Wise
advice, delivered with humble grace and unquenchable optimism to a Bible
college classroom filled with "preacher wanna-be's." It burned into my
memory bank to surface frequently these many seasons later.
"Gentlemen,"
began Miss Elsie, "as shepherds to God's people, your responsibility will
be to diligently study God's Word all week long. Then you are to prayerfully
prepare your sermons. By the time you are ready to preach, you will have far
too much material. Your job, then, is to select the best 10% to be delivered. Leave
the rest in the can!"
Matthew's
gospel record of the life and ministry of Jesus opens on a clear tone, only to
close on a completely different note. He begins with a "come
see" strategy. "Where is He who has been born King of the
Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him,"
(Matthew 2:2). Matthew's opening direction, "Come see." But then,
in closing out the account, the author takes a radical redirection and ends by
writing, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel," (Matthew
28:19). Matthew's closing direction, "Go tell!"
Shepherds,
scheduled to work the third/graveyard shift, found themselves responding to
both strategies. "And they came in haste and found their way to
Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger…And all who heard it
wondered at the things told them by the shepherds. And the shepherds went
back, glorifying and praising God…" (Luke 2:16,18).
Two
weeks ago the "come see / go tell" movement of Matthew made it into the
final sermon notes. But out of respect for the clock, it remained in the can.
"For
unto you has been born a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord." Now that IS the
best 10%. Invite your friends to "come see." And if they do not
respond to your gracious invitation, "go tell." Don't leave it in the
can!
See you Sunday, Church!
Pastor
Tom
0 comments:
Post a Comment