<i> Every truth we teach about God affects us - and is entirely applied to us. </i>

Yes, I was thinking your thoughts after you Andrew.

If we really believe ourselves to be in God’s image, then all our teaching about God is necessarily also about our selves—without wanting to claim too much, for we are, after all, creatures. But there’s surely scriptural warrant for believing that our thoughts of God and our thoughts of ourselves are bound together.

One of my favourite Calvin quotes:

<i>Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But while joined by many bonds, which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern. In the first place, no one can look upon himself wihtout immediately turning his thoughts to the contemplation of God, in whom he “lives and moves” [Acts 17:28]. For, quite clearly, the mighty gifts with which we are endowed are hardly from ourselves; indeed,  our very being is nothing but subsistence in the one God. Then, by these benefits shed like dew from heaven upon us, we are led as by rivulets to the spring itself.</i>

And so on and so forth. The first paragraph of Calvin’s <i>Institutes</i>. Great stuff!

yes but hold on, the original subject was sermons. A proper sermon has an application: something we can apply to our lives . Sometimes it might be in a way about God (e g confidence in God’s promises-something I need more of) but generally its “this is the way - walk therein.”
You theologians might be able to do more but remember to whom you are preaching.

I would like to see a movement develop devoted to cleaning up the language of boredom.

OK, so lets assume for moment that the self is the standard of all things and that all things are relative to pleasing the self and that everything not pleasing the self is boring.

But why then do we insist on saying “IT is boring” as if it was an objective statement of reality inherent in the thing itself? Should we not be more honest and say “I am bored by God, nature, other people, etc.”? Or if we want to think beyond just individual selves, we could say “I’m the kind of person bored by talk about God.” Would not this be a much more honest use of language?

How important is this distinction? I think it is very important because the kind of language used serves as a mask disguising the real problem, a problem of self-centeredness that hides more than a little hypocrisy, especially when used in reference to God.

We need a much better theology of boredom if we are going to address the issues of our time, because boredom is at the heart of a culture that does not reverence God.

Ecclesiastes is probably a great place to start with its cry of “Boredom, boreom, everything is boredom.” Boredom is the price of a self-centered world.

Thanks for your interesting comments.

I certainly agree that our knowledge of God and our knowledge of ourselves are intimately connected. My question is rather whether we are at all excited about God or whether we approach the knowledge of God (when we do) as merely a means to an end, namely to know ourselves better or improve our lives, or ...

John Piper has made delighting in God a feature of his ministry. He is certainly on to something. However, even he can fall into the trap of presenting delighting in God as a means to an end, namely my fulfilment as a human being made in the image of God.

The real issue for me is whether we are excited about knowing God on his own terms and for his own sake. To make the point even more sharply, are we able to excite others as we preach about God or are they simply waiting till we get to the bit where we tell them what to do?

I agree with Mark T.

God is far from boring, but alas some preachers do their best to prove other wise.

The word of God is awesome and awe inspiring, but many people judge ‘God’ on how interesting the preaching is.

“The particular use of the periphrastic construction in the second verse” may rock your socks off, but it will probably bore the pants off your congregation!

Boring sermon = boring God - not true of course, but something to remember as we prepare and preach with humility (and hopefully not much boredom!)

Also I reckon Jesus is a pretty engaging person to preach on!