Skip to main content

A Perfectly Pitched Message

           Every song has a “tone” or a “pitch” around which everything is organized.  Notes that do not relate to that particular pitch are said to be “off-key”.  There is nothing wrong with those other notes; it is just that they do not fit in that particular song.  Notes that do not fit properly create “noise” instead of “music”.
            Spiritually speaking, if our teaching is to have the beauty and harmony that God intended then it also has to have a centre-point around which everything is organized.  Fortunately, we do not have to guess what Jesus’ message ought to sound like because he set the tone for his ministry.
            “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
            Unfortunately, the church does not always harmonize with Jesus’ tone.  Too many sermons sound more like “bad news” instead of “good news”.  Too often, we spend our time talking about the prison of sin rather than describing the freedom that is available in Christ (By the way, you do not have to describe the prison to the prisoners – they already know!).  Instead of talking about the blessing of sight, we often dwell on the spiritual blindness that is around us.  Rather than spotlighting “the year of the Lord’s favor”, too many teachers put “God’s displeasure and punishment” on centre stage.  Somehow, we have taken a hopeful and powerful message and turned it into something that sounds bad.
            Not only that, but we have also focused on the wrong people.  Most churches that I know are filled with successful, middle to upper-class people.  However, Jesus described his target audience with words like “poor”, “prisoner”, “blind” and “oppressed”.  It is not that the successful do not need the gospel (they do), but maybe the message would get a better reception if we, like Jesus, took it to those who are more keenly aware of their need. 
            Jesus said that if you want to speak for him, then you need to tell a joy-filled, hopeful message about how he can change people’s life and eternity.  That is the tone around which all the other teaching must harmonize.
            Anything else is out of tune.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Press The Button!

  Consider This:  Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy.  I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart.  These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult.  However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success.  He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer.  Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act.  You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer.  If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it.  Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...
Post a Comment
Read more