Practical or Doctrinal Sermons?

The Biblical Preaching Blog has a post up that decries how some seek to break the practical from the theological in sermons.

He tells the story of a preacher who said:

I am going to leave the theological instruction to your faculty here, but today I just want to be practical!

The author of the post, Peter Mead, disagrees with the sentiment and states:

People need to understand that the most theological or doctrinal passages in their Bible have real-life relevance to them. People need to recognize that instruction purporting to be practical and relevant but lacking a solid biblical grounding is inherently weak.

I understand the preacher wanting to leave the people with something practical that they can use. However, Mead is right, all of your presenting should have a solid theological foundation. You must be practical, but you better be theological as well.

This reminds me of something Charles Brooks said, “If God Said it, It is relevant.” I agree with Mead, there can be no distinction between the practical and the theological.

Now there is a danger to present the theological without making any practical application. That is truly a danger. That is very problematic, but the alternative is not to attempt to preach a practical message without any theological connections. Such would not be a sermon at all.