10 Uncomfortable Topics Pastors Should Still Preach

Do I tell them what they need to hear or do I tell them the reality?

Sadly, in our culture today, these two options are sometimes mutually exclusive. The truth is difficult to listen to, so we prefer to listen to what we like, even when it’s not what we need. A Pastor is usually faced with tension of either preaching the uncomfortable truth of God’s Word or watering it right down to make it more agreeable to the listener. 

As it says in 2 Timothy 2:3, “For the time is coming when people won’t endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they’ll accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their very own passions.” The “sound teaching” of God’s Word will almost at all times run crossgrain to our passions. But if a pastor is to be a faithful minister of the Word, there are various uncomfortable topics that he have to be willing to evangelise.

Before I dive into this list, I want to preface it by establishing two foundational personal commitments: I’m committed to the inspiration and the authority of God’s Word. The words written within the Bible are the very words of God (1 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Tim 3:16); subsequently, those words carry with it an absolute authority over my life. If you disagree with either of those commitments, you’ll most certainly disagree with my list. 

If you do disagree, let me challenge you with a thought: do you disagree since it isn’t true or since you just don’t prefer it? I do know that’s a temptation in my very own heart — reinterpreting the plain meaning of Scripture to make it suit my very own desires. There are some really uncomfortable topics within the Bible. But if we consider the Bible truly is God’s Word, we have to be ready and willing to undergo it. Here are 10 uncomfortable topics pastors should still preach about:

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