Many churches preach the Bible, but preaching the Bible means different things to different churches. Sometimes it can mean a pastor picks a part of a verse and jumps into a doctrinal discussion without explaining the verse in context. Sometimes it mean the preacher thinks of an idea and finds several verses that match his idea so it is the pastor who controls the sermon.
Our church is different, we have decided the preaching the Bible should mean the pastor finds the point of a passage and preaches the same point. Moreover, it means the pastor finds the subpoints of the text and preaches the same subpoints in the sermon.
This means that instead of the pastor controlling the sermon, the pastor operates as a detective. He considers the meaning of words, the meaning of clauses, the immediate context of the passage, the larger book context, the original audience, genre and many other things to find the point of the text-sermon. Then he preaches that same point. He preaches applying it to the congregation’s language and culture.
Many in church history have had different preaching philosophies, and God has used them. Our church has decided to use the recently explained philosophy for 5 reasons which I will summarize for you.
1) It draws attention away from the pastor and unto the Bible. 1 Peter 4:11 says that “if anyone speaks, let him do so as the oracles of God.” People see God’s word instead of the pastor.
2) If someone disagrees, their argument is not with the preacher, but with God’s word. And that means their disagreement is ultimately with God.
3) Those who attend will learn how to read their Bibles better.
4) This philosophy feeds all who attend; both the new people in the church and people who have been attending. Preaching the point of the passage feeds both of their souls.
5) Those who attend do not have to work hard at remembering the pastor’s message after they leave church because they have the same points already in their Bibles for all time.
Our goal is that God would bless His Word through Bay City Baptist church and feed His people. Thank you.
Bay City Baptist Deaf Church | Green Bay 