Luke 2:9, An angel of the Lord appeared to [the shepherds], and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
“Angel,” in both the Greek and Hebrew, also means “messenger.” This is not surprising, considering that one of the primary roles of angels is to be messengers of God’s will. Here, the angel is to deliver God’s message of good news that Christ the Saviour is about to be born.
Angels do not appear to us in such ways today. So, who are our messengers? Your pastor. How do you know if your pastor’s preaching is meet and right? If your pastor’s preaching is always centred on Christ, then you know you have a good pastor. If he does not, his theology probably needs to be examined and compared with the Scriptures.
Assuming your pastor preaches Christ crucified for you, listen to him! It is his job to bring to you God’s good news of Jesus Christ. Neither does he preach any new doctrine, but only what is given to us in the Scriptures. If you desire to hear the Good News fresh every week, go to church and listen to your pastor; and participate in church activities, for you are a Christian throughout the whole week, not just on Sundays. Your pastor, then, must also train you to bring this message of Good News to your neighbours who do not know Christ.
©Photo courtesy of Erik M. Lunsford, a photo of Rev. Dr. David H. Petersen, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana, giving a keynote speech at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest, Illinois during the 2017 Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music.
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