The Expositors Collective Seminar will be held on April 5-6 at Maranatha Chapel in San Diego. Visit expositorscollective.com for more information. This seminar seeks to present prospective expositors (18-34 years) the opportunity to experience a hybrid course in gospel-centered preaching/teaching.
You are a living witness
Your story is just that, it is yours. When this simple truth is owned, something causes your story to have incredible power. You are a living witness of the power and ability of Jesus to transform a life. Your unique perspective sheds light on the glory of Jesus in a way that other people need to hear.
GOSPEL-CENTERED LIVING PRECEDES GOSPEL-CENTERED PREACHING.
As you become comfortable with your redemptive story, the more easily people will be able to see the immense glory of Jesus through your life. While admiring other preachers can be helpful, if you try to become them, you will lose credibility with your hearers. Do not be a different person when you are in and out of a teaching role. Be passionate, but express your personal passion for God. Be sincere, using your own voice and sharing your own thoughts. Be yourself, not someone else. Being comfortable in your own skin is gospel-centered living and gospel-centered leading. The heart of the matter is that gospel-centered living comes before gospel-centered preaching.
GOSPEL-CENTERED LIVING BRINGS BALANCE.
Finding our own identity in the forgiveness and justification we have in Christ enables us to share the two sides of this coin authentically with others. Through the cross of Jesus Christ, you are already made righteous, accepted, approved, beloved and adopted as a child of God. Growing in a strong identity in Christ enables preachers to proclaim the gospel with authority and power. Resting in the full approval of God through Jesus produces freedom from seeking the approval of others, enabling you to become the most authentic version of yourself.
FREEDOM IN PREACHING COMES FROM HAVING YOUR IDENTITY SECURE IN CHRIST.
If your highs are too high and your lows are too low after preaching, it is an indication that you are not finding your identity in Jesus, but in your performance or in the approval of others.
As preachers, we have to be personally experiencing the enjoyment of the gospel in our lives, in our minds and in our hearts. Once that is in place, it allows us to stop trying to be somebody we are not, to stop trying to perform and to be ourselves. Each one of us has been uniquely made by our Creator to be His work of art: His poēma (Ephesians 2:10). He delights in what He has made. He wants us to be who He has made us to be, and not somebody else. The more we grow in that area, the better we become at representing the gospel and truly expositing His Word.
