WRETCHED TV episode 2534

Segment 1: Todd Friel begins by recounting a personal childhood memory involving a librarian and brownies to illustrate how some pastors fill their sermons with personal anecdotes and unrelated stories. He reflects on attending a service where a pastor took 12 minutes to share irrelevant stories before addressing Acts 12, using it as an illustration of the problem of shallow preaching.

Segment 2: Friel discusses how the pastor at the service used Acts 12, a story about Peter’s miraculous release from prison, to deliver a Mother’s Day message, twisting the context of the passage to suit a thematic holiday. He critiques this practice, emphasizing how pastors often use the Bible inappropriately to make points that are not truly grounded in scripture, demonstrating a lower view of the Bible.

Segment 3: Friel emphasizes that true preaching should begin, stay, and end in the Bible. He criticizes pastors who rely on cultural anecdotes, personal stories, and entertainment to engage the congregation, rather than the actual teaching of scripture. He points out that such practices reveal a lack of conviction about the Bible’s authority and sufficiency.

Segment 4: To further illustrate his point, Friel contrasts two preaching styles: one that uses cultural references (like the movie Saving Private Ryan) to make a spiritual point, and another that carefully expounds on scripture, grounding the message in the Bible itself. He argues that the latter is the “gold standard” of preaching, staying faithful to the Bible and its context without succumbing to cultural relevance.