TITLE: The Preacher and the Pew

TEXT: I Thess. 2:7-14

PROPOSITION: God requires something of both those who preach and those who sit in the pew.

QUESTION: What?

KEY WORD: Requirements

READING: Same

INTRODUCTION:

          1. A special relationship can exist between the man in the pulpit and those in the pew.

          2. 5-year-old in church, "The music was good, but the commercial was too long!"

          3. There are some requirements that must be met.

What the Preacher should Be:  (7-8)

          A. Requirements of being a preacher

                    1. Gentle - fair, moderate, equitable

                    2. Desirous - strong affection, yearning

                    3. Willing - to think it good, be well pleased

                    4. Loving - known by the action it prompts

          B. Many people think that to preach they must:

                    1. Like to talk

                    2. Like to eat - esp. chicken

                    3. Know Greek, Hebrew and English

                    4. Be "tetched in the head"

          C. "Your Preacher" - Charles Hodge

                    1. "Hatched, matched, dispatched."

                    2. "The Perfect Preacher Has Been Found"

What the Preacher should Do:  (10-11)

          A. Four things the preacher should DO

                    1. Behave - manner of conduct

                    2. Exhort - confront to do what is right

                    3. Charge - challenge to do more, command, order

                    4. Comfort - "Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."

          B. Ralph Waldo Emerson, "How can I hear what you say, when what you are is ringing in my ears?"

          C. Preacher must PRACTICE WHAT HE PREACHES!

What the Pew should Do:  (9-13)

          A. Three things the people in the pew should do

                    1. Remember - I Cor. 15:2

                    2. Walk - worthy of God

                    3. Work - because you believe

          B. The pew responds to every sermon.

                    1. Public response - walk the aisle

                    2. Verbal response - to the preacher

                    3. Behavior response - make the changes

          C. Support your preacher

                    1. Man preached same sermon 5 weeks in a row - elders requested, "Why?" - "Ain't done nothing about that one yet."

                    2. What are you going to do about it?

                              a) Outline each sermon with:

                                        1] What is this sermon about?

                                        2] What am I going to do about it?

CONCLUSION:

          1. The preacher has an obligation to preach and live the gospel message.

          2. The pew has the responsibility to respond to that gospel message in a positive way.