Don’t you love it (I mean, double-heart-eyed emoji love it) when people preach at you? No? Preaching isn’t the most popular word these days, is it? “Don’t preach at me.” “I like that the pastor isn’t too preachy.” In our lingo, “to preach” has the idea of being arrogant and condescending.

But that’s not what the word originally meant. A preacher, in Bible lingo, is a messenger who comes with authority. Instead of sharing some personal feeling or subjective opinion, a preacher comes from the throne of the king to let the people in the streets know what the king has decreed.

In the New Testament, preaching is often connected to the stunning promises of King Jesus. Paul declared, “[God] has brought [eternal life] to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior” (Titus 1:3). God commanded Paul to run through the streets of the world and preach eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

So, every time you go to church or open another Grace Moments email, you should be saying, “Pastor, preach at me! Pastor, I don’t need your opinion (no disrespect). No, I need a word from God. Preacher, you’ve been listening to the King and studying his Word. So, what does he say? Tell me. Please!” 

That’s preaching. It’s the way you find rock-solid peace amidst the white noise of human opinions in our world.