The Bread and Wine of the Gifts to the Church

Preaching is the bread and wine of the gifts to the church of God. It is sweet to the soul, rich with depth, but also at the same time easy to digest. It is essential to maturity in the life of the believer. If too long without it, it leaves one in a spiritual state of starving. It is one of God’s finest and brightest gifts to His children, and a lighthouse that leads his flock to the gates of splendor.

This was written by Amber Ramirez, the daughter of veteran expositor, Richard Caldwell. Amber’s own testimony was included in the appendix of Caldwell’s book, Pastoral Preaching, with several others who documented their personal testimonies of the blessing of an expository preaching ministry. I was struck by her high view of the pulpit and encouraged by her description of the benefit that deep, clear, accurate preaching brings to the suffering soul.

Do we think of preaching this way? Is preaching to you the “bread and wine of the gifts to the church”? Does your soul look to the authoritative proclamation of God’s word as sustenance for your soul the way your stomach regularly craves physical food?  Do you listen to sermons as if your soul depends on it? Let God’s words in First Timothy 4:16 convince you of the necessity of sound preaching — “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

We must be a people who eagerly longs for God’s word preached.

This post first appeared on the Grace Bible Church NOLA blog. To learn more about our New Orleans church plant, visit gracebiblenola.org.