Have we got our preaching wrong?

hopeforhappiness said:

I'm just longing for the series of sermons somewhere that does not major on our works of righteousness but on what the marvellous work of Christ is and what it has achieved, and how our condition is fantasically different, with Christ "In Us". Then perhaps I will joyfully and with perseverance respond to the call to "carry my cross".
When was the last time we experienced that inexpressible joy that Paul talks about?

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Appearantly you already are carrying and just not aware your cross has come in the form it has which is so true for so many of us. Peter never expected his cross to come in the form of servant girls accusing him of being the Lord’s. Peter denied it was true and carried that cross until the Lord restored him. But our crosses come in different forms we are usually prepared for them to come.

I am reminded about the man you was so tired of his cross and brought it up to the Lord. Lord my cross is too heavy and cumbersome for me to carry he told the Lord. The Lord said alright and took him into a room where he could set down his cross and he did. The Lord and he left there and entered through another door. The man was thrilled at what he saw with this teeny tiny cross in with all these giant crosses. He told the Lord he wanted the little cross he could carry that cross. The Lord looked at him and explained that cross was the cross he had brought with him. Our cross may seem more than we can bear and maybe it is because we have been carrying it ourselves without the strength that comes from and through the Holy Spirit. Does the pastor have time to study and prepare sermons? Does he have elders who can speak to whether is sermons are Needing some new focus. I

hopeforhappiness said:

Hi there, I haven't been on this site for 2 years. Not sure why, but anyway.
Bought a commentary on Romans by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. There's lots of exhortatiosn on the reader TO DO BETTER. Our pastor is continuing haranguing us to DO BETTER as well.
Although it is never spelled out just what he practically wants us to do, but I strongly believe he is talking about us working harder to fulfil his vision for the church.
I just wonder whether we have it the wrong way round. The gospel and NT pastoral care is about carrot rather than stick. I really do think that our pastor and the good doctor are touching on legalism. The "I never knew you" warning the pastor has even used of himself and he is the most committed person I have ever known. His preaching is breeding some bewilderment, some demoralisation and insecurity. Some people have just left.
Anyway, I have come to believe that our sacrifice of good works and seeking righteousness should be a RESPONSE to our salvation not to ensure we don't lose it. Why doesn't Lloyd-Jones and our pastor major rather on the wonderful, wonderful thing that Christ did for us and how many brilliant things were achieved for us ONCE and FOR ALL. Then joy and gratefulness rather than fear and guilt would be our motivation.
What do people think? What is the style of preaching in your church?

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If you study the scripture in depth you will find that today's church bears no resemblance to the church of the New Testament. All sorts of reasons have been given as to why that is except for the most obvious one and that is we choose to ignore scripture for our own ideas.

Preaching was done by the apostles in public places to unbelievers, not to the converted. Teaching to the believers was carried out in their homes around communal meals where all if possible contribute to the meal.

What that means is they had round table discussions where their questions could be given answers.

One house fellowship I was involved in and which my husband wrote the manual for said that the leader was not to use the fellowship as a platform for their own ministry. Guess what. In this one the leader used it for his own ministry. No one else got a look in.

One week he was not going to be there so he told us we could do what we like. I suggested we had a communal meal to which everyone contributed. I got 100% acceptance even though the leader showed he was not happy.

We started earlier than normal and finished much later than usual because no one wanted to go home. We never stopped eating and never stopped talking.

Everyone except the leader thought it was the best meeting we had ever had. I wonder why?

When you follow scripture it invariably has a positive outcome.

artie annie said:

If you study the scripture in depth you will find that today's church bears no resemblance to the church of the New Testament. All sorts of reasons have been given as to why that is except for the most obvious one and that is we choose to ignore scripture for our own ideas.

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A church consisting of a few people, rejected by society, is not going to look the same as a church with a large fraction of the population. But there's no reason it can't do the same things.

Preaching was done by the apostles in public places to unbelievers, not to the converted. Teaching to the believers was carried out in their homes around communal meals where all if possible contribute to the meal.

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There's plenty of public preaching. And there's plenty of teaching within the churches. We don't actually know as much about how churches in the NT worked as you imply here, though your suggestion is certainly plausible. But adult Christian education in most churches, Bible studies, etc, provide the same kinds of opportunities.

I am not a fan of fear-based Christianity. It seems to me that if one's primary motivation for being a Christian is to avoid Hell perhaps they're missing much of the crux of the Christian message of loving the Lord, walking in the Way of Christ, and loving your neighbor as yourself. I think fear-based Christianity is more self-focused rather than other-focused. In my opinion, fear-based Christianity focuses more on the prize at the end of the road than the Christian journey itself.

I think fear-based Christianity is much of the reason why the Christianity that most outside of the church (and including many in the church) sees does not seem to resemble Christ. People cannot see Christ in the fear-based approach and it dampens the entire Christian witness. In Christ's earthly ministry he spent over three years trying to show people who he was and what he was about and they often refused to see just like today. The bible has become an "inerrant" rulebook versus being the gift that gives us a joyous glimpse of God's holy mystery.

I can't remember where I heard it, but just last week I remember listening to a podcast or something that stated, "You can't be deeply in love with someone you're scared to death of."

If you're attempting to avoid hell, then there is nothing more hellish than being in an abusive relationship for all eternity. And the only real reason you're staying in the relationship is because you fear the alternative would be worse?

Where is Christ in all of that horrific scenario?

hopeforhappiness said:

My wife (long-suffering and loyal) has now decided enough is enough as the pastor confided that he "just wants to kick their backsides".
Part of the problem is that
1) he is the solitary leader (no effective eldership)
2) he believes he has sole responsibility before God for the work that he has been given directly by God.
3) he is in his 70s

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Why has he no elders?

Even Moses had to eventually delegate on the advice of his father in law.

Bible Gateway passage: Exodus 18:17-23 - New International Version

I would not like to go to someone who is overworked for pastoral help, if I was depressed. If he doesn't appoint elders or deacons, he will do himself harm eventually and perhaps others in his congregation won't get adequate pastoral care, because he is trying to cope by himself. Every pastor should have some support in terms of elders or deacons, how many would depend on the size of the congregation.