Ask, Seek, Knock

As the child of a pastor, I suppose that I've taken my father's pulpit ministry for granted for the better part of my life. I was keenly aware of the countless hours that he would spend in his office pouring over the text with a heart of love for his congregation, but seldom was I aware of the responsibility that was mine as a partaker of those messages.

As I've entered into my seminary training, my appreciation for Dad's handling of the Word has increased exponentially. Often times I'll find myself shooting him an e-mail with a question regarding a particular text, and I can always expect a carefully worded response that takes into account the original languages, authorial intent, and context of the passage. Usually the response that I receive lines up fairly nicely with some of the better commentaries that I have been consulting, and serves to further confirm my conviction about the passage in question. My appreciation for Dad’s exegetical work, however, goes much further than just the help that I can get from him on particular passages. I regularly listen to the messages that he brings on a weekly basis, and I’m always left with an incredible blessing, and a new appreciation for the passage that he meticulously worked through that week. I always enjoy the fruits of Dad’s labor.

That brings me to the point of this entire post. A week ago, Dad brought one of the most Christ-centered, grace-saturated messages that I’ve ever heard from Matthew 7:7-11 as he continued his journey through the Sermon on the Mount that can be found here. It was truly a life-changing perspective for me on a familiar text. I won’t spoil it for you, but let me encourage you to give it a listen by clicking on the link above. I can’t imagine that you’ll be disappointed.