The Message

There are two great traditions that have a dominant place in the church.  One is the ‘oral’ and the other is the ‘written’.    In the written we are afforded the opportunity to search documentation that houses knowledge of the past, present and future.  Even our legal system depends heavily on the written tradition.  ‘Once it is written down it becomes law’.  The oral is the more interesting of the two.  Many great moments of receiving knowledge have been at the expense of hearing one speak.  We would like to believe that when one speaks of great knowledge it is always backed by something in writing.  In most cases it is not.  The oral tradition depends solely on the spoken.  The validity of oral communication is largely dependent upon the believability of the speaker.

The greatest sermon the pastor will ever give is the life that the pastor lives.  Even if it’s on paper and/or is spoken with great eloquence, the message has no real validity if it’s not exampled in the living.  The pastor who is the head is connected directly to you, the body.  The oxygen that supports the life of the brain (the head) is generated from the lungs (in the body).  The lung is motored by the heart.  If the heart is not functioning, the lungs are not producing, and then the brain will mal-function.  If the heart of the congregation is not right, the head will never be right.  Perhaps the message of the pastor is determined by the life of the congregation.  How are you living and what type of message is your pastor preaching?