[b]PREACHING THAT CHANGES LIVES[/b]
[i]by Ralph Sutera[/i]

There certainly is no lack of preaching, but there seems to be a deficit in changed lives. Here are many professions, but one must question how much real spiritual possession. Even great pastors question how many in their congregations are genuinely a part of God's family. Could it be that we should look at modern preaching as a possible cause?

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE ESSENTIAL IN PREACHING THAT CHANGES LIVES?

2. The character of God and His Glory must be in focus, rather than man merely seeking solutions to his problems.

The sin of society is to humanize God and bring Him down to man's level. This same attitude has also permeated the church as we have sought to make God merely a pal or buddy who acts and reacts the way we humans do.

When the believer's objective is to glorify a holy God for Who He is rather than for what he can get from God to improve his own life, it sets in motion the genuine solution to his problems.

God certainly is a problem-solver and longs to meet us at that level as we keep Him as the high and lofty God sitting on His throne. The three-fold sin of society is to humanize God, deify man, and minimize sin. Preaching that changes lives must relate to all of that and the answer to it, both to the unconverted and to the church.

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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon