More Effective Than a Sermon

"In many ways, your personal, authentic testimony is more effective than a sermon."-Rick Warren 

            Pastoral Leadership Means Sharing Your life Message by Rick Warren

What, exactly does he mean by "sermon." Would it be during the "sermon" time at church that "you" would talk about your "personal, authentic testimony?"

What does he mean by "sermon?"

Does he mean reading or teaching from the scriptures?

Here is Rick's list of parts to "YOUR" life message....

"There are four parts to your life message:

• Your testimony: The story of how you began a relationship with Jesus.
• Your life lessons: he most important lessons God has taught you.
• Your godly passions: The God-shaped issues you care about most.
• The good news: The message of salvation."

Pastoral Leadership Means Sharing Your life Message by Rick Warren, AoG Enrichment Journal 2008

Interesting how "your testimony" supersedes the "message of salvation."  Interesting too, is that you are the one who "began this relationship with Jesus" that Warren mentions here too.  Christian, does  God love you because you first loved Him?  No... not according to the scriptures.  God loved us first, and he did so while we were yet sinners.  While Rick would like very much to have a person believe him when he says, "It's not about you" (the famous first sentence in his book, The Purpose Driven Life,) but the teaching is mysteriously followed by teaching you how to teach YOUR testimony...YOUR life lessons, YOUIR godly passions... and the "good news" which he calls simply, "the message of salvation," which could refer to almost any religious belief of how one is "saved."

Interesting here is also how it is that "your life lessons" are more essential than the "good news" of "The message of salvation." Note how even "your" passions... "the issues you care about" most rank higher than the salvation message on Rick's list of parts to "your life message."

Why? Rick says that it is because:

" Many people who will not accept the authority of the Bible will listen to a humble, personal story. "-Rick Warren

                                               Pastoral Leadership Means Sharing Your life Message by Rick Warren, AoG Enrichment Journal 2008

Did you catch that?  He is telling people to preach what people want to hear.... YOUR story.... your "HUMBLE"  (really?) "personal, story" and this in place of what he calls biblical "authority" that man people "will not accept."  And people in the church believe Rick is right?  Why?

They are bewitched.  Like that man in Acts named Simon, Rick has convinced them that he "himself was some great one." (Acts 8:9) To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God."

They were deceived... bewitched, and so was Simon, until he repented of his sin.

If you are believing Rick, then it's time for an "AH-ha" moment...

First of all, Jesus is humble.  Second of all, the thing to be preached is not YOU... not your life, your passions or issues that you care about most, but God's Word.  This is why Paul told the young pastor, Timothy,

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, 

rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.  For the time will 

come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own 

lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,

 and shall be turned unto fables."

2 Timothy 4:2-4

This is why Paul taught and admonished, (and admonishes even today) the church, saying, 

" But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any 

other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, 

let him be accursed.  As we said before, so say I now again,

 if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, 

let him be accursed.  For do I now persuade men, or God? 

or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men,

 I should not be the servant of Christ." 

Galatians 1:8-9

If you listen to Rick, he will have you ignore God's Word and write your own book of wisdom to teach from... like Solomon did... we would theoretically create whole books of life lessons to learn from instead of the Bible... Yes, imagine for just a moment, will you....

 " Imagine how much needless frustration could be avoided if we learned from each other’s life lessons." -Rick Warren

"Write down the major life lessons you have learned so you can share them with others. We should be grateful Solomon did this because it gave us the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, which are filled with practical lessons on living.  Imagine how much needless frustration could be avoided if we learned from each other’s life lessons."

Pastoral Leadership Means Sharing Your life Message by Rick Warren, AoG Enrichment Journal 2008

Rick would apparently encourage you write down and teach your own life lessons... believing that these were "more effective than" a sermon. (And what did he mean by that word?)

Can you imagine, really...imagine... "how much needless frustration could be avoided if we learned from each other's lessons?"  If you imagine hard enough, you might even believe Rick and do what he says and teach from your life lessons... instead of the authority of the Bible, because as he said earlier...

" Many people who will not accept the authority of the Bible will listen to a humble, personal story. "-Rick Warren

Jeremiah wrote:

"And the Lord saith, Because they 

have forsaken my law which I set before them, 

and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; 

But have walked after the imagination of their own heart..."

Jeremiah 9

Romans 1:21

King James Version (KJV)

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

2 Corinthians 10:4-6

King James Version (KJV)

"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."

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