Proclamation

Summary

Matt Crummy invites us to reflect on what we expect when someone stands to speak from Scripture. Drawing from Luke 4, where Jesus reads from Isaiah and declares its fulfillment, Matt explores the idea of sermons as “word events”—not performances or lectures, but encounters where God addresses his people through human voices. He considers what this genre reveals about Jesus, about the nature of preaching, and about our posture as listeners. Rather than offering a formula, sermons open us to the presence of the living God and the ongoing work of the Spirit in community.

Questions for reflection

• What do you expect to happen when someone preaches?

• How has a sermon ever felt like a personal encounter with God for you?

• What does Jesus’ reading of Isaiah in Luke 4 teach you about the authority and purpose of preaching?

• Do you tend to approach sermons more like information or invitation? Why?

• What voices have helped you hear God more clearly through preaching?