Emphasis Preaching Journal

One day as A. J. Gordon was walking to the church in Boston, of which he was a pastor, he passed a young boy carrying some birds in a cage.

"Where did you get those birds?" asked pastor Gordon. "I trapped them in a field," came the reply. "What are you going to do with them?" Gordon asked. The lad said, "Oh, I'm going to play with them for a while and then I'll feed them to the old cat at home. They're just field birds and can't sing very well." The preacher then said, "I'll give you two dollars for the cage and the birds." "It's a deal," said the boy, "but you're making a bad bargain."

The preacher took the cage behind the church and released the birds. They flew away singing because of their new found freedom. The following Sunday, pastor Gordon had the empty cage on the pulpit as he told the story. He concluded by saying, "When I released them they went singing away into the blue and it seems they were singing, 'redeemed, redeemed.' "

After Jesus appeared to the discipIes gathered together, they went away knowing that they had been redeemed by his death on the cross. As he sent the Holy Spirit to them, he gave them the power to go forth and become strong leaders in the formation of the early Christian church.
-- Dessem