Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

The way we convey the message is neither here nor there, it is the impact it has on the hearers that is important. Sometimes we can get so bogged down in the methodology that we miss the importance of the message. There are many books on preaching, homiletics, oration, captivating the audience and so on, however the most important thing in all of this exposition is making the name of Jesus known and ensuring that people have the opportunity the hear about him. This was the main criteria for the apostle Paul. He says this: “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain”. In the context that he wrote this, he was imprisoned in Rome under house arrest and unable to go out and preach the word. However he points out to the folks at Philippi that being under house arrest and not able to preach had given him an opportunity that he had previously overlooked, that is to write letters addressing theological concerns in the churches he had planted. We are so thankful that he was able to use his pen as his ‘shoes of righteousness’ to spread the good news and correct popular misconceptions at the time. We are still using his theological insights today. The fact that we can allow our lights to shine and our lives to become living epistles to those we encounter, speaks volumes to the inventiveness of God. We are trained to think that only in certain places called churches we can preach and spread the good news. However, we can preach without words and perform miracles without laying our hands on an individual. We can even convey the message through songs. With these myriad ways that we have, should we not use them? So put on the shoes of peace and start walking. Read Isaiah 61.