Making wild and hidebound accusations might put a person in the limelight for a time but, as Shakespeare put it "at the length truth will out."  And this means that if you make crazy-false claims you'll eventually be shown for the yardbird that you are.

One of the unbelieving world's greatest hobbies down through the years has been to hurl ridiculously absurd charges at the Lord Jesus and His followers.  Sometimes these charges are even believed by the more gullible members of Christ's Body, who respond with handwringing displays of sackcloth and ashes, never pausing for a moment to realize that the accusations aren't actually true.  One thinks for example of the ongoing (and I might add, disgraceful) bustle of activity taking place within conservative Presbyterianism over the following claim of Cultural Marxist's provocateurs –  "Presbyterianism has historically been far too white and must, therefore, repent.”  
 
How silly!    

To begin with – what does “too white” even mean from a biblical perspective?  I think I know what it means to those who hold ‘congregational diversity by coercion’ to be of sacramental importance... But I cannot see how traditional cultural expressions (be they European or otherwise) are inherently sinful...  Nor do I believe them to be hindrances to the gospel.  Surely culture has been the vehicle through which God has used the gospel to reach entire people groups – red, yellow, black, and white. Therefore I see no reason why a distinctly European tradition like Presbyterianism should repent of its historical success among those who are primarily of European ancestry...  but I digress.     
 
The point is, wild accusations of one form or another have always been made against the church and they will continue until the Lord returns for His bride.

So...  how should the church respond to the accusations of her opponents?

Well, capitulating won't work.  Nor will groveling before our slanderers in an attempt to appease them.  Nor will admitting guilt where there isn’t any. 
 
But here's what might help...  First we should consult 1 Peter 3:15:

"in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,"  
(1 Peter 3:15, ESV)

And then...  we should laugh at silly accusations...  Yes.  That's right.  We should laugh.  It would do us some good.  And anyway, often times charges made against the church are just so dumb that we have no other option.  

Also, when we laugh we should remember that we are in good company. The church from the very beginning has been forced to laugh off countless silly accusations made against it.  

Here are a number of examples that the early church had to put up with:

3 tips to get the most out of sermons
 
Let’s face it!  Attention spans are getting shorter and shorter.  And that can make it hard to get much out of our pastor’s sermons.  But in God’s divine plan, “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17), so listening to sermons is pretty important.  As the Puritan Richard Sibbes put it, “Preaching is the chariot that carries Christ up and down in the world.”
 
With this in mind, how can we make sure that we get the most out of the sermons we hear?
 
Here are three tips that will help anyone willing to follow them. 
 
You must:

1. Crave a Powerful Appetite
2. Commit to Persistent Attendance
3. Cultivate Purposeful Listening

 
 
Crave a Powerful Appetite
 
Are you hungry for God’s Word?  The Apostle Peter says you need to be.  
 
            "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word..."  
(1 Peter 2:2, KJV)
 
The imagery is that of the tiny baby who has one primary desire in life –  to be fed.  If you’ve ever been around a newborn you’ll know that he’ll cry for his milk morning, noon, and night until he finally gets it.  The more he eats the more he wants to eat. This can be very wearisome to mothers but it is a powerful indicator that her baby is healthy. 
 
In the same way, Christians are healthy if they crave God’s Word.  If a person is spiritually sick, however, they will have no appetite for the Word and perhaps even thinking of it will make them uncomfortable and restless.  This is certainly the way it is at a physical level with a person suffering from stomach flu, let’s say.  The last thing he or she wants is to sit down at the table for a delicious meal. 
 
The point is, to get the most out of preaching we must ask the Lord to make us spiritly healthy and hungry.  Only then will we cry out for the sincere milk of the word.
 
  
Commit to Persistent Attendance

A genuine appetite for the Word is expressed publically by faithful participation in a church that preaches the Word.  Yes, reading printed sermons or listening to sermons online can be greatly helpful to Christians – but these things cannot replace the great benefits received by faithfully attending a church that is serious about communicating the Bible.  It is through the corporate worship of God’s people that Christians are filled with the Word, and Christians are strongly cautioned against neglecting corporate worship (see Hebrews 10:25). 
 
Regarding the benefits of corporate worship Paul wrote to Christians, saying:
 
            "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."  
(Colossians 3:16, ESV)
 
The most important part of corporate worship is when God speaks to us through His  preached Word.  This is why C.H. Spurgeon said: “There is no worship of God that is better than the hearing of a sermon...  it stirs all the coals of fire in your spirit, and makes them burn with a brighter flame.”
 
To make the most of preaching you must be hungry for the Word and you must commit yourself to a congregation where dinner is served.
 
Cultivate Purposeful Listening

In His parable of the soils, the Lord Jesus describes four kinds of listeners to the Word.  Sadly, only one of the four actually receives the Word by faith and goes on to produce fruit.  For this reason the Lord concludes His parable by saying “take care then how you hear” (Luke 8:18).  If you want to get the most out of your pastor’s preaching then you must intentionally follow the Lord’s command to listen.
 
Purposeful listening actually starts before you ever get to the church.  Throughout the week – and particularly on Saturday as you anticipate the Lord’s Day – you should ask God to prepare your mind and heart to receive His Word.  Then on Sundays as you head out to church you should deliberately remind yourself (and the kids screaming in the backseat) that you are on your way to the throne of God to hear from Him.  Finally, when you arrive at the church, find your place, and see the preacher stand in the pulpit you must remind yourself that God has purposed in His wisdom to speak His Word through mere men.  Therefore you must pray that the Lord would fine-tune your ears that you might not merely receive the words of man, but the Word of God.  As John Calvin once put it, “Whenever the gospel is preached, it is as if God Himself came into the midst of us.”
 
In summary - to make the most of preaching you must be hungry for the Word, you must commit to be present when dinner is served, and you must intentionally prepare yourself to hear God speak. 
 
By making use of these three tips you can get the most out of your pastor’s sermons, to the glory of God.