He never sought to amuse them!(Archibald Brown, "The Devil's Mission of Amusement")
Jesus pitied sinners, pleaded with them, sighed over them, warned them, and wept over them; but He never sought to amuse them!When many of His disciples turned away, because of the searching nature of His preaching--I do not find there was any attempt to bring them back, by resorting to something more pleasant to the flesh. I do not hear Him saying, "We must keep up the gatherings at any cost! So run after the people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow! Something very short and attractive, with little, if any, preaching. Today was a service for God--but tomorrow we will have a pleasant evening for the people! Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it, and have a pleasant time. Be quick, Peter! We must get the people somehow; if not by Gospel--then by entertainment!"
No, this was not how He argued. Gazing in sorrow on those who would not hear the Word--He simply turns to the twelve, and asks, "Will you go away also?"
What a convicting sermon. This is especially contrary to today's sermons where the services tend more towards entertainment than education. We set people up to expect the Christian life to be full of thrills and amusement. When it is not they run away discouraged. May Christians boldly preach the gospel in love and may others hear with open ears.
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2 comments:
Wendy, you've been reading my mind. I was just about to blog about almost the same thing!
Blessings,
Kris
It's a tough line to walk. You don't want to entertain simply to entertain, but Jesus also used parables to communicate in a way people could relate to. Using multimedia in worship to me, is the same thing. While we shouldn't have to entertain people, if people ARE entertained while hearing the same message, I don't think that's a sin. Was David enjoying himself while dancing before the Lord? Do traditional worshipers enjoy singing hymns? My guess is YES. Enjoyment doesn't make it wrong. I know you don't think it does, but many people do.
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