Finding balance in preaching

A pastor friend of mine once told me a member of his church commented that he wished the pastor would preach stronger sermons. He didn't feel the minister challenged the congregation enough. Another person spoke up and responded that he had sat in churches for 30 years and heard nothing but sermons that beat him up every week. He appreciated hearing sermons that encouraged and lifted him up.

I nearly walked out of a service a few years ago. A member of the church had told me their pastor pounded on them every week. People were leaving the church, and she and her husband, long time members, were thinking of doing the same. I went to see if what they were telling me was true, and it was. I knew this congregation, knew its history and all the good ministries that they had done over the years, and yet for 45 minutes he did nothing but attack them. By the time he finally resigned from the church a few months later it had been reduced to a fraction of what it once was.

Turn on certain preachers on Sunday morning and you'll find the biggest smiles and sermons guaranteed to warm your hearts and empty your pocketbooks. Everybody is OK! God loves you and only wants to bless you! Don't worry! Be happy!

I find more balance in the Scriptures than in the illustrations I've given. Jesus spoke very tenderly to the hurting, but He could also let loose a blistering attack on religious hypocrites. He could bless small children and insist they be allowed to be brought to Him, and there were times when He turned over the tables in the Temple and drove out those who abused the ones who had come to worship God. This balance is what I have tried to maintain throughout most of my ministry.

Quite a few years ago I was reviewing the sermons I had preached at our church during the previous several months when I noticed that they had been very negative. This probably reflected more of what was going on in my life than the church's, but I was immediately convicted. That next Sunday I apologized to the congregation explaining what I had discovered about my messages. I made them a promise that they would never have to be afraid to invite a friend to a service in the future.

I committed myself to preparing messages that were more balanced. There would be Sundays when the messages would be uplifting and encouraging, and there would be messages that addressed issues in our culture. I still preached against sin, and I still warned people of a coming judgment. Even the strongest sermons came from a positive perspective, not a negative one.

I told people that I loved them enough to tell them the truth, and I tried to do so in a loving manner. I also told them that God loved them even more and gave His only Son so they might live and escape the final judgment. Every sermon ended with an invitation giving people an opportunity to respond to the message as God led.

Balance does not mean compromise. I've never been accused in over 35 years of preaching of having compromised the Scriptures. If we preach the Word of God we will be bringing our people balanced messages that will transform their lives. That should be the goal of every minister. Not much transformation occurs when people are attacked every week or when the Gospel is watered down for people with itching ears. We can help transform people's lives when we point them to Jesus Christ, and that happens best when we deliver balanced, biblical messages.