Sermon Snippets

Instead of offering you my preview of Sunday's sermon. I'm calling an audible dedicated to all those pastors out there faithfully toiling away for the gospel of Christ.

I attended the funeral of a holy man today. Pastor Ivan French died late last week. He was my first pastor. As a young kid growing up in a Christian home, going to church was simply what we did. But it never became drab or routine because of the loving people at Pleasant View Bible Church. However the biggest reason I always looked forward to going to church was Pastor French. 

I couldn't always sit still for the sermons. I didn't always retain what he preached. But this is what has stayed with me: Jesus loves me and the sacrifice He made for me on the Cross compels me to love him passionately in return. 

Pastor French preached the entirety of Scripture, but he placed special emphasis on the atoning work of Christ on the Cross. He consistently and lovingly turned our focus onto the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior. He used his wonderful sense of humor and "illustrious anecdotes" to help us relate to biblical truth. And he always invited us to worship the One who laid His life down for us. He taught me what it was to fall in love with Jesus.

The Gospel Coalition has risen to prominence in recent years. It's a group comprised of many well-known evangelical pastors and scholars who have partnered together because of their shared Reformed theology and their common desire to proclaim the Gospel above all else.

While I don't think Pastor French was a super-Calvinist or 100% Reformed in his approach to theology, he was way ahead of his time with his Gospel-centered preaching. 

Though he was a great man of the Word, his ministry impacted me because he cared about me. I remember as a five or six year old kid being greeted personally by him on many occasions after church. As I grew older and he transitioned into retirement, he always had a kind word to say or a funny quip to share whenever we interacted.

I recently heard a mega-church pastor I really respect say that one of the best things a pastor can do is to treat little kids well. He encouraged greeting them, kneeling down to their level and looking them in the eye and talking to them. When he shared that, I thought of Pastor French and what a cool thing that was for me to be on the receiving end of a pastor's love. It's something I try to do as much as I can now that the shoe is on the other foot.

Praise God for the privilege of knowing and learning from Pastor Ivan French!