preaching as biography

i had a thought today:

i want my preaching to be as biographical as it is instructional (if not more).

i want my preaching to not just show people what to do but, through my preaching, to really be painting a vivid, accurate, overwhelmingly compelling picture of God. i want my preaching to show people the character and nature of God as much, if not more, than it gives them practical ways to live their life.

matt chandler makes a very good point about the "de-churched" (i.e. people who grew up in church and left). he says that the primary reason they bail on the church is because they weren't being taught the character and nature of God, only pragmatism and behavior modification. he says that their theology is based on this idea: "if i do certain things or abstain from certain things, i will have God's favor." so inevitably, they face tragedy or some situation that totally shakes their faith and they roll out.

i think that's so true and i'm hoping that each sermon of mine would be a brushstroke, painting a clearer and clearer picture of God for the people listening, so that, over time, they would really have an accurate understanding of who God is and live in response to that.