The preacher’s task is to hold up reality as the Bible presents it, and to ask how it compares to what his hearers have been calling reality. He asks if all the promises that sin has been making to them have turned out to be true. He shows them that the Bible is, in fact, a better interpreter of their experience. And then he points them to the warnings and promises that it personally makes to them.
Doing this well, of course, means the preacher must understand what his hearers believe—the warp and woof of their false worlds. His goal is to confront those beliefs precisely. Here are three categories that influence every person and which the preacher must confront:
First, worldviews. Often a person’s response to Scripture is dictated by worldview presuppositions that he or she is not even aware of. Philippians tells us to look to the interests of others (2:3–5), but to what extent does our materialism limit how sacrificially we’re willing to do this? Hebrews 13:17 tells us to submit to our leaders, but does our individualism and radical egalitarianism hinder our ability to heed such a command? Jesus tells us to take up our crosses
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