5:1).  Whether it is fair or not, people observe children and evaluate the parents.  Sometimes, a critical evaluation may be justified; other times, an outsider will have no idea of how much the parent is achieving considering the child’s circumstances.  For those of us who are parents, we know how much we feel the watching eyes of others, so we hope our children will behave well in public situations. 

As unfair as it may feel to us to have people evaluating us based on our children, how much more unfair is that for God?  Imagine having your reputation and perception determined by representatives like you and me.  After all, we are all flawed and broken people.  Image bearers of God, of course, but so far from divine perfection!

And yet, the watching continues.  People who never think about theological matters are watching you and me and assuming things about our God.  This watching is not only from those outside the church but also from inside.  Believers watch and learn from one another.  I can think of people I have watched and from whom I learned something of God’s forgiveness, or God’s generosity, or God’s humility, or God’s redemptive power.  The church is a living theological case study!

But how can we imitate God?  The idea that we can and should imitate God’s character can feel overwhelming.  How is it possible?  Are we supposed to self-generate a super-human effort and achieve the impossible by sheer willpower?  Notice the other word in the verse: “as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1).  This imitation instruction is not based on the burden of striving effort.  Instead, it is to be fueled by the joy of a loving relationship.  Being saved and brought into God’s family means we are beloved children.

The word “beloved” makes it clear that we are not “tolerated” children, or “technically” children, or even “one of millions of children.”  The word “beloved” gives a sense of the lavishing of all the parental love poured out on a uniquely favoured, even an only, child.   More significantly, it is the same idea used of God’s unique Son, Jesus.  Remember the baptism declaration, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased!” (Matthew 3:17).

There are multiple layers in the idea of being a child of God.  Just as we have three types of paternity tests used among humans, the same idea works for us as believers.  There is the legal reality of being lovingly adopted into God’s family (e.g. Ephesians 1:5-6).  An adopted child has the paper evidence of the adoption certificate.  Then there is the DNA test proving something of a parent in a child.  For believers, we have the Spirit of God living within us (e.g. Ephesians 1:13-14).  And thirdly, there is the resemblance test.  When we see a baby, some people will immediately pronounce that the baby has his father’s nose, eyes, or whatever.  That is the DNA showing through immediately.  But Ephesians 5:1 is calling us to a more developed character likeness.  Just as a child in a loving relationship will grow to resemble the character of the loving parent, so it can be with us.

As we seek to lead other believers into greater God-likeness, we would do well to pause and reflect on this one word.  Do I believe I am “beloved” of God?  It is easy to say it, but then live as if I am merely tolerated.  And yet, what rocket fuel for transformation there is in being loved by God, even as He loves the Son (see John 17:23, for instance). 

In response to Ephesians 5:1, let us pray a simple prayer that has massive implications in our lives and those we influence.  “My loving Father, what do you want to work on in me so I may look more like you?”

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The Biblical Preaching Podcast is your conversation about preaching that shares God’s heart! Please find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, other podcast directories, and on YouTube. We would love to have your help in spreading the word – thank you in advance for every like, comment, share, follow and positive review!

Why Biblical Preaching? (Podcast Post for Episode 1)

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

The Biblical Preaching Podcast is live!  My plan is to build on episodes with blog posts here so that you can get extra content on the blog, but also hopefully want to check out either the podcast or the related videos on YouTube.

In Episode 1, we discuss “Why Biblical Preaching?” 

People often raise the issue of a changing society.  The logic is simple – our world is changing at a rapid rate.  Technology is advancing faster than ever; people are bombarded with highly stimulating, rapidly moving content, and consumers access information differently than they did even a few years ago.  Therefore, many say that a verbal monologue delivered to a gathered congregation must be a mode of communication that should be consigned to history.  Spurgeon’s Victorian England may have needed preachers, and maybe Lloyd-Jones’ twentieth-century London required preachers, but surely we now live in a different world?

In the first part of the podcast, we discuss the question, “why preaching?”  We mention three reasons:

1. Because of the Biblical example – From Moses and Joshua, through the times of the Old Testament prophets, to the ministry of Jesus and the apostles in the early church, the consistent example is that of spoken messages pointing people to God’s person and purpose in this world.

Note: The world of the Bible is not monolithic.  There were vast shifts and changes between the preaching of Moses in Sinai, and the message of Joshua in the Promised Land, to the proclamation of Paul in Athens or Miletus.  And yet, through all the rising and falling of great empires, the shifting of cultures, the progression in God’s plan of history, still the pattern is consistent.  God’s messengers spoke a word that changed lives and shifted history.  It could be considered arrogant to think that our brief period of change should override millennia of shifting contexts in which preaching was a primary means of God working in the world.

2. Because of Biblical instruction – Paul’s final letter, written to Timothy, closes with the instruction to preach the Word.  It is fascinating that he does not focus on spectacular spiritual gifts or any other possible emphases for continuing ministry beyond his own time.  Instead, he urges Timothy to prioritize reading God’s Word and preaching it!  In other places, we can see instruction that would lead us to consider preaching as a critical component of gospel ministry.

3. Because of theological reality – What is God like?  He is a revealing, speaking and incarnational God.  In preaching, we see all persons of the Trinity in action – the Father’s loving initiative driving the whole mission of God in this world; the Son’s revealing of his Father and rescuing of humanity is the focus of both Scriptural and biblical preaching; and the Spirit woos, convicts and changes hearts through preaching.  In the podcast, I note how preaching (in this case, including spoken testimony), plays a key role in the story of salvation.  Where humanity fell into sin by doubting the word of an apparently absent God, so God wins a redeemed people back based not on a great show of power but based on the apparent weakness of words spoken in the kingdom of darkness.

In the second part of the podcast, we get into why we use the label “Biblical Preaching” and whether that is the same as “Expository Preaching.”  I will let you listen to the podcast to find out more!  Please check out the podcast, follow it on your podcast platform of choice, and thank you in advance for every interaction with the podcast or YouTube clip, as it helps the algorithm spread the content to more people.  Positive reviews are invaluable as we get the podcast going – thank you!

Click here to find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and click here to find it on Spotify, or search for The Biblical Preaching Podcast on whatever app you use to find podcasts. And here is the YouTube video if you like to watch: