Suggestions
God’s word contains a mass of needed mate1ial Christians need to
know. The New Covenant teaches us how to live on earth in
preparation for heaven. It is not easy to always determine what a
congregation needs to know in order to grow and be strong in the
Lord. People are at different levels of growth, and they need a variety
of teaching to increase knowledge and to achieve spiritual fortification.
One of the potential problems confronted by preachers and elders
1s accommodating the spiritual needs of as many of the people as
possible. People often assume that preachers automatically know what
needs to be addressed. Such is not the case.
If “too much” preaching is done on moral issues such as abortion,
dmnkenness, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, adultery, incest, etc.
m order to strengthen those who have been converted from an
immoral backgrounds, there will be some who \vill not derive much
benefit from that kind of material. On the other hand, if “too much”
preaching is done on “doctrinal” issues such as immersion, the one
body, instrumental music in worship, the Lord’s Supper,
denominationalism, etc., people who prefer teaching on moral issues
may feel neglected. If the preacher elects to do “textual” preaching
those who prefer “topical” lessons may feel “neglected.” Then there
are people who prefer “topical” preaching because to them, “textual”
preaching may be too general.
One way to assist with resolving this dilemma is for people to
suggest specific topics, texts, subjects, ideas, and other types of
material that they need to hear. Another important factor is to
suggest such things to Bible class teachers. Bible classes are often
the ideal arrangements for discussing material because of the value of
the question and answer format. (Acts 17:16-34; Acts 20:7;
Colossians 4:6; 1 Peter 3:15) The message must be proclaimed and
there are a variety of ways to get the job done. (2 Timothy 4: I -5)
Ron Daly
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