In evangelical circles we typically think of preaching as teaching and exhorting. Of course, Scripture informs, instructs, explains, asserts, and commands. Yet for the Reformers, the preaching of the Word is more than a preacher’s thoughts, encouragements, advice, and impassioned pleas. Through the lips of a sinful preacher, the triune God is actually judging, justifying, reconciling, renewing, and conforming sinners to Christ’s image. God created the world by the words of his mouth and by his speech also brings a new creation into being. In other words, through the proclamation of his Word, God is not just speaking about what might happen if we bring it about but is actually speaking it into being. Hence, Calvin calls preaching the sacramental word: the word as a means of grace. Faith comes by hearing the Word—specifically, the gospel (Rom. 10:17). Thus, the church is the creation of the Word (creatura verbi).
Michael Horton, Calvin on the Christian Life, p. 121.
As the post-Christian culture continues to spread, Christian thinkers scramble for means of relating to people. Much advice is about making sermons more clever, more engaging, more relevant. Yet, it seems apparent that these methods are not effective. Gurus without results continue to propound the pragmatic preaching methods that will reach Millenials and GenZ. But the last few decades should reveal to us that this entertainment model fails to produce rooted Christians, and, at some point, churches begin to hemorrhage people who find far more entertainment and even profound thinking on the internet. It is necessary, then, that churches recover the centrality of preaching. Preaching is the means by which God has chosen to act in our world. Preaching the Word of God is the unique calling of the church and her pastors. And, indeed, the trends point to the reality that this is what the church must do to gain traction in a pluralistic world. Just take the video below as one example.