Good morning! We need to know this–that God’s word will not return empty! I as a preacher need to remember that, regardless of how folks seem to receive the Word (whether outwardly praising or inwardly processing) that the Word is at work. As Christians, we need to be in the Word so the Word will work. You need to come to church with some form of Scriptures in your hand reading and hearing.

We never move beyond the Word of God. Every organization, every home, every school, every church has a culture that operates by certain convictions which have developed over the years. Some of those convictions come from a particular authority or vision and others materialize over the span of time. As generations move forward, those traditions are passed from one generation to another. Those traditions can on the one hand be used to provide stability and security and can be very helpful if grounded in God’s Word. On the other hand, if traditions are developed by those who are proud and anxious, traditions can be used as leverage for control and, as far as church is concerned, work to develop what many believe “church” should be.

Tom Nichols wrote a book called “The Death of Expertise.” He writes,

The United States is now a country obsessed with the worship of its own ignorance. It’s not just that people don’t know a lot about science or politics or geography; they don’t, but that’s an old problem. . . . No, the bigger problem is that we’re proud of not knowing things. Americans have reached a point where ignorance, especially of anything related to public policy, is an actual virtue. To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they’re wrong about anything.

Tom Nichols, The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters (1st ed.). (London: Oxford University Press, 2018).

Paul wrote to the Colossian church that in Christ “are all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). The Word equips us in Christ to live for Christ among His people in His world. We know that Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and that His Word has the same qualities and capacity.

Again, we never move beyond the Word of God! May the Word of God move in us!