He said to
them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a
disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out
of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (Matthew 13:52)
Some time ago, I addressed the worship wars and how we should treat one another in spite of those differences. This past weekend, I found myself on one of the sides of that situation, with a slightly different take. I tend to lean toward the traditionalist side of things much of the time, believing that we must not only seek to reach those who don’t know and haven’t heard, but that we also need to continue to meet the needs of those who have been around for a long time. It tends to feel to me as if sometimes churches take their core membership for granted, and therefore think it right to “put on a show” for visitors who might or might not even be there. That’s not really giving the worship team credit for their thoughts and prayers, but that’s how it feels sometimes.
This weekend, though, I found myself in a situation in which I felt a little differently. It’s Christmas time, and of course, that means it’s time to hear the old, old story about the birth of Jesus Christ. And yes, it’s been told many, many times. How many ways can you possible tell that same moment in history? I understand that. But when the sermon outline is the exact same sermon as it was a year ago, questions need to be asked. I am sure this doesn’t happen everywhere, but I suspect it happens too often. There seem to me to be a couple explanations for repeating sermons. One is that the sermon was so phenomenal that the congregation asks to hear it again. The other reasons that come to mind are laziness and contempt for the congregation. “It doesn’t matter, they won’t remember.” Thinking like that doesn’t bring old and new treasures out of the storehouse, it throws out trash.
Yes, the old, old stories need to be told again and again, but they must be told in ways that make the meaning clear, relevant, and vital to the hearers. If we want them to be engaged, we must be, too. No phoning it in allowed.
Some time ago, I addressed the worship wars and how we should treat one another in spite of those differences. This past weekend, I found myself on one of the sides of that situation, with a slightly different take. I tend to lean toward the traditionalist side of things much of the time, believing that we must not only seek to reach those who don’t know and haven’t heard, but that we also need to continue to meet the needs of those who have been around for a long time. It tends to feel to me as if sometimes churches take their core membership for granted, and therefore think it right to “put on a show” for visitors who might or might not even be there. That’s not really giving the worship team credit for their thoughts and prayers, but that’s how it feels sometimes.
This weekend, though, I found myself in a situation in which I felt a little differently. It’s Christmas time, and of course, that means it’s time to hear the old, old story about the birth of Jesus Christ. And yes, it’s been told many, many times. How many ways can you possible tell that same moment in history? I understand that. But when the sermon outline is the exact same sermon as it was a year ago, questions need to be asked. I am sure this doesn’t happen everywhere, but I suspect it happens too often. There seem to me to be a couple explanations for repeating sermons. One is that the sermon was so phenomenal that the congregation asks to hear it again. The other reasons that come to mind are laziness and contempt for the congregation. “It doesn’t matter, they won’t remember.” Thinking like that doesn’t bring old and new treasures out of the storehouse, it throws out trash.
Yes, the old, old stories need to be told again and again, but they must be told in ways that make the meaning clear, relevant, and vital to the hearers. If we want them to be engaged, we must be, too. No phoning it in allowed.
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