Good News vs Good Advice
Have you ever heard a sermon that offered "Three steps to great prayer" or "5 keys to lasting happiness" or "4 sure-fire ways to save your marriage"?
I haven't heard many 'cause I do most of the preaching in my church. But I've seen a lot of ads. And I'm always interested. Because if there are a handful of things I can do to be a better me, then I want to do them. All the better if they are based on the Bible. And many of these are.
I've also read entire books decrying these kinds of "self-help" sermons. They give good advice, but they fail to really deliver good news.
As usual - Tim Keller offers some great insights on this distinction. You can read them here.
If you, like me, find yourself attracted to the self-help (good advice) columns. It is worth asking yourself why. It is also worth recognizing the tendency. The bible is full of good advice. But it's message is good news. And we don't ever want to forget that.
I haven't heard many 'cause I do most of the preaching in my church. But I've seen a lot of ads. And I'm always interested. Because if there are a handful of things I can do to be a better me, then I want to do them. All the better if they are based on the Bible. And many of these are.
I've also read entire books decrying these kinds of "self-help" sermons. They give good advice, but they fail to really deliver good news.
As usual - Tim Keller offers some great insights on this distinction. You can read them here.
If you, like me, find yourself attracted to the self-help (good advice) columns. It is worth asking yourself why. It is also worth recognizing the tendency. The bible is full of good advice. But it's message is good news. And we don't ever want to forget that.
