Expository preaching Will fortify Our Families and Churches Against This Culture!
Part One - Expository Preaching Feeds the Sheep!
You may be shocked to hear me say that many people are starving in America! Have you recognized that people lack the nutrients they need to survive and thrive in a land with plenty to eat and drink? Some even struggle with being overweight, yet they don't have what they need to flourish. They have gotten fat with cokes, cheeseburgers, and ice cream, yet their bodies long for food to sustain them. We have a severe lack of food that will help our bodies function correctly. I am no doctor, but if people could invest in the proper diet, profound changes would occur in their lives.
In the same way, in our culture, we have more access to biblical truth than ever before. We have seen a profound increase in the amount of information available to us in the past twenty-five years. Many of us have virtual assistants just waiting for us to ask a question to which they have a ready answer. Right now, AI promises to increase information exponentially. We truly live in amazing times. However, we need more exposure to biblical truth!
Technologies like the internet have proven to be amazing tools for spreading the Gospel. Many countries that had been previously cut off from industrialization have been provided access to the Internet. Yes, we have more information at our fingertips than ever before! Yet, there is a greater need for Yahweh's Word because this increased access to information has given our enemy a handy tool to propagate his junk food. People need the sustenance of God’s word to combat the satanic lies which inundate us.
You may be shocked that we are overflowing with data, yet our land has a famine of the truth! We have plenty of junk food preachers tickling our ears - we have lengthy podcast playlists, YouTube wormholes, and sermonettes for Christianettes, but we lack the sustenance we need. God's people will perish when they don't know His Word. Proverbs 29:18 states, "Where the is no vision, the people are out of control." Watching the daily news graphically proves the wisdom of this proverb and reminds us of what happens when a culture goes off the rails.
As our families and churches face these difficulties, many Christians don’t have the answers to what they see in the culture because they have lost confidence in God’s word and don’t believe in its power to fortify and change our families and churches.
We can address this lack of confidence by preaching God's Word to satisfy His people's true hunger and thirst. If we systematically preach the Scriptures to God's people, we will see profound spiritual changes in their lives. As such, a commitment to EP reveals biblical truth that will lead to stronger families, amazing changes in our churches, and confidence to address the ills of our culture. All this will lead to a Gospel impact in our families, churches, and the world around us.
Jesus told His followers to be salt and light in the world around us (Matt 5:13-16). We can’t obey His command unless we know and understand His word. EP addresses this need because it allows us to let the lion of God’s word out of its cage on a weekly basis. This causes profound changes among God’s people and gives them confidence as they shepherd their families to face this wayward culture.
Conclusion
Our people desperately need biblical truth to fight against the tsunami of the enemy’s lies. We must encourage our people of their need for the pure milk of the Word. We do this so they have the spiritual food they need to grow in their faith (1 Pet 2:2). Expository preaching gives God’s people a weekly opportunity to hear the Scriptures read and explained so they will grow in their longing for the Word, and in their walk with Christ. This will give them confidence as they address the needs of their families and churches. It will also fortify them as they face a world spinning increasingly out of control.