Fresh for Preaching

As a preacher who strives to be gospel centered, and to ever and always preach the gospel, and for the many other preachers who do the same, it can sometimes seem difficult at to always preach the same gospel, and keep it the forefront. That is not because we tire from the gospel, or because the gospel has been exhausted; but it is because sometimes it can feel like you’re saying the same thing over and over again.

And that is exactly what we have been charged with doing. However, I have some thoughts on keeping yourself fresh in gospel preaching. Before we move to those, notice that I did not say that I have some thoughts on keeping the gospel fresh, but keeping yourself fresh. That is a very important distinction. It is because the gospel never needs to be freshened up. The gospel never runs dry, and never grows stale. The gospel has a constant ripeness to it. The light of the gospel never dims or needs a bulb change. The colors of the gospel never fade or need a fresh coat.

We, as fallen humans who only live for somewhere under a hundred years are quite different. We need to be continually refreshed, we often run dry, we stale rather quickly, we dim and fade speedily, and a bulb change or fresh coat could always be of use to us.

So my thoughts on freshening ourselves up for preaching comes from the age old charge given to Timothy by Paul:

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season…” + 2 Timothy 4v1-2

To keep yourself fresh for preaching the ever fresh gospel, preach the word. Here’s what I mean: preaching the gospel doesn’t mean that you say the same thing, the same way, with the same words, every single time. It means you say the same thing, different ways.

But that is not to say that we are to be clever and formulate creative originality and bask in our uniqueness. The way we preach a constant gospel is to preach the word. When we preach the word, each text will have it’s own cadence – it’s own rhythm. The word dictates the way in which we preach same gospel. To keep ourselves fresh in gospel ministry, we preach the flavor of each text. Each text has it’s own sound, it’s own feel, it’s own smell, it’s own taste, it’s own colors and images.

This makes preaching a task, an honor, a responsibility, a glory, and a delight. For the creative type, bind your creativity to the word. Reign it in with scripture. Preach the flavor of the text. For the simple type, let the scriptures lift you to creativity within itself. Fall in to the word. Preach the flavor of the text.

Brothers, fight the good fight, run the race with endurance, and preach the gospel flavor of each text.