Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Mark 4:1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.
THE PULPIT: JESUS TEACHES US FROM THE BOAT
From the earliest group worship settings, through the ministry of Christ down to the present, the Lord has used object lessons to impress Gospel truths upon human hearts. This was true with a great deal in the Tabernacle/Temple (cp. offerings, lamps, curtain, design, etc.). This was certainly the case in much of Jesus' teaching -- especially in connection with His parables.
Each time you enter your church, architecture, appointments, decorations, and design stand ready to remind you of important Bible truths. In fact, these object lessons can be the source of useful pre-service meditations.
In most churches the pulpit has a prominent place in the chancel. It is almost always raised and at the front -- sometimes extending into the nave or seating area of the church -- not unlike the front or bow of a boat. In fact, some pulpits have a bow-like shape.
All this may be interesting, but where the pulpit is concerned the real value for us as worshippers lies in remembering that the same Jesus who taught people from the front of a boat on Galilee speaks to us from the pulpit. For He is the one who gives pastors to His people and has commissioned them to speak His forgiveness to them (John 20:21-23; Ephesians 4:11).
While Your ministers proclaim
Peace and pardon in Your name,
From the pulpit through their voice,
May I Hear You and rejoice.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 2:6, alt.)
