APA - Appreciating Pastor Appreciation

Yesterday, I attended Pastors' Appreciation Luncheon hosted by a local Bay Christian Area radio station KFAX AM 1100. Here is what I learned at the Pastoral Appreciation. KFAX invited Alistair Begg as the keynote speaker (who is a pastor with a distinct Scottish accent...I appreciate a good Scottish accent by the way). I am thankful that God spoke through Alistair Begg and reminded me why preaching is the fundamental core of any church ministry. Here is my APA - what I appreciated in Pastor's Appreciation luncheon.

Pastor Begg shared that many contemporary churches emphasize prayer and praise but leave out preaching. Some churches even emphasize "all worship" or "all prayer" or "all fellowship" and stress "no sermon". However, the reason preaching is so important is because God shared salvation through His word. Preaching in its essence is to speak God's word to others.

After 24 hours to mull over this, I look back at the Bible and see that God didn't bring salvation through music, prayer, or fellowship, but through the word! John 1:14 (NIV) states that "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." The Word of God became flesh! The Word of God is Jesus Christ. So when we proclaim God's word, we proclaim Jesus Christ.

This is reminder to me and I think a powerful message to all of us that salvation comes through the Word of God. A person cannot be saved without sharing the Gospel. We must believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord. No matter how powerful a worship session is, no matter how intense a prayer meeting is, and no matter how close a fellowship is, this alone cannot save a person from sin and death. Only preaching the Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ can save a person for eternity.

So I hope that this message is both a reminder for me and a message to you that going to church is not enough to be saved, thanking God is not enough to save us, praying 24/7 is not good enough...All of us must hear God's word and share God's word. That is the main call of any Christian. We might do this in different forms: prayer, music, fellowship, and ministries. But, we must never forgot the Gospel is the center of everything we are and everything we do.

"Lord Jesus Christ, help me to read your word, hear your message, and proclaim your Gospel to the world. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, amen."