I'd be willing to bet you a few dollars that your pastor does NOT preach the Bible.
There are two forms of sermon: scriptural & topical.
A scriptural sermon uses scripture throughout as an outline. The sermon follows the quoted scripture line by line. It's much like a formal Bible study or lecture. This style is generally not used because pastors consider it too boring for the congregation to handle.
A topical sermon is technically NOT Bible preaching because it tends to wander away from scripture to make its own point. A topical sermon uses scripture -quotes- to support its assertion, not scripture directly.
For instance, topical sermons were popular in pre-Civil War southern congregations to support slavery. They are used today to justify non-Biblical life styles. This being said, a topical sermon is the most popular type being employed by preachers today. It avoids unpleasant Biblical truths and references to Biblical LAW. They usually appeal to the congregation to inspire donation$ rather than spiritual growth. (When was the last time you heard a sermon series on Repentance?)
Church "missions" are general pitches to the congregation to cough up money to support exaggerated programs that do next to nothing to spread the gospel. When was the last time your church, or any church you know of, supported a major effort to present the gospel to your community. The days of Billy Graham type evangelistic efforts that filled sports stadiums are over. The days of the traveling tent revivals are over too. Modern calls for ministry funding only serve to empty the pockets of congregations - to shear the sheep of their personal wool so to speak.
The true mission of pastors is and ought to be to SPEAK AGAINST the excesses of society and to PROMOTE THE GOSPEL.
"If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that their very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it."
- Charles Finney
IRS code 501.c.3 has effectively muzzled our pastors via the threat of removal of tax exemptions. Ask your pastor about this. He'll tell you the same thing.
that's me, hollering from the choir loft...
There are two forms of sermon: scriptural & topical.
A scriptural sermon uses scripture throughout as an outline. The sermon follows the quoted scripture line by line. It's much like a formal Bible study or lecture. This style is generally not used because pastors consider it too boring for the congregation to handle.
A topical sermon is technically NOT Bible preaching because it tends to wander away from scripture to make its own point. A topical sermon uses scripture -quotes- to support its assertion, not scripture directly.
For instance, topical sermons were popular in pre-Civil War southern congregations to support slavery. They are used today to justify non-Biblical life styles. This being said, a topical sermon is the most popular type being employed by preachers today. It avoids unpleasant Biblical truths and references to Biblical LAW. They usually appeal to the congregation to inspire donation$ rather than spiritual growth. (When was the last time you heard a sermon series on Repentance?)
Church "missions" are general pitches to the congregation to cough up money to support exaggerated programs that do next to nothing to spread the gospel. When was the last time your church, or any church you know of, supported a major effort to present the gospel to your community. The days of Billy Graham type evangelistic efforts that filled sports stadiums are over. The days of the traveling tent revivals are over too. Modern calls for ministry funding only serve to empty the pockets of congregations - to shear the sheep of their personal wool so to speak.
The true mission of pastors is and ought to be to SPEAK AGAINST the excesses of society and to PROMOTE THE GOSPEL.
"If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that their very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it."
- Charles Finney
IRS code 501.c.3 has effectively muzzled our pastors via the threat of removal of tax exemptions. Ask your pastor about this. He'll tell you the same thing.
that's me, hollering from the choir loft...
He's pointed out how hard it can be to teach/preach certain topics when going verse by verse, as it leaves no room to gloss over certain topics (like submission), that might offend some.