Biblical preaching is not casual in nature, as though people have all the time in the world
to respond. There is an urgency about preaching the gospel. There is an immediate, earnest appeal
to hearts which may be tender to receive the truth before it is eternally too late. “Preach the word!
Be urgent in season, out of season,” (2 Tim. 4:2). This type of preaching has a tone of immediacy,
of warning, of finality. In listening to it, one gets the impression that an obedient response is
necessary, and it is necessary now! “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of
salvation,” (2 Cor. 6:2).
The looming problems which confront our nation and our homes are serious, and they are
urgent in nature. Some of them can wait no longer before grave and serious harm is done. They
must be addressed, and they must be addressed now if we are to survive the storms which threaten
to destroy our cherished way of life. No longer can we sit back, thinking that someone else will
take care of the problem eventually.
That’s why in sermons on upcoming Sunday mornings, we will be taking a fresh, scriptural
look at some serious and urgent issues facing each of us. Some of us may not even realize the
urgent need to address these issues, which only confirms how grave the problem really is. Satan is
a master not only at deceiving people, but deceiving them in such a way that they do not even
realize they are being deceived! Consider some of the areas requiring our immediate attention, and
which, Lord, willing, we will be carefully considering in this series:
- Urgent Threats to the Home and Family: The American family is under attack like
never before. Marriage, as a holy and beneficial institution given by God, is often ridiculed,
adulterated, and ignored. God’s blueprint is being disregarded in favor of dangerous and
misleading ideas, innovations and cultural trends. The God-given roles of family members are
being blurred or forgotten. Male spiritual leadership is widely ridiculed and often abandoned. The
strong ties which tether homes to God are being severed and forgotten. And godless changes are
sweeping through American culture like a prairie fire. The resulting crime, drug abuse, divorce,
mental illness and suicide are still shocking to many in our society, but the solutions appear to be
elusive or unreachable. Many times the true answers from the Bible are not even considered in
discussions of these problems. - Urgent Threats to the Church: Congregations are facing dangers never faced before.
Many are crumbling under the pressure. Some churches tolerate undisciplined members who are
openly living in sin, immorality in the church, doctrinal digression, and denominational errors.
Some congregations are losing their identity completely as the Lord’s church. Others, while still
“going through the motions,” are having negligible effects in their respective communities. Instead
of being lights or beacons to the world, they are hiding under a bushel, retreating into their church
buildings and focusing almost entirely upon themselves. They are but paying lip service to our
Lord’s great commission, “Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature,” (Mk. 16:15). - Urgent Threats to us Individually, and to our Way of Life: You may not know it yet,
but Satan is trying to bring you down, spiritually. He is trying to destroy your Christian way of
life. He is trying to cloud your world with doubt, your motives with insincerity, your thoughts with
immorality, and your life with unfaithfulness. If he can destroy your individual effectiveness, he
will achieve a great victory—and he has largely already done it!
Urgent threats like these demand urgent responses. They require that we immediately bring
all biblical resources to bear. And they require preaching that is “urgent, in season and out of
season.” With God’s help, that is exactly what we will be providing in the coming weeks. I
encourage each member to listen carefully to these sermons with an open heart and mind. They
will be recorded and archived for future reference. Take notes if that helps, and put them into your
heart! May this urgent preaching on the vital topics be eternally beneficial to each of us this year!
