The Witness of Preaching

by Thomas G. Long

God calls the whole church to proclaim the gospel, and every disciple of Jesus Christ is a part of this calling. The whole church proclaims the gospel, and the preaching of sermons is but one part of this larger ministry.

Good preaching, then, is preaching that leads to love of God, but also to the love of neighbor, and, for the preacher, the congregation is full of very specific and diverse neighbors.

Faithful engagement with Scripture is a standard by which preaching should be measured, and the normal week-in, week-out practice of preaching should consist of sermons drawn from specific biblical texts. Biblical preaching in this strict sense should be the rule and not the exception.