This article originally appeared on the Servants of Grace blog on July 17, 2019. Read the entire article at this link.
Dear Pastor: Please Serve Me Jesus
as featured at Servants of Grace
Dear Pastor,
I had the honor of visiting your church this past weekend and was warmly welcomed by your flock. We managed with ease into the children’s ministry and found comfortable seating in the sanctuary. The sound of the choir’s harmonies caressed my arms, leaving goosebumps in its wake. As I prepared to sit under your teaching, I leaned toward the stage in eager anticipation that my Jesus would be lifted high as a serpent in the desert to a people thirsty for redemption’s invitation.
Sir, please serve me Jesus, I thought.
But I grieve so terribly—even now I tremble at the thought—that my Jesus was never mentioned in your sermon. The gospel was never applied to saints. The precious invitation of repentance was never extended to sinners. For the first time in my Christian walk, I sat at the table in my Father’s house with a fork but no feast.
I dare not presume to know why, nor would I suppose the oversight was made in ill-will. However, I was so overcome by the omission of Jesus in the sermon, I mourned for hours into the night in disbelief. I’m no pastor, I have no formal theological training, but I know when Christ is not served.
I had the honor of visiting your church this past weekend and was warmly welcomed by your flock. We managed with ease into the children’s ministry and found comfortable seating in the sanctuary. The sound of the choir’s harmonies caressed my arms, leaving goosebumps in its wake. As I prepared to sit under your teaching, I leaned toward the stage in eager anticipation that my Jesus would be lifted high as a serpent in the desert to a people thirsty for redemption’s invitation.
Sir, please serve me Jesus, I thought.
But I grieve so terribly—even now I tremble at the thought—that my Jesus was never mentioned in your sermon. The gospel was never applied to saints. The precious invitation of repentance was never extended to sinners. For the first time in my Christian walk, I sat at the table in my Father’s house with a fork but no feast.
I dare not presume to know why, nor would I suppose the oversight was made in ill-will. However, I was so overcome by the omission of Jesus in the sermon, I mourned for hours into the night in disbelief. I’m no pastor, I have no formal theological training, but I know when Christ is not served.
There is no more necessary proclamation than the message of reconciliation between God and man served up by the great God-Man .
Christine M. Chappell
Author/Writer/Speaker
Christine Chappell is the author of Clean Home, Messy Heart, the host of The Hope + Help Project podcast, and is a guest contributor at Desiring God. She writes frequently about motherhood, sin, and sorrow at her blog, has completed biblical counseling certificates with the Institute for Biblical Counseling & Discipleship, and is currently pursuing certification with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors.
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