It seems that it is no longer enough just to preach God's word. To be really hip, what you have to do is package God's word up with a gems of wisdom that you've gleaned from your life. How to run your household, how to manage your finances, how to plant carrots in the garden. Now, of course, there's nothing wrong with wisdom. But when someone stands up in church to give a bible talk, that's what they should do. Give a bible talk. Tell me what the bible says and show me the applications that come out of this week's passage. If the bible gives guidelines about managing my household or finances or carrots - great, preach it. But if not, don't. Give proper attention to what is in this week's passage - even if it doesn't seem all that relevant - and then leave it there. Extra stuff, above and beyond what the passage says, is unnecessary.
I'm worried that preachers who feel they need to go beyond the passage at hand are displaying a lack of trust in God's word. There is enough punch in the bible. Our pearls of wisdom and our smooth, self-depreciating (or self-appreciating!) anecdotes detract from our preaching of God's word.
I hear you. When we tried finding a church here, there were a couple of churches which we tried that were like that. Not spouting heresies, just not teaching the Bible.
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