Preaching is an awesome responsibility – to mount a pulpit and proclaim God’s word.
I remember my first visit to China in 1979. The Bamboo Curtain was just being drawn a bit. Back then, Christians couldn’t meet publicly with Christians so, we met in secret. A little more freedom had come. I remember being with three couples in a hotel room in Beijing. This must have been what it was like during the early church for Christians gathered in the catacombs to worship, at least from what I had seen thus far in my life at that time.
We talked quietly but we ran the risk of singing together. The two hymns they wanted to sing were “Amazing Grace” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” When I asked them, what they missed most as Christians since they were unable to publicly practice their faith, their primary response was that they missed gathering for worship with the community of faith and hearing the word of God proclaimed. That’s the reason the government outlawed preaching. Even those who are not a part of the faith know the power of preaching. It’s an awesome task – to preach.
If you are new to this website, you may not know I am a preacher. I’ve been the president of a seminary, I’ve led a world-wide ministry of publishing and resourcing persons in spiritual formation, but first, foremost and always, I’m a preacher! I “warned” of this when I launched this website.
I’ve been thinking, my readers here might like to know something about the core of my beliefs. I felt there was no better to do than to simply say what the Christian faith is all about. The core of it is this, GOD LOVES YOU. Let me say that again, God loves you. In fact, God loves you as though you were the only person in the world to love. This is the golden thread that runs through the Bible.
Psalm 8 expresses it beautifully, “What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that you pay attention to him – for you’ve made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor.” Creatures for relationship were essential for God’s being. So we persons are the pinnacle of creation, made in God’s image, and God loves us.
One of the most haunting words in the Old Testament captures this. God is speaking to his people through the prophet Isaiah: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely, they may forget; yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” (Isa: 49:15-16).
God loves us.
The ultimate expression is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It’s the golden thread that runs through the entire Bible. God loves you.
That means at least three things.
- You are special.
- You have access to the Father.
- You can be forgiven.
If I were preaching, I would expound on those three things, but since I’m not, let me say that again, God loves you.
Regularly, we will post a “word” under the caption, LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN (scroll down to find it). I thought it would be good to illustrate how that came and why I believe it is helpful. You will also get at least a hint of my primary convictions as a Christian.