In his book Making a Difference in Preaching, Haddon Robinson talks about the challenge of preaching when you are going through a painful time personally. It is possible to use the pulpit as a “place for self-therapy” or as a “sniper’s perch” from which to shoot back at those who are causing us pain.
“Furthermore, we can fail to preach the full counsel of God. When we’re in pain, we tend to think everyone is in pain. Even if we never mention our personal troubles, our preaching can become strictly an ambulance service focused on crises. Those who are healthy, moving up in their businesses, and feeling strong in the Lord, won’t get much out of our preaching…
“When we’re suffering, we need others to remind us there are more preaching themes than depravity, grace, faith and prayer. We need to preach also about righteousness, God’s sovereignty, justice, outreach and other fundamental doctrines. Just because some themes aren’t feeding me at the moment doesn’t mean they no longer are good food for others.”
Blessings!
Michael Duduit
mailtmduduit@salempublishing.com
www.michaelduduit.com