Message from Pastor Brandi
COMPANIONS ON THE JOURNEY – A NOTE FROM OUR PASTOR
One of the first courses I took when I began the educational process for pastoral ministry was a study of the Old Testament. The instructor was a wellseasoned pastor and while he taught the content consistent with the course title, he always added advice about preaching. One point he impressed upon us was that a preacher’s sermon will not always soar. Sometimes a sermon will sink. Whether soaring or sinking, a responsible preacher must conduct an autopsy on every sermon and then lay it to rest. When I returned home from church yesterday my husband kindly and gently critiqued the sermon. This is not typical of him and thus signaled to me, confirming what I had already sensed, that the sermon was a sinker. I was glad for the open dialogue my husband and I shared, but most grateful for God’s promise in Isaiah 15:11, “My word will go out and not return to Me empty, but it will do what I wanted; it will accomplish what I determined”. God uses even the most muddled offerings of a preacher for God’s purpose. Thanks be to God!
I spent a generous portion of the evening conducting an autopsy on the sermon. Before I lay it to final rest, I want to expand a bit on a statement made during the sermon, “it isn’t the preacher’s job to tell anyone who Jesus is.” This was not intended to imply that preachers and pastors bear no responsibility for sharing the Gospel. Preachers and pastors are given the same commission as all Christians, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Matt. 28:18-20a).”
For my own lack of eloquent words, I offer you these from D.T. Niles, “The Christian’s business is to point away from [self] to Jesus Christ. The presence of the Christian in any situation must be such that it [presses] the question, ‘Who is this Jesus Christ that this [person] serves as Lord?’ (Niles, 20) … In our contemporary world … [people] are asked to answer [the] question: ‘Who do you say that I am?’ It is a question to be answered by a life of loyalty to [Jesus],and not in word only (Niles, 129).”
A preacher or pastor can’t give you the answer to Jesus’ question, “But who do you say I am?” but “the assurance given is this: that [Jesus] himself will kindle the faith which will find the answer and supply the grace to live the answer out (Niles, 129).”
Grace and peace,
Pastor Brandi
One of the first courses I took when I began the educational process for pastoral ministry was a study of the Old Testament. The instructor was a wellseasoned pastor and while he taught the content consistent with the course title, he always added advice about preaching. One point he impressed upon us was that a preacher’s sermon will not always soar. Sometimes a sermon will sink. Whether soaring or sinking, a responsible preacher must conduct an autopsy on every sermon and then lay it to rest. When I returned home from church yesterday my husband kindly and gently critiqued the sermon. This is not typical of him and thus signaled to me, confirming what I had already sensed, that the sermon was a sinker. I was glad for the open dialogue my husband and I shared, but most grateful for God’s promise in Isaiah 15:11, “My word will go out and not return to Me empty, but it will do what I wanted; it will accomplish what I determined”. God uses even the most muddled offerings of a preacher for God’s purpose. Thanks be to God!
I spent a generous portion of the evening conducting an autopsy on the sermon. Before I lay it to final rest, I want to expand a bit on a statement made during the sermon, “it isn’t the preacher’s job to tell anyone who Jesus is.” This was not intended to imply that preachers and pastors bear no responsibility for sharing the Gospel. Preachers and pastors are given the same commission as all Christians, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Matt. 28:18-20a).”
For my own lack of eloquent words, I offer you these from D.T. Niles, “The Christian’s business is to point away from [self] to Jesus Christ. The presence of the Christian in any situation must be such that it [presses] the question, ‘Who is this Jesus Christ that this [person] serves as Lord?’ (Niles, 20) … In our contemporary world … [people] are asked to answer [the] question: ‘Who do you say that I am?’ It is a question to be answered by a life of loyalty to [Jesus],and not in word only (Niles, 129).”
A preacher or pastor can’t give you the answer to Jesus’ question, “But who do you say I am?” but “the assurance given is this: that [Jesus] himself will kindle the faith which will find the answer and supply the grace to live the answer out (Niles, 129).”
Grace and peace,
Pastor Brandi
