From a hotel room along the Pennsylvania Turnpike I listened to bits and pieces of the morning sermon by Joel Olsteen of Houston, Texas. He preached to 30,000 people in the arena and millions more by television. He took the words of Jesus: if you are faithful in little things, God will make you ruler over big things.
He used his own ministry as an example: 17 years of behind-the-scenes work prepared him for these years of public acclaim. So also God is preparing all who have labored in obscurity for prosperity beyond our wildest dreams.
Hmmm.
Then at the First Baptist Church of Rochester, Pennsylvania, I heard a sermon on the Gospel of John chapter 2: the wedding in Cana. It was appropriate because the preacher, Rev. Dr. Marshall Davis, will officiate at the wedding of his own daughter later this afternoon; and next month another child will exchange public vows with his beloved.
There were less than 100 people in this old stone and wood sanctuary but we were treated to a wonderful exposition of the first miracle of Jesus. “We don’t know the name of the bride and groom,” he said, “because this story is not about them. It is about Jesus.”
The whole sermon was about Jesus, and throughout this message were embedded all nine marks of a good sermon. 1. It had one clear point: Jesus is the son of God. 2. It arose naturally from the biblical text. 3. It addressed the needs of the people: how to see the signs in ordinary events as pointing to Jesus. 4-6. It included a story, a metaphor and a question. 7. It told a slice of the Jesus story. 8. It issued a call to action: faith. 9. It displayed the passion and enthusiasm of the preacher.
This is biblical preaching. This is Christian preaching. This is informed, intelligent, inspirational preaching of the gospel of Jesus. It is happening in small churches all over this country. Even though my long-time friend (we moved into the same seminary housing 25 years ago this summer) does not attract the crowds that gravitate toward the unreflective salesman of worldly success in Texas, he is the one who is putting the bread of life on the table week after week: and doing so for the Glory of God and the Common Good.