Brighten Up Your Day

Have you listened to Neil's preach from last Sunday yet (click on the link below)? It was excellent. Neil has his own unique style which compliments those who also preach and teach the Word of God here in B.C.C. He often sees things in the Word that others don't and his down-to-earth delivery and style make him very easy to listen to. He is also very good at taking established concepts and ideas and re-packaging them so they can be understood in a different way. Preaching is not easy and like football, everyone seems to be an armchair expert with their own assessment, view, opinion and advice to make it better. However, we all know that if push came to shove, their performance on the pitch would be far worse than those already down there getting on with the job!

There is a practical dimension to preaching (also known as 'homiletics'). You can 'learn' how to communicate more effectively. Issues of structure, style, application, content, literary devices, humour, personal experiences and so on can all help good preachers become great preachers. However, that's not the end of the story.

Preaching is primarily a spiritual activity When we preach the word of God we are preaching to your spirit as well as the spiritual principalities surrounding us at the time. Due to it's spiritual nature, preachers need the spiritual, supernatural equipping of grace for this gift to function properly. Have you noticed how some people can preach a message that shouldn't work in the natural but because of this anointing (i.e. the supernatural equipping of God's grace) it connects deeply and powerfully: the Holy Spirit inhabits the words.

I love watching people grow in grace. Neil's preaching and teaching gift has grown in this way and each time he shares there is a transmission of Holy Spirit life from Neil's own spirit to any other receptive people picking up the signal. I doubt that any new people coming to the Church would ever think that Neil's tally of Sunday morning messages has not even reached double figures yet. This is evidence of God's grace, not Neil's gifting. All Neil has to do is keep being obedient to God and stepping out in faith to receive that supernatural equipping. All we have to do is listen with open hearts and a good attitude and everyone's a winner!

http://www.bristolcommunitychurch.org/podcasts.asp