Qs - What's the difference between preaching and teaching?

What is the difference between preaching and teaching?  Is there a time or place where one should be more emphasized over the other?

  

Broadly speaking, ‘preaching’ is all about ‘proclamation.’  It consists of opening up Scripture and revealing who God is and what He has done, especially emphasizing what He has done through Jesus to redeem the world.  ‘Preaching’ then is essentially ‘proclaiming’ the good news of the Kingdom of God. 

‘Teaching’ on the other hand is all about the ‘implications.’  What does it mean to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God?  If we have been redeemed by the Cross of Christ, how then shall we live?  Teaching helps us to apply and work through all the details that preaching proclaims.   

The Bible sometimes refers to ‘preaching’ and ‘teaching’ as separate activities,[i] but in practice, the lines between them get blurred.[ii]  For that reason, I think it’s most helpful to think of preaching and teaching as two ends of the same spectrum.  In many ways, they overlap, but there are certain things that tend to be more true at either end of the line.  For example:

 

  

As you can see, the differences are really nuances.  Good teaching must proclaim the redemptive work of God and good preaching has to help people to think about the implications of the Gospel.  Preaching and teaching are integrally related so that I think it’s probably best to situate any given message on a spectrum ranging from ‘preaching’ to ‘teaching,’ rather than labelling it as one specific kind of message. 

 

That being said, a Sunday morning sermon is usually closer to the preaching end while Bible studies skew more towards the teaching end.  ‘Bring a friend’ sermons will be closer to preaching as they anticipate a less committed audience, but Qs from the pews lean heavily in the direction of teaching, given that they are coming from more mature believers.  Even so, I want to proclaim the Gospel in a way that helps new people come to faith and apply it to life (like teaching) and address Qs from the pews in light of the Cross (like preaching). 

 

The difference between preaching and teaching is really one of nuance.  They are two ends of the same spectrum and any good message or study will lean towards one end while incorporating aspects of the other.  Despite any differences though, preaching and teaching both have the same goal – to help people to know God and grow in their relationship with Him!

 



[i] For example, Matthew lists them as unique aspects of Jesus’ ministry: 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, [1] teaching in their synagogues, [2] preaching the good news of the kingdom, and [3] healing every disease and sickness among the people (Matthew 4:23, repeated in Matthew 9:35 and Matthew 11:1.  See also Luke 20:1).  1 Timothy 4:13 is similar.  Paul reminds Timothy to apply himself to three different aspects of ministry: 13 Until I come, devote yourself to [1] the public reading of Scripture, to [2] preaching and to [3] teaching (numbers added).

 

[ii]  For example, Luke 4:15-16 tells us that Jesus had a practice of ‘teaching’ in synagogues and that on one particular Sabbath, He went to do ‘as was His custom,’ ie., to teach.  The content of His ‘teaching’ though was textbook ‘proclamation.’  He opened up the Scriptures to Isaiah and through Isaiah, He ‘preached’ good news to the poor and ‘proclaimed’ freedom for the prisoners (vss. 18-19).  This proclamation of Good News came in the context of ‘teaching,’ blurring the lines between the two.    

 

 

Do not fear (Christmas edition)

Did you know…
that the words ‘Do not be afraid’ appear in the Nativity account four times?

 

* When Joseph was considering divorcing Mary because of the surprise pregnancy, “an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20 NIV).

 

* When an angel appeared to Zechariah announcing that he and his wife would have a long awaited child (John the Baptist), “… the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John’ (Luke 1:13 NIV).

 

* When an angel declared to Mary that she would carry God’s son, “…the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus’ (Luke 1:30-31 NIV).

 

* When the angel appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus, “the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.’” (Luke 2:10-11 NIV).

 

Whenever the Bible repeats something, our ears should perk up because it means the God wants us to hear something.  And what does He say at Christmas time? 

 

Do not be afraid.  Do not fear.

 

Now admittedly, every time it says ‘be not afraid,’ it’s because there’s a supernatural messenger appearing to say something life-changing.  We’d probably be afraid too if an angel broke into our every day.  But these appearances are all about God calling people to play a part in His story of redemption.  And we have that in common with them.

 

Do not be afraid, God says to us.

 

When you start something new.  When you act with grace instead of anger.  When you bear witness to the goodness of God.  Do not be afraid. 

 

Jesus says it too:

 

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27 NIV).

 

And do you know why?  Why we need not let our hearts be troubled?  Joshua 1:9 answers that:

 

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

 

This Christmas and the year ahead, the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.  Draw near to Him.  Go where He goes.  And let the peace that Jesus gives crowd out fear from your heart.  Do not be afraid for Emmanuel “God with us” is with you.

Langford Turkey Pie sale

When: Monday, March 14 (3:00 to 5:00 pm)

Where: Langford Community Church

5" Turkey Pies @ $4.00 each - 480 available for sale

4" Pecan Butter Tarts @ $2.25 each - 144 available for sale

As always ... these will sell quickly ... so order now!


E-mail me @ mariannemoniz@gmail.com

Text or call me @ 519-732-7247 Thank you for your support!


Buyers can pay by cheque or cash. Please make cheques payable to Langford Community Church.

Important Reminder: Bring a cooler with you when picking up your pies!

MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING WILL BE REQUIRED

NOTE: Joyce Smith is looking for people to roast turkeys (you can do it!) for this important fundraiser. If you can help with this, please phone Joyce at 519-756-6378 or email her at joycesmith19@hotmail.com. Much appreciated!

Who are you?

In this series, we will be exploring who we are in Christ and how our relationship with Him impacts all other aspects of our identity.

January 16 - I am God’s handiwork

 January 23 - I am a sinner saved by grace

 January 30 - I am a child of God

February 6 - I am a servant of God

 February 13 - I am a member of Jesus’ family

 February 20 - Guest speaker

 February 27 - I am a work in progress

 March 6 - First Sunday of Lent (Communion)

Genesis series

Gen preaching outline FB.jpg

The book of Genesis tells us how it all started. In the next few months, we will look together at God’s account of how it started and then we’ll jump forward to think about how it’s going. Is our world consistent with what God intended in the beginning? What about our lives? How can we make ‘how it started’ and ‘how it’s going’ line up?