Preaching in light of the big question

The big question throughout Scripture is consistently the same.  Will people trust God or not? Will they have faith in Him or not? Will we?

We are living under the same banner, the same fluttering question mark. Will we trust God? 

As preachers we need to help people see the simplicity of life (i.e. this is really the issue in every situation), while addressing the complexity of life (i.e. it never feels that simple!)

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Hebrews 11, for an obvious example, presents example after example of people of faith who lived in the present in light of eternity. They were willing to choose discomfort now, because of what was to come.

This is always a great indicator of faith in God.  They trusted God.  But this is an obvious preaching passage. What about something more obscure?

Leviticus 17 makes an enigmatic reference to the people making sacrifices outside the camp to goat demons or goat idols.  Some obviously were choosing to be unfaithful to God for some reason or other. 

This incident is similar to the golden calf incident back in Exodus. God had delivered them, was among them, yet they rebelled and didn’t trust Him.  Ok, what else?

Actually if we take any incident in Scripture, any narrative, we will find people either trusting or not trusting God.

We face the same options today, although in different forms. Will we be unfaithful to a God who has given us so much and dwells among us?  Will we commit spiritual adultery by giving our worship to another? 

Or will we be men and women of faith, trusting in God even when it means choosing discomfort in the present circumstances? 

Let’s be preachers that encourage others to allow God’s Word to inspire them as we read all sorts of biblical texts, obscure or otherwise – and let’s try to live out a good answer to the big question hanging over us today.

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. He blogs at Biblical Preaching.

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