As a preacher, I think a lot about relevance. That is, why should anyone listen to what I have to say? Why should anybody care? Relevance is an ambiguous word. It could mean more than one thing. It might mean that a sermon is relevant if it feels to the listeners that it will make a significant difference in their lives. Or it might mean that a sermon is relevant if it will make a significant difference in their lives whether they feel it or not. That second kind of relevance is what guides my sermons. In other words, I want to say things that are really significant for your life whether you know they are or not. My way of doing that is to stay as close as I can to what God says is important in his word, not what we think is important apart God’s word.
John Piper, What Man Does in the New Birth
Piper on Relevance
Previous post: 3 Links Worth Clicking
Next post: Tweet of the Week
I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship; husband to Jen; Dad to Katherine, Elias, Madeline, and Kilian. If you're in town you can probably find me in the local coffee house or running through the neighborhoods.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I wish more pastors strived to be biblically relevant and not culturally, socially, or contemporarily (is that a word?) relevant.
Praise God your church has you.
I know what you’re saying – and may agree. I think cultural relevance is showing how the gospel intersects with the culture/community God sends us to. Therefore, I think it’s very important to be culturally relevant; to show what the gospel says to the people, problems and presuppositions in my community.
Relevance has been given a bad rap in preaching and teaching, not to say it isn’t warranted in some cases. We need to help people (followers of Christ and people who do not follow Christ) understand how Biblical truth and Biblical living intersects with their life today in the 21st century. The Bible is very relevant for today. I think there are times when we as pastors & teachers do not think through how God’s Word relates to our listener’s everyday setting or we take for granted that it is as clear to everyone else as it is to us. (just some thoughts)
{ 2 trackbacks }