Some of my earliest memories have to do with attending gospel meetings. My father, Tom Moody, was a preacher. Before I was school age I would tag along on his meeting trips. I enjoyed all the new people and hearing him preach with all his might. There is just something special about being at a gospel meeting with your dad.

When we lived in Louisville, Kentucky, my parents made a habit of taking us to area meetings. We often slept in the car on the way home, because we had to wake up the next morning for school, but they took us anyway. Sometimes we even got home past midnight, but we never regretted it.

I enjoy going to baseball games, and I love golf. But I cannot imagine anything more enjoyable than going to a gospel meeting. I love singing the songs. I love hearing God’s word proclaimed. This may sound odd, but I am captivated by the silence that pierces the audience just before the speaker commences. It is like the silence before the storm. It is calm and peaceful, but before you know it the storm begins to rage.

But this storm has nothing to do with thunder and lightning, clouds or rain. Preaching involves the storming of the human will. There is nothing quite like the spoken word when it strikes the heart of man. By preaching, the gospel message is poured out, removing the clouds of darkness and doubt and replacing them with light and hope through Jesus Christ. As Paul states, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17 LBX).

Does hearing God’s word not stir up your faith? I love the short moment of silence before the sermon. It gives me time to prepare for the storm about to take place in my heart. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12 LBX). Letting the word do its work is what preaching is all about.

The 26th annual Southside Lectures begin in just over two weeks. Tony Mauck will begin this year’s lectures on Monday, June 13, 2005, at 9:30 a.m., by opening “A Window Into Peter’s Soul” (1 Pet. 5:8 LBX). Let the storms begin! I do not know about you, but I am anxiously awaiting the first Monday night sermon by Paul Earnhart, “Serving God Beyond All Circumstances” (Phil. 1 LBX). The title alone makes me want to be a better person. L.A. Stauffer will speak to us about praising God (Eph. 1:3-14 LBX), and Mark Roberts will deal with the subject of suffering (Jam. 1:2-4 LBX). Through the preaching of God’s word these ancient epistles will stir up the hearts of modern men.

Brother Bowman gave me an article written by Foy L. Smith. I like to read it before I preach. I think it is descriptive of the kind of men we will have at this year’s lecture program. Smith wrote, “Preach it because you can do nothing greater. Preach it because you love it. Preach it because you are afraid not to preach it. And preach it exactly as it is written, neither fearing nor favoring men. Preach it every time you go into the pulpit like that time will be your last time. Preach it as ‘a dying man to dying men!’”

Have no doubt—these four men are coming to “Preach it” at this year’s lectures. They are prepared to storm your will. Take advantage of the silence before the storm. Take a deep breath, fold up that spiritual umbrella, and let the word of God reign in your heart.