There are approximately 37 million churches in the world and 34,000 (Christian) denominations. If every church has only 1 service a week (most churches have more than 1 service), about 2 billion sermons are preached every year!
That’s a lot of sermonizing, and it means the Bible is the most talked-about book in the world!
Which gets me to wondering, how are preachers preaching, and what are they preaching?
The researcher, Ed Stetzer, addressed this question, in part, in a June 2009 article in Christianity Today. Analyzing 450 randomly selected sermons by different North American preachers, he found that pastors organized and delivered their sermons in diverse ways. He also discovered that Matthew was the most preached book, Genesis the most preached Old Testament book, and Luke, John, Acts, and Romans the most likely books for preachers to use for their main text. More than 70 percent of sermons are a commentary on New Testament texts.
Stetzer’s research indicates that preaching, while Bible-based, isn’t based on the whole Bible. This is troubling, particularly in the light of Paul’s words to Timothy that “all Scripture … is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16.
Note the phrase “all Scripture … is useful for teaching.” The text suggests that certainly all 39 books of the Old Testament, and by extension, the 66 books in both Testaments, are profitable for training and instruction. Why are all the books useful for teaching? Because when preachers preach from the whole Bible it provides us with the full range of meaningful encounters that we need to know and grow in Christ (cf. Luke 24:13-35).
Preaching from the entire Bible isn’t optional, it’s essential. To grow in spiritual maturity, people must feed on the whole counsel of God. So here’s a shout-out for preaching that connects us with every chapter and genre of Scripture in both Testaments.
That’s not to say that it’s feasible for a preacher to preach from every passage of Scripture, but it is to say that good preaching should engage the listeners, with breadth and depth, in the major acts of the whole Bible.
Thus the aim of every preacher should be to connect the listener with Jesus and His Word. Not some of the Word, all of the Word. For we grow in maturity in our relationships with Jesus through engaging with His Word in its entirety.
© Scripture Union Canada 2019