Pray that your pastor preaches to the whole choir

Here is a post that will help you better pray for your pastor(s) and his preaching. 

Kevin DeYoung has written about the different sections of the figurative choir that preaching needs to address.  This points to one of most challenging aspects of pastoral ministry and preaching.  We need to constantly address a very wide range of people.

I’m no expert in preaching, neither in its theory nor in the actual doing of it. But one thing I’ve learned is that there are different kinds of people in the congregation who need to hear different sorts of things. Obviously, no sermon can be all things to all people. We must stick with the theme presented in the text. We must preach within our own personalities. Most of all, we must trust the Spirit to preach a better sermon to each heart than the one we deliver.

But still, there’s wisdom in considering what different segments of the church may need to hear. The Puritans were masters at this, often dissecting the congregation into different categories and applying the word accordingly. Early in my ministry I developed a fourfold schema that has served me well. In every sermon I try to remember that I’m preaching to the weary, the wandering, the lazy, and the lost. You may have different categories, but I find these four helpful for keeping my sermons fresh, relevant, and not too lopsided in any one direction.

The Weary

These faithful saints need compassion and encouragement. They are fighting the good fight, but they are struggling in some way. Maybe their kids are wayward, or the test results were not hopeful . . .

Read the rest here.