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| "The Pulpit" |
Backstory: A few of my closest friends live and serve in "Bako." Namely, Gabe and Staci Woodward and Pastor Steve Swartz. Outside of my home church Grace Bible Church is one of my favorite places to worship and preach. This past year Pastor Steve invited me to come and preach three sermons during a Sunday-Bible Conference. It was my joy to preach to such a hungry (1 Peter 2:2-3) congregation. After one of the services I commented to Steve how amazing his "sacred desk" is. I said it is the nicest and most preacher-friendly pulpits I have ever preached from. He explained that a member from the congregation custom made it for him. Special features included "ostrich skin" on the surface of the pulpit to keep one's sermon notes from sliding.
Steve went on to say, "I will introduce you to him so you can let him know how much you enjoy it." Long story short, this dear brother said he would love to build me (a guest preacher) an exact replica if I would be interested. Interested? Yes! But the cost of such a great piece of architecture- not to mention the challenge of getting it from the West Coast to the Midwest seemed insurmountable. Many months later on August 4th, 2017 my "gift of gifts arrived!" As I have testified before on this blog Christmas has come early and often for me this year.
The Pulpit- Two of the most sacred pieces of furniture in any Christian sanctuary are the Communion table and the Pulpit and here's why: The communion table holds the bread and the cup (which symbolize the body and blood of the Savior, Jesus Church); while the "sacred desk" holds the inerrant Word of God.
The Word-centered Pulpit has been called "the throne for the Word of God." This fits the language of Scripture where in 1 Peter 4:10-11, the apostle Peter writes,
