Actually preaching the actual Gospel

A couple of great posts floated my way for the ether this morning on the necessity to preach the comforting words of the Gospel...actually preaching the actual Gospel.

Memorial Moment: The Wine of Gladness

I AM the Way

The Gospel for the whole of the Christian Life

sanctification

2 Thessalonians 1:3 "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing."

On sanctification. I found the following in the Book of Concord. I put the BoC contents in quotes.

In the larger catechism, when speaking on the Apostles Creed, the third article of the creed "I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen."

It's the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us "I believe in God the Father, who has created me; I believe in God the Son, who has redeemed me; I believe in the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies me."

How else can we expect a "change" to happen apart of the Holy Spirit?

"But the Spirit of God alone is called Holy Spirit, that is, He who has sanctified and still sanctifies us. For as the Father is called Creator, the Son Redeemer, so the Holy Spirit, from His work, must be called Sanctifier, or One that makes holy"

"so also the Holy Spirit effects our sanctification by the following parts, namely, by the communion of saints or the Christian Church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting; that is, He first leads us into His holy congregation, and places us in the bosom of the Church, whereby He preaches to us and brings us to Christ."

"Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which we could not attain of ourselves."

"Thus, until the last day, the Holy Spirit abides with the holy congregation or Christendom, by means of which He fetches us to Christ and which He employs to teach and preach to us the Word, whereby He works and promotes sanctification, causing it [this community] daily to grow and become strong in the faith and its fruits which He produces."

"Meanwhile, however, while sanctification has begun and is growing daily, we expect that our flesh will be destroyed and buried with all its uncleanness, and will come forth gloriously, and arise to entire and perfect holiness in a new eternal life."

preaching

Should every sermon preach Christ and him crucified for sinners? Some thoughts here. Bryan's Chapells that is referenced speaks to "Biblical preaching versus Christ-centered preaching"

In a book I'm reading, the author sets out to get a definition of the Gospel and asks what is the content of the Gospel. Could we conclude that Acts gives us a model of a sermon? What about Paul? He was sent to preach the Gospel. He was preaching to the church, Christians in Corinth.

If God's will is that all men be saved and that it's through his word, namely the Gospel and that "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God". We who are being saved, the cross, the power of God.

"What is the content of the gospel message? In the sermons recorded in the book of Acts, the emphasis is on leading people to realize their guilt and the punishment they deserved for their sins, and then leading them to find peace in Christ's death and resurrection. Peter in his Pentecost sermon did not point out his hearers' alienation from God as evidenced by the personal problems in their lives, but drove them to that realization by telling them that Jesus would return to judge them -- Jesus "whom [they] crucified" but who was now "Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).

St. Paul preached this same message to the people in Pisidian Antioch. He said, "We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers, he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus" (Acts 13:32,33).

We should note also Paul's statements to the Corinthians in the first two chapters of his first letter. He states that Christ sent him to "preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of it's power (1 Corinthians 1:17)" "

--Law and Gospel: Foundation of Lutheran Ministry, Robert J. Koester pp. 5-7