So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. – Romans 10:17

Scripture reading: Romans 10:5-17

The Christian confession states that the Holy Spirit is teaching us by way of the gospel of Jesus Christ: “The Holy Spirit produces [faith] by the preaching of the holy gospel” (Q. 65, see also Q. 67). The Christian is convicted that the preaching of the holy gospel is considered one of the keys of the kingdom (Q. 83) and that it is the primary means by which God conveys His salvation (Q. 65).

Christian preaching, as it is used by the Holy Spirit, addresses everything that a person must hear to live in the comfort and joy of belonging to Christ: one’s sinfulness, one’s need for Christ and one’s calling to live for the Saviour.

Often people are poorly motivated to worship. Even professing Christians are finding themselves often worshipping less and not more. Perhaps we might find the athletic exploits of people more worthy of our attention, but they do not compare to what God the Holy Spirit does with the preaching of the Word. Faithful preaching is worthy of our attention; keep that in mind tomorrow.

Suggestions for prayer

Pray to the Lord that you might see the preaching of the Word as a tool of the Spirit of God to change lives to the glory of Christ, so that you might appreciate gospel preaching more, especially at Christian worship.

This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. John Vermeer is the pastor of Doon United Reformed Church in Doon, Iowa.