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Sunday, January 23, 2005
Rev.
Dr. Harold E Kidd
THE PULPIT AND
THE PEW
"Seated
in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep
as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from
the third story and was picked up dead."
When
we read Acts ch. 20: 7, we find that it is one of the New Testament's earliest
definite references to weekly Sunday Worship. "On the first day of the week,” writes the historian Luke, “We came together to break bread. Paul
spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on
talking until midnight."
We
find in the record of Acts 3 Peter and John going up to the Temple to Worship
during prayer time, that Believers following the Resurrection of Jesus
continued to gather in the synagogue, unless they had been expelled. But they
also began to gather on Sundays, the first day of the Jewish work week, the day
which for them and us is the day of Christ's resurrection. Because of Christ's
resurrection on a Sunday morning, Sundays have become our Sabbath Day, the day
set aside to worship God as the community of believers. Amen. What we can learn
of the early church from historical documents is that much like many churches
today, the early church gathered for worship on Sunday either early in the
morning or in the evening, or at both times.
The
church Luke is describing here in this text is moving toward a distinct day of
worship of its own, a day symbolizing clearly that while there is much uniting
the church with Judaism, there is also much dividing the church from Judaism.
The church in Acts is not always pushing out, on the move, opening its doors,
appealing to unbelievers, doing missions. The church also gathers for worship
and fellowship. Amen.
Think
about it. Without the sustenance received at its Sunday gatherings, the church
might lose itself in busyness. Without Sunday worship, we might forget who we
are, and whose we are. Without worship, we might lose heart amidst the
day-to-day challenges that we must go through. While we are here praising God,
thanking God, making confession of our sins and our needs, breaking the bread
of the Lord's Supper, and receiving God's word both read and proclaimed,
something happens to us. … Yes, the
Holy Spirit comes to anoint us in His ministry of encouragement.
And
there are two elements of worship which stand out as a part of the gathered
community. "They broke bread together," which I believe is a
reference to Holy Communion. Amen. And there was the preaching of God's word.
Amen. Communion and the Word. Reminding ourselves that we are one in the
Spirit, One in the Lord, that Jesus' death is a reason for life, and the preaching
of the word.
Verse
2 of this text states that Paul spoke to the people in order to
encourage their hearts. Spoke meaning Paul preached the word of God unto them. When you read Acts 18 we discover
that preaching was an activity which occupied a large portion of Paul's
ministry, while he did a lot of things, amen. God had called him to preach. The
resurrected Christ asked Simon Peter, "Do you love me?” “Yes, Lord.” “Then feed my sheep." Let it not be said that the preacher was
found doing this and that, but neglectful of his or her primary charge from
Jesus, which is to preach. To feed the people of God with the Word of God.
Amen, somebody.
Paul
raised the question in Romans ch. 10, "How, then, can they call on the one
they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they
have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And
how can they preach unless they be sent?” Yes, though he was a tent-maker
part-time, Paul was a preacher full-time.
And
he declared over in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, "God was pleased through the
foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand
miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has
called, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of
God." Yes, Paul was primarily a preacher.
So
the early church was a church of Word and Sacrament. A church built upon the
Preaching of God's word and Holy Communion, the breaking of Bread, the
remembrance of Jesus as the great Head of the Church who gave his blood as a
ransom for us, who gave his blood that we might be washed and forgiven by God.
In
our text, Luke gives detail to the early church in worship. They were gathered
in worship, Paul was speaking to them, preaching, they had broken bread
together, they were gathered together in an upstairs room, beset with many
burning lamps, and a young man in that assembly fell asleep because Paul was
long-winded. The text says, Paul preached until midnight. My lord.
We've
become accustomed sermons of 15 - 20, in some churches 30 minutes. But in the
early church preaching could go on for several hours. We know from historical
documents of the Protestant Reformation that with those great clouds of
witnesses, including John Calvin, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley,
and others, that preaching was often more than an hour. I'm so glad that was
then and this is now, cause that might seem like an eternity. But in our day
and time, preaching in many churches has been given less importance. And maybe
that's why many of our churches are dying, because the word is not being
preached the way God intended it to be preached.
The
preaching of God's word was a primacy in the early church. And even before the
New Testament, God used his word to speak to his people. He asked Elijah,
"Son of Man, can these bones live?” Elijah responded, “O lord only thou
knowest.” God said, “Prophesy, Preach to these bones." In
Jeremiah ch. 37, King Zedekiah was afraid that Babylon was about to attack
Judah. He sent for the prophet
Jeremiah, and he asked him, "Is there any word from the Lord?"
I
submit to you that Zedekiah's question is our question. How many of us, how often have you and I,
come to the Lord's House with the question, "Is there any word from the
Lord for me and my situation?" Is there any word from the Lord that will
minister to my sickness? Is there any word from the Lord that will comfort my
grief, lift the burden of my cross, remove my fears, give me some wisdom for
the difficult decision that is before me? Is there any word from the Lord?
In
looking at this text from Acts 20, Paul preached to the extent that he put at
least one person in the gathering to sleep. Those who preach have to be careful
that their preaching, either because of lack of substance, length, or boredom,
does not put God's people to sleep. But, is there any word from the Lord? I
remember my grandmother once told me very shortly after the Lord had called me
to preach, "Hal, you never want to make the people happy twice, happy to
see you get up and happy to see you sit down.” And she was giving me the advice
to preach what the Lord gives you, and sit down. People are going to receive only
so much at any one time. I remember very early in my preaching being invited to
preach at a Good Friday Service, and the Preacher before me, spent almost 15
minutes talking about what he was going to talk about, and as he went on and on
and on, the preacher sitting next to me leaned over and said, "When you
get up, you don't have to do all that, just preach the Word." When I went
to my first church, it was prior to a funeral, that a Baptist preacher who came
for the service, as we talked in my study, gave me one word of advice I've been
trying to obey throughout my ministry.
He said, "Son, you just preach the gospel, and let God handle the
rest." Amen.
And
I wonder how many in today's modern church recognize that when it comes to our
worship of God, there is a relationship between the pulpit and the pew. That
the Preaching of God's word involves the person behind the pulpit as well as
those who sit in the pew. For a pulpit without a word from the Lord, a pulpit
that has not given itself to serious study and meditation upon God's word, a
pulpit that does not seek to live with God's people walk where they walk, and
live where they live, a pulpit that is interested in showmanship only, a pulpit
that is absent of love, will be a pulpit that does not have anything to say
from heaven to those who are waiting to receive a word from the Lord here on
earth. Such a pulpit will be a lifeless pulpit.
But
a pulpit that is filled with God's love, a pulpit that loves the people of God,
a pulpit that has taken time to be with God, a pulpit that is in touch with the
people of God, a pulpit that is about communicating God's word and not personal
showmanship, a pulpit itself that is struggling with the daily issues of life,
will be a pulpit that God can use.
How
many of us recognize there is a relationship between the pulpit and the pew
when it comes to God giving us a word from on high. The late Rev. Manuel Scott,
Sr., has suggested that preaching is not just pulpit, it’s also pew. That in
order for the pulpit to be on fire, there has to be a stimulating and
responsive pew. In some traditions this is known as "Call and
Response". And I suggest that what Scott is getting at is that preaching
is dialogical. The preaching of God's word for the blessing of God's people is
meant to a community experience. In other words, stimulated and responsive pews
make for better preaching. Fire in the pew builds fire in the pulpit.
But
a pew that is chilly and distant, a pew that is casual and unattentive -- our
body is here in worship, but our mind are somewhere else -- a pew that is
looking at the clock and that has not come asking the question, "Is there
any word from the Lord?", a pew that is looking to be entertained, a pew
that has no love for the pulpit, will be a pew that pours cold water on what
the Spirit wants to deliver through the ministry of the word. A good friend of
mine, a pastor, loves to tell the story of a member who always sits up front,
he's the official time keeper, so that when Rev. gets like Paul, a little long-winded,
he'll point to his watch.
Isn't
it strange how we can watch a ballgame, a movie, the symphony, the theater, an
inauguration, a holiday parade, and be not the least disturbed about our time,
be fully tuned in to that event, and yet, for some reason, we struggle with
time and attention when it comes to worship. I wonder what it is in some
churches that causes ballgames, parades, and plays to be more engaging than
Sunday Worship Service.
Yes,
there is a dialogical relationship between the pulpit and the pew. One feeds
and helps the other. Pews that are praying while the word is being delivered
bless the word that is being preached. Pews that are attentive while the word
is being delivered bless the word that is being preached. Pews that come looking
for an experience have an encounter with God.
Pews that come hungry for the word of God bless the word that is being
preached. Whether it be in the form of an amen or in a still small voice, pews
that gladly receive the word of God bless the word that is being preached. Show
me a church that has an anointed preaching ministry, and I'll show you a church
that has a good pew. Show me a church that has some fire in the pew, and I'll
show you a church that will have some fire in the pulpit. Show me a church that
has a caring and loving pew, and I'll show you a church that will build a
pulpit ministry where love rules. The ministry of God's word involves both
pulpit and pew. One feeds the other.
When
you get right down to it, the Pulpit and the Pew, it’s really about cultivating
a worship environment that allows the Holy Spirit to minister to all of us
through the ministry of the word. Amen. Well, we do not live by bread alone,
but by His word. Listen to these words from one of those great hymns of the church,
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God":
"And though this world,
with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph
through us. The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His rage we
can endure, For lo! His doom is sure. One
little word shall fell him."