Acts 6:4 - Preaching and the Preacher's Task

Acts 6:4 - But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. 

Message: Preaching and the Preacher's Task

Time: Clearly written by Luke, this book follows the lives of Peter and then Paul after Jesus' ascension into heaven. The book was completed about 62 AD as Paul sat in prison. It provides an account of the growth of the Church and spread from Jerusalem, from a small group of frightened believers in Jerusalem transformed into an empire-wide movement of people who had committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and it should help us to be bold and have zeal in our walks with God.

What the Lord is Saying: I have previously in these lessons, for these 10th month of lessons that celebrate the 500th year of the Reformation back in 2017, been looking at the focus for this month of the sacraments. While others hold to many varied sacraments, the reformers believe that two sacraments reign supreme - the Lord's Supper and Baptism. I have taken my time in studying each of these. What is clear in the study of these is these sacraments need the Word of God to come alongside them. They need clear explanation and scripture to be spoken as they are performed to provide context and meaning to them, otherwise it is taking another meal or taking another washing of some sort. 

Reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin became popular as they spoke, but the focused their hearers not on themselves but rather the Word of God. They labored in their study of the word of God to speak many sermons and teach the Word of God to their congregations. As I have studied them and even looked at later teachers like Charles Spurgeon and then into the 20th century like Charles Swindoll and John MacArthur, it is clear that all of these teachers have an incredible zeal to preach the Word of God in multiple times and multiple ways, going over and over the teaching of God's word. In other words, it is clear that their most important task is to preach and teach. As today's verse mentions in Acts 6:4, "They were devoted....to the ministry of the word." 

And as they did this preaching their lives and ministries, more importantly, have been blessed. People in churches often want their pastors to assume a lot of different roles, but we should only really expect our pastors to preach and teach God's word to us. 

Summary: Sacraments must carry with them the study and preaching of God's Word. 

Promise: God's word tells us that the primary task of pastors is preaching and teaching, so that is what we should expect above all from our preachers. 

Prayer: O God, you are glorious and God and your ways are right and true. I am thankful for the good teachers of the Word that you have placed in my life. I am amazed at their many lessons and teachings of the Word of God. For me, I am most thankful for Norm Boshoff as you drew me into fellowship and then later Tom Nelson who amazed me of this love and devotion of Your Words and then his great communication of those words. Thank you God for using these men to bring further excitement and joy to me in reading Your Word. And thank you for my mom and her great devotion to You and that daily excitement she set before me to also have that joy and desire to study and read Your word and walk with you every day in every way. You have placed great people in My life and I am so thankful for this.