Bill Cosby & Content of the Sermon

I wanted to post this; I have been thinking quite a bit about sermon content lately, and had an epiphany (sort of).

Many may not remember Bill Cosby before the Cosby Show, or his recent spate of activism and speeches, but some of us are old enough to remember his fabulous stand-up and album career. What many may not know is that Bill Cosby has a great routinue about sermon content (he probably doesn't even know it!).

It is a routinue that almost perfectly expresses my concern as regards sermons in the modern church. It is the skit about chocolate cake for breakfast, and it goes something like this:

Dad, (Bill Cosby), is assigned the task of preparing breakfast for his children. Well, he knows just enough to be dangerous, i.e. the basic ingredients of what composes a proper breakfast. So, he thinks through the contents of chocolate cake (of which the family has some sitting on the counter), "hmm, eggs, butter, flour... that is basically breakfast food"... So, he proceeds to cut his children large slices of cake which they happily devour, all the while singing this little ditty: "Dad is great, he gave us chocolate cake".... All is blissful until Mrs. Cosby shows up, and well... you know the rest of the story, it isn't good for Bill!

Well, how does this relate to the current spate of soft-soap sermon material that is saturating the church; i.e. sermons devoid of anything resembling the gospel in it's fullness? Well, let's see if I can pull this together --

Bill a.k.a. Dad, is the hapless pastor who knows just enough to be dangerous. He knows the basics, i.e. Eggs=Jesus; Butter=Loves; Flour=You. This he mixes together with cocoa powder=secular and/or pop psychology; and sugar=feel-good, happy messages, and creates what he assumes is a healthy and wholesome breakfast. And of course, the children, a.k.a., the congregation sits around singing his accolades: "Pastor X is great, he gives us chocolate cake!"

All is happy until Mrs. Cosby a.k.a. someone with a clue about the actual gospel message, shows up and disapproves.

What was missing from Bill's breakfast? Didn't it contain some of the correct materials necessary for a healthy breakfast? Yes, it did, but mixed with the wrong ingredients, and dished up in incorrect portions, it becomes an unhealthy meal that will only make obese and toothless children.

What needs to be done? Well, first, DON'T mix the good ingredients in with unhealthy ingredients. Second, put together a COMPLETE breakfast; i.e. with the eggs, butter, and flour, let's add toast=we are children of wrath, and a nice healthy sliced tomato=the Spirit makes us NEW CREATIONS, and all of the makings of a proper breakfast. As with all analogies, this is not perfect, but it does describe the fact that many sermons contain a lot of Jesus loves you, but very little of the other aspects of the gospel, such as atonement, the fact that we are children of wrath, that we are to become new creations and turn from the old ways.

What I have seen is that the pastors preach JUST ENOUGH knowledge of the gospel to produce chocolate cake, but there are fewer who can put together a wholesome meal!

Thanks for humoring me; I had this in my head and wanted to put it down. I am sure that it is missing components, and needs work, but I feel better now that it is down in a post...