A little while ago, a preacher called me and asked me about his idea for a sermon. He wanted me to critique his sermon idea and give him pointers on how he should proceed. Before he started talking about his idea, I asked him, “What is the Scripture that you are going to use?” The preacher then told me, “I have a sermon, maybe you can help me find a Scripture so that I can preach it.”

Now I do recognize sometimes the theme of a sermon comes before you actually have a Scripture. But once you have a Scripture, your idea will no doubt be modified. In some places, your idea will be amplified. In other places, your idea will be totally changed. In fact, your idea will have to come to struggle with the real text once you find it. In other words, you don’t have a sermon if you don’t have a Scripture. Maybe you have a good motivational talk. Maybe a valid business lecture. You may “wreck the house.” But if you ain’t struggled with the Scripture, we have something else other than a sermon.

I gave this preacher a few texts that seemed to work with his theme, but I also encouraged him to allow the sermon to change as he seeks to understand that text. Incidentally, I got permission to use his story in this article.

This event made me think of the number of ways we preachers use the Scripture in our sermons. Some preachers just sprinkle a bit of it into the "cooked" sermon in order to make it more palatable. They simply “season to taste.” The text wasn’t involved in the sermon-idea phase. It didn’t help the direction of the sermon in preparation. It is just sitting up on the podium as a prop next to the preacher.

Then there are those preachers who have not just read the Scripture looking to support their ideas but have actually struggled with the Scripture. They are like Habakkuk, who persistently asked God why. We Christians like to give superficial and surface answers to really hard questions. And preachers are complicit in this mindset by preaching messages like "Christians don’t lose their jobs, and if they do they always find a better one quickly and soon after." In some of our sermons, Christians would always be healed of their diseases if they would but pray. But no, some preachers go on and ask the tough questions, like “Why do you look upon them that deal treacherously, and hold your tongue when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous than he?” (Habakkuk 1:13)

Yes … Some preachers ask hard questions that real people ask. And they struggle with the Scripture. They don’t just skim the surface; they dig deep. They don’t simply toss it … no, they hold onto the Bible just like Jacob held on to the Angel. They say, “I won’t let go until you bless me” (Genesis 32:26).

They leave time to be quiet and listen to God even when it comes in sheer silence (1 Kings 19:12). They construct sermons out of that kind of deep preparation. They come to the preaching event with a message that demonstrates deep understanding of the Scriptural witness. They may be limping like Jacob, but they come with real bread, hot from glory, ready to foster an experience of hope and power in the people of God. No, they don’t use the Bible to prop up their ideas ... the Spirit uses the interaction with the Bible to drive the preacher deeper…

A steady diet of preaching that comes from this kind of study will grow a people who, if they would but struggle with this ancient book and seek to understand and apply it in faithful ways, would also be blessed beyond measure.