Monday, January 12, 2009

Christ-Centered Preaching — Gene Veith

In a day when much that goes on in the church (including its preaching) can be characterized as "Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism,*" Gene Veith gives a wonderful example of Christ-Centered preaching. Click Here to read the short excerpt.

I've preached on Jesus' baptism before and found it somewhat perplexing. John's baptism was one of repentance, but Jesus never sinned and never needed to repent. Furthermore Jesus was baptized 'to fulfill all righteousness' (whatever that means). Somehow I never made all the connections that this pastor did. What a wonderful example of Christ-centered, God-honoring preaching! May you be as encouraged as I was.

* The term "Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism" is not original with me. It arises from the research of sociologist Christian Smith who has studied American Evangelicalism. I first heard the term on the White Horse Inn radio program (available on the internet). Dr. Mike Horton's recent book and DVD series, "Christless Christianity," uses Smith's research as a starting point to discuss recent trends in the evangelical church. I can't recommend it enough.

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