{"id":2680,"date":"2013-06-05T12:10:14","date_gmt":"2013-06-05T09:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=2680"},"modified":"2013-06-05T12:10:14","modified_gmt":"2013-06-05T09:10:14","slug":"6-reasons-preaching-is-still-valid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/6-reasons-preaching-is-still-valid\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Reasons Preaching is Still Valid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Recently I asked a question, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Is Traditional Preaching Still Valid?\" href=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=2597\">&#8220;Is traditional preaching still valid?&#8221;<\/a><\/span> Although I&#8217;m a big user of technology in ministry I also believe that traditional preaching is still valid and can never be replaced by other methods of communication.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2694\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/6-reasons-preaching-is-still-valid\/dsc_6351\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/DSC_6351.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,361\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D300S&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1323547268&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;52&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;800&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"DSC_6351\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/DSC_6351.jpg\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2694 aligncenter\" alt=\"DSC_6351\" src=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/DSC_6351.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/DSC_6351.jpg 640w, https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/DSC_6351-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/DSC_6351-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/DSC_6351-460x260.jpg 460w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Before I give you my reasons why preaching is still valid let me give you my definition of preaching.<\/p>\n<p>Preaching is:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b>\u00a0-Personal communication of God\u2019s Word that explains and applies truth to man\u2019s life.<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It&#8217;s a simple definition that includes what many pastors do on Sunday mornings but it also includes more than that.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I can preach to my children around the dining room table.<\/li>\n<li>I can preach to my neighbor while working in the yard.<\/li>\n<li>I can preach to my co-worker during a smoke break.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The possibilities are endless but I&#8217;ll save that for another post!<\/p>\n<p><b>A few reasons why preaching is still needed in today\u2019s churches<\/b><\/p>\n<h4><b>1. Preaching comes with a divine command.<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Check out what Paul tells young Timothy as he gives him instructions about how to lead the church.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.\u00a02Tim 4:2<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>There is a long Biblical history of preaching from Noah, to Moses, to Isaiah, to Stephen, Peter and Paul! Jesus also spent much of his time preaching.<\/p>\n<h4><b>2. Preaching is not just a text it is also a person.<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>This is what I tell my students,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;A man must become a preacher before he can preach&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The preacher must preach because the Word that he is preaching has already changed his heart and he wants to share that with his listeners. If the preacher&#8217;s heart has not been radically changed by the truths he is preaching then he has no business preaching!<\/p>\n<p>Preaching is personal because it is God&#8217;s Word coming through the life of an individual who has been changed by it. Look at how this made a difference when Paul preached.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b>&#8220;<\/b>For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in <i>the<\/i> Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, even as you know what kind we were among you for your sake.&#8221;\u00a0<b>1Th 1:5<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Read the whole passage to see how Paul&#8217;s personal life affected his preaching to the Thessalonians\u00a0<b>1Th 1:5-2:11<\/b><\/p>\n<h4><b>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Preaching can explain doctrine and apply principles in a way that other methods can\u2019t.\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>I&#8217;m all for using music, drama and the arts but these are all limited when it comes to explaining and applying God\u2019s Word to people\u2019s lives. \u00a0The primary method of learning for everyone is language.<\/p>\n<p>When Jesus walked the earth he didn&#8217;t put on art shows or ask his disciples to act in dramatic reenactments of OT stories. Jesus&#8217; primary method of teaching was to simply preach. Matthew 5:2<\/p>\n<h4><b>4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Preaching allows for interaction.<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>You might be amazed by how much a preacher can read from his audience. I can sense when I&#8217;m going to long, when people are getting tired, distracted, not understanding or in disagreement with me.<\/p>\n<p>Preaching allows for engagement and interaction. Some interaction happens in the pulpit with simple questions that engage the listeners mind. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cWho is the most important person you have ever met?<\/li>\n<li>\u201cDo you think Joseph was scared when his brothers threw him in the well?\u201d+<\/li>\n<li>Sometimes we can ask questions that don\u2019t need to be answered.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhy does God allow us to go through painful circumstances in our life?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cHave you ever struggled with anger against someone and you don\u2019t know what to do about it?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most interaction happens either before or after the sermon. This is when I often have the opportunity to talk with someone personally and help them gain a better understanding of the text or specifically apply the text to their situation.<\/p>\n<h4><b>5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Preaching allows the speaker to make changes based on changing circumstances.<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>I don&#8217;t always know what will happen on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who will come through the doors of the church?<\/li>\n<li>What major problems have people faced over the past week?<\/li>\n<li>Has someone died?<\/li>\n<li>Is there a major event that might affect the lives of many people in the church?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There will be occasions that will require us to change how we are going to preach or even entirely change what we had planned to preach. \u00a0Preaching gives us this freedom.<\/p>\n<h4><b>6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><b>Preaching does not rely solely on technology and thus provides greater flexibility. \u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Sometimes we rely too much on our technology, don&#8217;t get me wrong technology is great, video clips and PowerPoint can all be used to enhance our message but they shouldn&#8217;t be relied on too heavily.<\/p>\n<p>Preaching is an amazing form of communication! I have preached in the simplest villages with no electricity and in large churches where my image was projected on giant screens so I would be more visible. However, the basics don&#8217;t change, we preach the simple truths of God&#8217;s Word by opening our mouth, explaining the meaning and sharing how these truths have changed us and how they can change our listeners.<\/p>\n<p>The only costs is our time and effort in preparation, yet the rewards are eternal! Preaching will always be the primary method of communicating God&#8217;s Word.<\/p>\n<h4>Question: What are some other reasons why preaching is still valid?<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently I asked a question, <a title=\"Is Traditional Preaching Still Valid?\" href=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=2597\">&#8220;Is traditional preaching still valid?&#8221;<\/a> Although I&#8217;m a big user of technology in ministry I also believe that traditional preaching is still valid and can never be replaced by other methods of communication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31],"tags":[228],"class_list":["post-2680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","tag-preaching"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/DSC_6351.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-He","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2597,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/is-traditional-preaching-still-valid\/","url_meta":{"origin":2680,"position":0},"title":"Is Traditional Preaching Still Valid?","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"May 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In biblical times there were few methods of communication to choose from. \u00a0If you needed to communicate something to a large audience your best option was to find a crowd and speak real loud. \u00a0You could also write, but few people could read, so your audience would be limited. When\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DSC4025-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DSC4025-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DSC4025-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6197,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/67-why-we-need-more-gospel-in-our-preaching-7-reasons\/","url_meta":{"origin":2680,"position":1},"title":"#67 Why We Need More Gospel in Our Preaching -7 Reasons","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"January 15, 2016","format":"audio","excerpt":"What separates the preaching of today's celebrity preachers\u00a0like Joel Osteen from some of the great preachers of history like Charles Spurgeon? A lot separates them for sure but when it comes down to it there is one core difference that places these preachers on opposite ends of the homiletical spectrum.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;The Gospel Today&quot;","block_context":{"text":"The Gospel Today","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Desktop-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Desktop-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Desktop-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12044,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/the-ministry-of-jesus-christ-mark-114-15\/","url_meta":{"origin":2680,"position":2},"title":"The Ministry of Jesus Christ, Mark 1:14-15","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"September 13, 2019","format":"audio","excerpt":"Looking out over the Evangelical churches today I'm concerned when I see that some of them tend to steer wide of clear gospel preaching in their churches. Instead of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ they preach practical tips and helpful advice to have a successful life. If we look\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sermons&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sermons","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Coffee-Tutorial-YouTube-Thumbnail.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Coffee-Tutorial-YouTube-Thumbnail.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Coffee-Tutorial-YouTube-Thumbnail.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Coffee-Tutorial-YouTube-Thumbnail.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Coffee-Tutorial-YouTube-Thumbnail.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2039,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/10-misconceptions-about-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":2680,"position":3},"title":"10 Misconceptions About Preaching","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"January 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I once heard someone say that preaching is sometimes like a university lecture, where the information passes from the notes of the professor to the notes of the student without passing through the brain of either. Unfortunately there are a lot of misconceptions about what preaching really is and about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/DSC00285.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/DSC00285.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/DSC00285.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1180,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/pussy-riot-and-preaching-the-gospel\/","url_meta":{"origin":2680,"position":4},"title":"Pussy Riot and Preaching the Gospel","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"August 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I've often heard it said that Ukraine is about 3 years behind its big brother Russian when it comes to political changes. \u00a0Unfortunately that statement has been proven on many occasions to be true. \u00a0That is why my antenna go up when I hear what is currently happening in Russian\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ukraine&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ukraine","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ukraine-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pussy-riot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pussy-riot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/pussy-riot.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1668,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/4-things-a-preacher-should-never-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":2680,"position":5},"title":"4 Things a Preacher Should Never Do","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"November 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I preached my first sermon when I was 14 so that means technically I have been preaching for over 20 years! However, I didn't start regularly preaching until I was 19, which means that I have about 16 year of preaching experience. In those 16 years I've made my share\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/DSC00730.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/DSC00730.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/DSC00730.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2680"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2702,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680\/revisions\/2702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}