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The Importance of Preaching (Jeremiah 26-29)
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: "Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the LORD all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word." (Jer. 26:2)
Two things I would like to note about our passage:
- God's people need preaching. Sometimes it is asked why we spend so much time doing this in churches. Is this not preaching to the choir?
Truth be told, we should be doing more to reach those out in the world who are lost, but the fact is that God's people need preaching as well. We don't come to church because we have it all together. We come to church because we are sick and in need of help.
- Going to church does not mean you are right with God. We might look at going to church as a way of punching our ticket each week to go to heaven. As long as we are present at church on Sunday, it doesn't matter what we do the rest of the week.
But that's as wrong a concept as it could be. Judgment was coming to God's people in Jeremiah's day, and if we're rebelling against God, judgment will come to us as well if we don't repent (Luke 13:1-5).
Father, give us to courage to say everything we need to say as preachers of Your Word, both out in the world among Your people.
