The lectionary is a funny thing.
For those not familiar, the lectionary was compiled some time ago as a way for churches to track through the Bible and capture the entire story of what it means to follow Jesus. Those who follow the lectionary (like myself) preach whatever text is given by the common lectionary that week. It's a way to stay connected to the story, to stay connected to the church at large, and to stay free from an agenda that might cause you to focus on certain truths of scripture while avoiding others. It forces "hellfire and brimstone" preachers to speak on love and grace.
And, of course, it forces preachers like me to preach on hell. This week, the common lectionary handed me a passage right out of the "if you died tonight, would you be saved" handbook. And I don't want to preach it. But I can't not. It's in there.
So, what does a preacher do when he doesn't want to preach the truth he's been given. I'm looking for insights. Joe? Adam? What do you guys do?
My college professor of preaching said that all sermons have gospel in them, all of them have good news. I heard once that "the good news of hell is that God gives a damn." I sense the truth of that, yet hesitate to preach it.
And it's Friday. And Sunday's coming.
Thoughts?
1 comment:
Kester, sorry I didn't respond to this. Last week was crasy and I just saw the post...I'm going to read the next two posts on this topic and see what you came up with.
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