Jeremiah had to preach to...
Illustration
Jeremiah had to preach to people who didn't want to have their doings called sinful, much like the people in this little story:
A young minister, newly graduated from seminary, was sent to pastor a church in rural Kentucky. The first Sunday, his sermon was "The Sin of Smoking." The congregation listened politely, but after the service, the elders took the pastor aside and explained that he couldn't preach on smoking since a third of the congregation grew tobacco. So the next Sunday, he preached on "The Sin of Drinking." Again the elders took him aside, this time to explain that a third of the congregation grew corn, which they sold to the distilleries for whiskey production. The next Sunday, the sermon was titled, "The Sin of Gambling," but afterward, the elders pointed out that the remaining third of the congregation raised racehorses, used on the betting tracks.
Sensing the elders were running out of patience with him, the pastor was very careful in his selection of a topic for the next Sunday, and when that day came, everyone was delighted with the sermon and many commended him for the level of conviction with which he spoke. His topic? "The Sin of Fishing in the Territorial Waters of a Foreign Nation."
A young minister, newly graduated from seminary, was sent to pastor a church in rural Kentucky. The first Sunday, his sermon was "The Sin of Smoking." The congregation listened politely, but after the service, the elders took the pastor aside and explained that he couldn't preach on smoking since a third of the congregation grew tobacco. So the next Sunday, he preached on "The Sin of Drinking." Again the elders took him aside, this time to explain that a third of the congregation grew corn, which they sold to the distilleries for whiskey production. The next Sunday, the sermon was titled, "The Sin of Gambling," but afterward, the elders pointed out that the remaining third of the congregation raised racehorses, used on the betting tracks.
Sensing the elders were running out of patience with him, the pastor was very careful in his selection of a topic for the next Sunday, and when that day came, everyone was delighted with the sermon and many commended him for the level of conviction with which he spoke. His topic? "The Sin of Fishing in the Territorial Waters of a Foreign Nation."
