Skip to main content

Quiet Sermons


I was recently preaching at a sister church close to our home, where I have done so over the last two years. There is a young man who attends the church with a learning disability called David (not his real name). He is looked after in a nearby care home. 

Every Sunday morning someone brings David to the fellowship gathering. Many of the carers who bring him are not followers of Jesus. On Sunday he was brought in by John (not his real name). 

John was the most attentive to the word preached throughout the sermon. I had an opportunity to chat with John afterwards. He found the preached Word a great help to him. Sadly, as I am only a visitor I couldn't follow up.

Then it dawned on me. David with a serious learning disability, that includes is inability to speak, is bringing people who do not follow Jesus to hear the good news of a Saviour who died for sinners. He is doing more than able bodied people.

God is using his disability in an extraordinary way. I don't know how many care workers (I have seen at least five different people now) will be saved by hearing. I don't even know how many are already followers of Jesus. But they are hearing the good news of Jesus and that is more than enough! 

What is amazing is that David has no idea of his impact. But I bet you when God looks at David he just smiles. He says, "son, you are doing well with the disability I gave you". A crown of glory awaits David. It is just like God to take the brokeness aside and make it beautiful. 

I went to preach at this local church but I came back having been preached to by David through his learning disability. My wife and I talked about it on our way home. God is amazing! 

I certainly need to hear David's quiet sermon. The message delivered through him to me seems to be clear. Your current difficult situation is God's perfect opportunity to bless others through it. Just stop feeling sorry for yourself. Start asking God how you can even more of a tool for the advancement of the gospel through it! Dare to be a David!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I am what I am by Gloria Gaynor

Beverly Knight closed the opening ceremony of the Paralympics with what has been dubbed the signature tune of the Paralympics. I had no idea Ms Knight is still in the singing business. And clearly going by the raving reviews she will continue to be around. One media source says her performance was so electric that "there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen as she sang the lyrics to the song and people even watching at home felt the passion in her words" . The song was Gloria Gaynor's I am what I am . Clearly not written by Gloria Gaynor but certainly musically owned and popularized by her. It opens triumphantly: I am what I am / I am my own special creation / So come take a look / Give me the hook or the ovation / It's my world that I want to have a little pride in / My world and it's not a place I have to hide in / Life's not worth a damn till you can say I am what I am The words “I am what I am” echo over ten times in the song. A bold declaration that she ...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

Mistakes in Ministry

This painful experience, along with my subsequent years in pastoral ministry, taught me never to assume every member of my church understands these foundational truths in the same way. A shared statement of faith, though extremely helpful, is not a guarantee that your entire congregation will always agree on doctrine, the ordinances, or church membership. Perhaps this assumption proved to be my biggest mistake. The words we use may not be received or understood as we intend them to be. Therefore, when our members ask questions, we must patiently answer them and slow down if necessary. When doctrine appears to lead to division, hold fast to the truth, but also resist the urge to see congregants as your “adversaries.” God loves them in Jesus and so must you.    JERI CHOI   (Source: 9 Marks )
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

A Parody of Faith

There's a fascinating scene in Man of Steel when the man who would be superman, Clark Kent, turns up at a local church seeking answers. He is sitting in alone when local pastor Father Leone asks what is troubling him. Here is where we pick up the conversation : Father Leone : What's on your mind? Clark Kent : I don't know where to start. Father Leone : Wherever you want. Clark Kent : That ship that appeared last night, I'm the one they're looking for. Father Leone : [swallows nervously] Do you know... why they want you? Clark Ken t: No, but this General Zod... even if I surrender, there's no guarantee he'll keep his word. But if there's a chance I can save Earth by turning myself in, shouldn't I take it? Father Leone : What does your gut tell you? Clark Ken t: Zod can't be trusted. The problem is, I'm not sure the people of Earth can be either. [walks away] Father Leone : Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith fi...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →