I once heard a descriptive expression concerning preaching that I really like; it is “Proclamation – Celebration.”  The idea behind this expression is that preaching should be a time to celebrate the great gospel truths that we embrace as followers of Jesus Christ.  I personally contend that most of the preaching during our liturgies should consist of a clear declaration of the glorious truths of Scripture.  We need to celebrate Who God is.  We need to marvel at the wonders of the Incarnate One, He Who is the Eternal Son of God.  We are to be awed by the magnificent sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God.  What good news in which to revel: our sins are forgiven and we have eternal life because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ!  By God’s sovereign council, wisdom and call we stand in grace as sons and daughters of God, now and forever.  How can we not but celebrate such fabulous news?  Of course there is a time for directive teaching and the delineation of the imperatives of Scripture, yet the instructions and commands of God’s Word can only be truly understood as we stand in the blazing light of the glories of His Person and truth.

   It was encouraging for me to find a confirmation of my conviction about preaching in the foreword to the book The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung.  This book is a devotional study of the Heidelberg Catechism.  In the foreword to the book, Jerry Bridges said the following:

   “I myself belong to a church that uses a different catechism, but for many years I have been an admirer of, and have profited from the Heidelberg Catechism.  I like its structure which, as pastor DeYoung points out, fits into the pattern of salvation found in the book of Romans; namely, guilt, grace, and gratitude.  It is the same pattern so clearly seen in Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of God in the temple (Isaiah 6:1 – 8).  In fact I would say that these words form the overall storyline of the Bible.

   I believe this sequence of words, or better, concepts, is the only proper way to understand and apply the Bible to our lives.  Yet my perception of the Christian community today is that we are largely imperative driven.  We major on the ‘ought to’ and ‘how to’ with little regard for that which makes us ‘want to.’  But the Bible does not do this.  Considering its overall message, it teaches that our obedience to the moral imperatives of the Bible should be a response of gratitude more than of duty.  Not that duty is wrong.  It’s just that God wants us to delight to do that which is our duty to do.  And that which makes us delight to obey and serve God is gratitude for his grace shown to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ.”