Not "You should" but "He is"

At In the Clearing, Bob rants mildly against preaching that seems to have lost the point. What he says is so good, I'm taking the liberty of excerpting a major portion his post:

I heard a sermon recently about Joseph, the husband of Mary. The message, in a nutshell, was all about courage. Joseph was a man of courage and faith. We ought also to be people of courage. Joseph had faith. We ought also to have faith. You get the idea. Now, it's my funny little notion that sermon's ought to be primarily about the business of revealing the heart of God. . . .

The primary purpose of a sermon, then, is not exhortation. It's not, "you should be brave," or "you should be loving," or "you should have faith," etc. These exhortative sermons leave me feeling rather ornery. Pastors, by all means preach about Joseph, yes indeed, but let your purpose be to show us God's heart, not Joseph's. And then, if you have preached the truth, you will have helped to make me, perhaps, a little more courageous, faithful, loving, etc.

Tell it!