Sunday, November 18, 2012

Day 9: Good sermons

It's a little different when your pastor walks out dressed in what appears to be a large burlap sack.

It caught the attention of the audience when pastor Kurt dressed up in what we assume to be the clothes of a beggar in Jerusalem during Jesus' time.

He talked in first person, acting like the blind beggar, a man who did the only thing he could to bring money for his family.

Then the man heard about Jesus and his miracles. And the great rabbi showed up in Jerusalem, where the beggar sat.

"Jesus was going to pass down the road, right by me."

But there were too many people that Jesus shouldn't notice him. However when he and his disciples passed, the disciples asked why the beggar was born blind, was it his or his parents' sin?

Jesus said it was neither, the man was born blind so Jesus' glory could be shown.

"God was going to use my blindness? God was going to use my life? I was born blind on purpose?"

Jesus rubbed mud in his eyes and told the man to go wash.

"That was an embarrassing moment for a blind man. First, I was blind and now I had mud on my face," the pastor said.

However, the beggar trusted, even as people laughed. And he washed.

"Then it happened. Light just burst into my eyes."

The world was more than the beggar could have ever imagined. The man who led him there was also amazed as he witnessed the miracle of the blind man's healing.

The healing created a controversy, as the healing came on the Sabbath when people are not supposed to work. It was like the religious leaders were blind to the evidence of Jesus' glory.

Just like today, some people's eyes are opened to the glory of God and some are blind to who he is.

It's interesting to here a sermon from first person rather than a reading verbatim from the Bible. It would appeal to a whole new genre of people who love stories and find sermons and lectures boring. And that's what a good pastor does, appeal to all people so God's message reaches everyone. That's why I'm thankful for good pastors and good sermons.

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