Luke 4:16-30

The Idolisation of the Sermon – A concerning habit within Evangelical Churches

 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him and marvelled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.

Luke 4:16-30

There is a common misconception that “Evangelical” is essentially a synonym for dispensationalist and/or non-denominational Churches. This straw-man is not the Evangelical in which I am referring to here. I am referring to the movement within the Church that focuses on evangelisation primarily and taking scripture seriously. In fact, this article is to address a habit appearing in a few good faithful Churches that see themselves as ones who take scripture seriously. I’ve seen this habit manifest in sermons given at churches ranging from Baptist to Anglican – and at the same time I have seen Baptist Churches and Anglican Churches not partake of this habit. This habit is quite simple but has dangerous implications – the neglect of actually reading Scripture. From the time of the Second Temple, an important part of a worship service was the reading of Scripture. Several pieces of scripture were appointed to be read in the early Church. Throughout time, this tradition was steadfast. It survived the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation. Lectionaries are still in place today. There is a Revised Common Lectionary, however some Churches use different lectionaries, or create their own by choosing to work through books. However, the bad habit that I was referring to is on occasion, I see preachers just give the sermon. No reading of the scripture. At best, many would attempt to read it as they preach. However, this can make it unclear when the scripture begins and their commentary ends. Even worse, they could jump around the place and only pick out verses from the passage that they personally feel to be relevant. A response to my criticism of this practice may be, that due to high literacy rates in the modern world, you could easily access the source material in front of you. Many Churches provide Bibles, and even then you may have one on a smart device. However, reading while listening to a sermon and paying attention to the Word of God and the sermon being preached simultaneously is extremely difficult. Listening to the sermon alone is akin to reading a review for a book or a film you haven’t seen. You don’t have the source material to relate to it. The preacher had the opportunity to read it beforehand, but the layperson hadn’t. There’s a reason why I used the term “almost”.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

Unlike a book or a film, Scripture is the infallible word of God. The books of the Bible are the only infallible documents that we have, unlike any other book, film, or sermon. It is a common debate I have been engaged in – what’s more important to the Church service? The Celebration of Holy Communion, or the sermon? I will not address the importance of Holy Communion in this article, but typically my response to this question was the Celebration of Holy Communion at the most important, and the sermon at a very close second. However, after further examination, I should really place the sermon lower – the reading of God’s word is more important than the sermon. The reading of God’s word in Churches has diverse and beautiful applications. From multiple readings (Which I enjoy – the more the better!), to focusing on just one. From the congregational recitation of Scripture which I experienced in Mainland China, to Psalm singing at home in the UK. There can be a simple tradition of people standing for the reading of Scripture within a Baptist church, or traditional Anglican Churches which have a Gospel proclamation where the reader stands among the people, with everyone standing and facing them. Many Churches emphasise the reading with an introduction or reference. Some Churches close it with a declaration that it is The Word of The Lord, with the congregation responding with their thankfulness, to a simple prayer asking God to bless us and open our eyes to His word. What matters here is that God’s infallible word for us is read. When I have been in the city during the day, I have occasionally dropped in to weekday Holy Communion services. Quite often there isn’t a sermon, but there is the reading of God’s word, prayers and The Sacrament. Usually these services have utilised a Psalm, Old Testament reading or an Epistle, and a reading from the Gospel. I have still managed to draw meaning and be touched by what’s contained within the scripture reading alone, in absence of the sermon. Meanwhile when I have been at sermons without the clear reading of Scripture, I have often sat there confused, trying to differentiate between what is the preacher’s opinion and what is actually contained in the word of God. Veiling this distinction can prove hazardous, as the preacher’s opinion isn’t infallible. I am sure the preachers I have experienced partaking of this bad habit are good and Godly people, but we have seen other people take this style of “preaching” and run with it to push false doctrine. I am merely just a layperson, but my recommendation to preachers and readers in Christ’s church is to read the Scripture. If your sermon relies on multiple chapters or parts of the Bible, there is often no harm in reading all of these references in full. If you want to be serious about Scripture, then put an emphasis on it. And if I have done well in writing this article, it is which I desired. But if slenderly and meanly, it is that which I could attain unto. #blogpost #essay #theology