The Broken Messenger and Gadabout have both posted supporting the notion that preaching should be to both believer and unbeliver. The more I think about this subject that more I realise it is crucial to the church's health.

Spurgeon has been cited in the conversation, and as well as making clear that he beleived every sermon should take the shortest route to the cross he also believed that expectation for salvations is linked to the presense or absense of souls being saved.

I have been involved in too many churches where for weeks, months or even years people no one has become a christian- not in the sunday meeting, not in mid week meetings, and not through the work of the members of the body.

It is my contention that it is possible to preach the word "in such a way" that either people are saved or not saved as a result. Acts 14:1 says "Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed."

This brings us back to the definition of the simple gospel which I believe some people overcomplicate and others oversimplify.

It is possible to make the gospel overly simple, limit it and speak as though there is one message for the unbeliever and one for the saint. I strongly disagree with this despite its popularity today. Those who criticise the Alpha Course do so on the basis that it doesnt spend long enough on certain aspects of the message which are indeed crucial. But the gospel means good news, and to me that good news includes joining the church, living as a chriristian, freedom from evil, healing and all the other things that alpha gives a taste of.

This sunday I am preaching, and I am yearning for two results which I do not believe are incompatible- the first is that at least one person will be saved as a direct result of the message. The second is for more maturity for all my hearers. Please pray for me and other preachers that we can learn how to accomplish both of these aims every sunday.