About Us Preaching at CWO
Why does Columbia World Outreach Church feel preaching is so important?
- Because preaching is the God ordained method of evangelism, the God ordained method of equipping the saints for ministry, the God ordained method of helping people grow in holiness and the God ordained means of instructing us about God and His plans for the future.
Why are the sermons at Columbia World Outreach Church so long?
- The sermons at CWO Church are not long compared to many places in the world where church members sit for several hours every Sunday to hear the Word of God preached. Compared to the average church in America, the sermons at CWO Church are longer than most (60 - 80 minutes). There are specific reasons for this. We preach longer sermons because the Bible makes preaching a priority. Also, the kind of sermons we preach (explained below) take longer to deliver.
I have noticed that compared to the church I am at right now, the preaching at Columbia World Outreach Church seems technical and academic, why is that?
- CWO Church practices mainly what is called "Expository Preaching." Expository preaching is a certain kind of preaching which attempts to carefully and accurately read, explain, and apply the ancient text to modern day hearers. We practice expository preaching because the Scriptures require us to accurately handle the Word of God, because we are to teach all of God's Word, because teachers incur a stricter judgment, because expository preaching teaches people by example how to read, study, interpret, and apply the Bible to their lives, and because we see it modeled and commanded in the Word of God. Most people who are not used to expository preaching find it hard to listen to at first. It may seem too academic or information laden at first, but after listening to expository preaching for a short time most people will never settle for any other style of preaching again.
What other kinds of preaching are there besides expository preaching?
- There are two primary styles of preaching. Topical and expository preaching. Non-expositional, topical preaching is very common today. Non-expositional topical preaching is when a preacher wants to discuss a given topic from the Bible so he finds a text or series of verses which support what he wants to say and then says what he wants to say. Expository preaching on the other hand attempts to read, interpret, and apply whatever is in the text letting God say what He wants to say. Non-expository topical preaching tends to be preacher driven while expository preaching is text driven. It is possible to preach a topical sermon and still have it be an expository sermon. In all of our topical sermons we will strive to accurately teach what the Bible as a whole teaches on that given topic and usually try to discuss a topic from a particular text. You can expect to hear an occasional topical sermon at CWO Church, but verse by verse expository preaching is the norm.
Your preaching seems confrontive and "in your face" compared to the preaching I am used to, why is this?
- The reason the preaching at CWO Church seems so confrontive is that it is by design. the Bible defines preaching as reproving, rebuking, exhorting, proclaiming, admonishing, correcting, declaring, etc. These words all have contained in them an element of confrontation. The Bible is God's Word and God requires that His Word be proclaimed with "all authority" to His church. The preacher is nothing more than a conduit or messenger of God's Word. God speaks to the church through the preacher who proclaims what the Word of God says. The preacher has no authority himself, but if he is preaching God's Word, the Word of God has authority. When you listen to sermons on this web site you will feel confronted because we preach as messengers from God, telling God's people what God says they must do or not do. In other words, we strive to confront people with the truth of God's Word and call them to obey it.
I often feel guilty after listening to the sermons on the CWO Church web site. I don't want to feel guilty, so why should I continue to listen?
- Hopefully, you don't feel guilty because you are obeying and glorifying God. If you are not obeying and glorifying God then you should feel guilty. In fact the Bible tells us that one of the Holy Spirit's ministries is to convict the world concerning sin and judgment. If you are convicted it is a good sign that you have a soft and tender spirit. Conviction is God's way of notifying you that you need to confess your sin, receive forgiveness in Jesus Christ and change the course of your life. It would be wrong for a person to sit in church and not feel guilty about their sins. Guilt and conviction are proper responses to being confronted with the truth of God's Word. Those who want to grow in holiness will cherish the conviction they receive from the preaching of God's Word. Of course if you are obeying God's Word, then you will not feel guilty or convicted.
I am used to positive preaching. Your preaching seems so negative. Why should I listen to all of the negative things about God, when I can just focus on the positive things like God's love, compassion, grace and mercy?
- God says that all of His Word is for "teaching, for reproof, for correction and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work" (II Tim. 3:16-17). This means all of God's Word is good, none of it is "bad" or "negative." Some churches only preach part of God's Word to their congregations. They refuse to preach against sin. They refuse to preach on God's judgment, wrath, or hell. They avoid topics which they perceive to be "negative." This is a serious sin. It is the sin of fearing men rather than God. The preacher who fails to preach the whole counsel of God is rejecting God's calling on his life and sinning against both God and His people. It is not unloving to warn people of the consequences of sin, judgment, and the wrath to come. It is unloving to not tell people when they are in danger. The preacher who hates his people, keeps back from them part of God's good truth. By not preaching all of God's Word a congregation becomes spiritually malnourished. Doctrinal deficiencies give birth to sin, unholy life styles, false doctrine, and lack of discernment. God wants us to know all of His truth not just some. God commands preachers to preach the whole counsel of God's Word and promises to judge those who add or subtract from His Word.
It seems your sermons are very obedience and works oriented but salvation is by grace not works. Why do you focus so much on obedience in your sermons?
- First, it may be that you have an incorrect understanding of grace and how the grace of God is to be manifested in the life of a Christian. Grace is the unearned, undeserved favor of God. It is God's kindness and goodness given to unworthy sinners. But the grace of God is not given to people so that they can sin against God (Rom. 6:1-2, 15). Grace has a purpose. God gives us His grace so that we will obey Him. Some people want to feel good about their sin and so all they want to think about is grace. By doing this they deceive themselves into thinking that their rebellion against God is okay because God is a God of grace. Yet they fail to realize that grace has a purpose and the purpose of God's grace is obedient, holy living. Listen to how Paul describes the purpose of grace in Titus 2:11-12 "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age." Notice that grace first saves and then instructs us to obey. The Scriptures are clear, we are not saved by works, but once we are saved God's grace is given to us so that we will do good works. An obedient holy life is manifestation of God's saving grace in a person's life.
Many churches charge to listen to or download their sermons online, why don't you?
- CWO Church desires to make sermons available to everyone free of charge online as long as God enables us to do so. Of course it takes money, man hours, and physical resources for CWO Church to keep up our web site, but we feel it is an important ministry. If someone is blessed by this ministry and wants to support it, they can do so. But we would not encourage anyone to support the ministry of CWO Church unless they were first faithfully supporting their own local church. Sermons on audio CD can also be acquired after Sunday services or at the church office during the week for a small donation which helps cover the cost of the CD and materials.
Can I copy and distribute sermons I download from the web site?
- Yes, provided you do not alter or change the sermon content in any way or charge people for them. If you wish to do something with the sermons on our web site, please write or call and ask for permission from CWO Church.
