Should we preach to the crowd or the core on Sunday morning? Should our sermons be evangelistic, or edifying, to the unchurched or the churched? Many argue today that our preaching should be cross-centered salvation oriented messages rather than expository Bible teaching. The biblical examples of sermons by Jesus and the apostles focus on reaching the crowds of people with the gospel; the argument goes, so we should preach the same way. (Never mind the pesky distinction that Jesus and Paul preached in the marketplace of the city, not the gathered community of believers.) Furthermore, the popularity of attractional sermons seems to validate the method.

 

I think there are numerous reasons why we should primarily (not exclusively) preach to the core on Sunday mornings. 

The great commission calls us to make disciples not converts (Mt. 28:19-20). Disciple-making should be the goal of our preaching. We are to teach believers to practice “all” that Jesus commanded us. Sadly, “all” is the missing ingredient of much preaching today. Although some argue that teaching takes place in small groups during the week, the reality is that this trickle-down approach fails to teach all of Scripture because the sermon fails to set the example for deeper study. Preaching is still the best way to start making disciples. The sermon is still the most effective way to reach the most people with the “whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:27).

 

Disciple-making sermons are set in the context of gathered worship (Mt. 28:17). Jesus delivered His great commission to a gathered community of worshipers. As John Piper has said, “Mission exists where worship doesn’t!” God calls us to worship, and we teach people in the context of corporate worship. Most people in most churches on Sunday mornings are believers gathered for worship. Unbelievers, of course, cannot worship God, so services geared toward unbelievers lose their focus on worship. Preaching to the core is an act of worship and leads believers deeper into a fresh encounter with God. Authentic worship is infectious. The unbeliever that God is drawing to Himself finds authentic worship contagious because the gospel is foundational to worship. Christ is the center of worship, so sermons in the context of worship will point to Christ as we seek to become more Christ-like.

Attractional, come and see, sermons promote a spectator faith. If we are preaching to unbelievers, then we are asking the believers present to watch and enjoy. Believers will certainly be encouraged by the evangelism, but they will not grow from the preaching. Come and see sermons create fans in the stands applauding the pastor in the pulpit. In contrast to come and see sermons, Paul exhorts us to deliver teach and go sermons. Pastors and teachers are to equip the believers for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12).

 

Equipping the committed energizes ministry by the body. The church grows up into Christlikeness and grows out in Christ’s love (Eph. 4:13-16). All too often, as has been said, churches are like football fans in the stands badly in need of exercise watching pastors on the field badly in need of rest! If we as pastors are not equipping our people with the knowledge and skills for ministry, we can’t complain when they are satisfied to cheer us on from the box seats they purchased with their offerings.

The New Testament epistles provide the best examples of Sunday morning preaching. The apostles wrote letters which the local pastors read aloud to the congregations. The world of the first century was an oral world. The people did not read these letters. Pastors read the messages to the people. These epistles were the sermons of the early church. We would do well to model our preaching to believers after these sermons to the early church. The apostles organized the messages carefully with many doctrines which the preachers applied to the listeners in very practical ways. Filled with Scriptural allusions and quotations, the preachers explained the Old Testament, the only Bible they had available. Therefore, Paul summarized preaching this way:

 

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)