Text: Nehemiah 8:1-8<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. In the past, we have talked about various positions or duties in the church (elders,\nteachers)\n
A. Today, I would like to address the purpose of preaching.<\/p>\n
B. There seems to be much confusion about what a preacher’s duty is<\/p>\n 1. Many denominations refer to their ministers as pastor, but that title is\nsuppose to apply to the eldership.\n 2. Though, to give them the benefit of doubt, many of their “pastors” do\nblend the duties of an elder with that of the minister.\n
C. One article, written by a member of the church, questioned the need for preachers<\/p>\n 1. He stated they were too much of a problem to bother with; after all, they\noften cause division in the church. He even cited I Cor. 1:11-12 as proof.\n 2. Since denominational congregations revolve around the minister, he thinks\nthere is too much temptation for a preacher to overstep his bounds in the\nchurch. Better to avoid the problem completely.\n 3. He also thought that preachers should evangelize and not be used as a\npulpit speaker.\n 4. Finally, he thinks that ministers are too much of a drain on a local\ncongregation’s budget. They should be self-supporting.\n
D. This confusion about the duties of a preacher, led one man to write:<\/p>\n
1. Read “The Preacher”<\/p>\n
II. What is a Preacher<\/p>\n
A. The preacher is a duty within the church – Ephesians 4:11-13<\/p>\n 1. Notice that preacher serves the local church, along with the elders and\nteachers, to equip the saints for service.\n
2. The notion that a preacher’s only duty is to reach the lost is false<\/p>\n a. I Thessalonians 2:9-10 – Paul and his companions proclaimed the\ngospel to the Thessalonian believers.\n b. In Titus 2:1, Paul tells the preacher Titus to speak sound doctrine\nand then lists the things he is to tell. They all involve members of\nthe church.\n c. Titus 3:8 – Speak confidently so that believers may be careful to\nengage in good deeds.\n
3. Preachers are also to reach for those who are lost – Romans 10:14-15<\/p>\n B. Timothy was told to pay heed to public reading, exhortation, and teaching – I\nTimothy 4:6, 11, 13, 16\n
1. This teaching was a part of the worship of the saints – I Corinthians 14:26<\/p>\n
III. The Purpose of Preaching<\/p>\n
A. To Explain the Scriptures<\/p>\n
1. It is so simple, many forget about the need.<\/p>\n 2. In Stephen’s sermon (Acts 7), 1\/3 of his sermon was from the Old\nTestament.\n
a. His audience knew the passages well.<\/p>\n b. But Stephen explained what they meant and how they applied to\nthem.\n 3. When Philip approach the Ethiopian Eunuch, the man asked him about a\npassage he was reading (Acts 8:34).\n
a. Philip then explained the Scripture to him.<\/p>\n
4. Ezra, a priest and scribe of God, read the law of Moses to the people.<\/p>\n a. Neh. 8:7 – Notice that he helped the people understand the law\nwith aid from other Levites.\n b. Neh. 8:8 – They gave sense to the Law and helped the people\nunderstand the Law.\n
B. Hold up the Scriptures as a guiding light<\/p>\n
1. Men of God simply proclaimed God’s message to mankind. <\/p>\n a. There was no need for appeals to modern theological thought or\nreason\n
b. John 8:32 – It is the pure, simple truth that makes us free<\/p>\n
2. The appeal was not emotionalism either<\/p>\n
a. I Cor 2:6-13 – They presented God’s revealed message.<\/p>\n
b. Eph 3:4 – That message gives understanding<\/p>\n
C. Disturb people in error<\/p>\n 1. Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 did not soften the blow — He accused his\naudience of killing the Son of God.\n
a. Acts 2:37 – The people were cut to the heart<\/p>\n b. Cutting a man to the heart is not a pleasant task, but it is necessary\nto bring the end result of salvation.\n
2. Unless someone is blunt, a man may never know his condition.<\/p>\n
a. They may never cry out, “What must I do to be saved?”<\/p>\n b. Some preachers have neglected their duty to teach the whole\ngospel, leaving their audience with messages that only make them\nfeel good about themselves.\n
3. Notice Paul’s instruction to Titus – Titus 2:15<\/p>\n
a. Speak – To tell others. All preaching is not two-way dialogue.<\/p>\n b. Exhort – To invite others to hear. A preacher’s goal is to persuade\nmen with the truth.\n c. Rebuke – To tell others their fault. A preacher is not doing his job\nunless he steps on your toes at times.\n
d. With all authority – <\/p>\n (1) The preacher is delivering the message of God. The\nmessage is not optional or suggestive. A preacher must\npresent the commands of God as commandments. \n (2) It is not based on the authority of the preacher, but the\nauthority of God.\n (3) It should not be surprising that some will not like to be\nrebuked and they will object to the solid presentation, but\nthat does not change the preacher’s duty.\n
D. Present Christ as the only hope of the world<\/p>\n 1. The first thing Paul did in each city was to lift up Christ and declare him to\nbe their only hope.\n
2. I Cor 2:2 – He kept his message simple and direct.<\/p>\n 3. Salvation does not come from preaching politics or moral platitudes, our\nonly hope is in heaven.\n
E. Teach about the church<\/p>\n
1. A recent catch phrase has been to “preach the man, not the plan.”<\/p>\n 2. We cannot preach about the King without mentioning His kingdom. We\ncannot mention the Groom without talking about His bride.\n
3. Teaching the gospel brought people into the church<\/p>\n
a. Acts 2:47 – men were added daily<\/p>\n
b. Philip preached about Jesus, but the eunuch wanted to be baptized<\/p>\n
4. Jesus promised to build His church – Matt 16:18<\/p>\n
a. Only through the church will people be saved – Eph 5:23<\/p>\n 5. Denominations, divisions from the true church, built by men, will be\nuprooted – Matt 15:12-13\n
IV. What a preacher is not<\/p>\n
A. A preacher is not a professional speaker<\/p>\n 1. Society’s idea of a good preacher is a man who can hold an audience’s\nattention. The content of his message doesn’t matter as long as his voice is\nsoothing and he makes an entertaining presentation.\n
2. Few would have been impressed with Paul<\/p>\n a. I Cor 2:1-5 – Paul thought smooth words distracted from the\nwisdom of God.\n
b. He did not use flattering speech – I Thess 2:5-6<\/p>\n c. The importance was that it was God’s words, not man – I Thess\n2:13\n
B. A preacher is not perfect<\/p>\n
1. No one is immune from temptations – I Cor. 10:13<\/p>\n 2. Though a preacher must always keep in mind that he is God’s messenger. \nThe things he does reflects on both God and His message.\n 3. I am frequently amazed what people, who call themselves preachers, think\nthey can get away with – Tit 1:16\n
C. A preacher is not in it for the money<\/p>\n 1. There are many in denominations who make a healthy sum from their work\n– Tit 1:10-11\n
2. It is not that a preacher should not be paid – I Cor. 9:4-14<\/p>\n a. And this answers the foolish man’s contention that preachers should\nnot be paid.\n 3. The point is that a preacher goal, his desire is to preach the gospel. Being\nsupported by the local congregation only frees him to spend more time in\nthat godly pursuit.\n 4. Even if I received nothing, I would only find a job and continue teaching\nthe blessed word.\nV. Preaching is what the preacher makes the job to be. If done correctly, it is a difficult\ncommandment to follow – II Tim 4:1-5\n A. Unfortunately, few take up the burden. Pray that more feel the need to spread the\nwisdom of God through the foolishness called preaching. – Matt 9:37-38\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: Nehemiah 8:1-8 I. In the past, we have talked about various positions or duties in the church (elders, teachers) A. Today, I would like to address the purpose of preaching. B. There seems to be much confusion about what a preacher’s duty is 1. Many denominations refer to their ministers as pastor, but that title is suppose…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[1511,536],"class_list":["post-29246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-preachers","tag-preaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29397,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-quit-preaching-to-find-a-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":29246,"position":0},"title":"Should I quit preaching to find a wife?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been a minister now for almost 30 years. My wife left me after nearly 30 years of marriage. However, I need a helpmate. I want to date but all women are scared of dating a preacher. I understand that too. I don't want to cause a \"Black\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62797,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-purpose-of-our-calling\/","url_meta":{"origin":29246,"position":1},"title":"The Purpose of Our Calling","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Taylor Ladd Influence and Evangelism","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92302,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/let-the-church-be-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":29246,"position":2},"title":"Let the Church be the Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by George DeHoff via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 4, December 1992 The business of the church is to preach the gospel of Christ. 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Next week\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84001,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-ever-happened-to-preaching-repentance\/","url_meta":{"origin":29246,"position":4},"title":"What Ever Happened to Preaching Repentance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"The chief problem in America today is not getting people saved. It is getting people to realize they are lost\" [Charlie Hainline]. So many churches and preachers seem convinced that their mission is first to make people feel good about themselves. 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