"Preaching To The Choir Never Sounded So Good"

Credit for the title of this poem must go to my fellow GNN local leader, Joey. Joey coined the statement “preaching to the choir never sounded so good” last night, at the end of our weekly team evangelism activity.

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Twas the Friday night before Christmas,
And all through the public square,
Every creature was scurrying about,
Most without an eternal care.

They were heading to movies,
And buying last minute presents,
Having no idea that at any moment,
They could die and stand in God’s presence.

So we each handed out tracts,
With a smile on our face,
Bringing the Law to the proud,
And to the humble God’s grace.

Then I preached open-air,
From atop a small box,
Pleading with the crowd to repent,
Hoping God would save the lost.

But the evening took a turn,
When the square filled with a throng,
Not with unbelievers,
But with a youth group filled with song.

Yes, the choir was made of youth,
And their leaders joined the fun,
From different churches they gathered
All joined together as one.

They came to sing carols,
With instruments to play,
They even brought a noisy generator,
To power their musical display.

But instead of the crowd growing,
Many of the unbelievers walked away,
For others had come before the choir,
Sharing music with nothing to say.

While we didn’t fault their motives,
They wanted to worship and serve,
If part of their goal was evangelism,
Their efforts fell below the curve.

I admit we were a bit frustrated,
The evening was going so well,
But the choir kept us from preaching,
To people bound for hell.

When there was a lull in the music,
A fellow seed sower took the stand,
It was his first time to open-air,
He was dealt a difficult hand.

But our brother persevered,
He preached Law and gospel truth,
Sadly few unbelievers heard,
Because of the yelling “Christian” youth.

What made his effort special,
Beyond the truth he spoke,
Was the fear he overcame,
Our brother didn’t choke.

Our brother and public speaking,
They haven’t always meshed,
But the Spirit was his helper,
Helping him overcome the flesh.

Yes, public speaking made him nervous,
By his own admission,
But our brother was oh so faithful,
Trying to fulfill the Great Commission.

The choir quickly returned to singing,
It was what they had come to do,
So Joey and I started talking,
Trying to plan our next move.

It was sad that we were competing,
With Christians in the square,
Believers in Scientology,
Are less distracting when they’re there.

But we knew we couldn’t quit,
We knew what we had to do,
We had to draw a crowd,
So we could preach the Law and gospel, too.

As the choir finished singing,
A crowd began to grow,
Not only comprised of Christians,
But of people who didn’t know.

So I climbed atop the box,
To give it another shot,
Hoping to bring the good news,
To people who knew it not.

I started with some trivia,
Keeping with a Christmas theme,
Giving teddy bears as prizes,
The crowd’s energy building steam.

“Who would like a gift card?”
Offering dinner on me,
“Just pass a simple test,”
“A good person you must be.”

To mine and Joey’s surprise,
The people yelling with boldness,
Were the youth in the choir,
Loudly professing their goodness.

I looked over at Joey,
His smile revealed his desire,
It was for the kids to hear the Law—
The kids in the “Christian” choir.

Two people took the “Good Test,”
The failed in their trying,
For they were guilty of adultery,
Blasphemy and lying.

I encouraged the crowd to test themselves,
Especially the choir in the back,
For belief they had and plenty,
But repentance they may have lacked.

As soon as I finished preaching,
The choir left the square,
I hope the choir heard me,
I hope the choir cared.

I’m sure some of the kids were saved,
Before they entered the square,
But in the choir I fear,
Some false converts were there.

So for those kids I pray,
To whom the message was sent,
That Christmas this year,
Would be the time when they repent.

Repent and believe,
Is my prayer for the youth,
Repent of their sin and believe,
In the gospel of Truth.

As we packed up our wares,
Joey’s face was aglow,
He had something to say,
Something he wanted me to know.

“That was great!” He said,
“It was great from where I stood,”
“Preaching to the choir,”
“Never sounded so good.”

Of course all praise and glory,
Goes to only One,
To the One who sacrificed all,
Who sacrificed His Son.

To God be all the glory,
We hope it was pleasing in His sight,
We preached the Law and the gospel,
On a cold, Friday night.

And to my fellow seed sowers,
To yours and all the rest,
Go forth and preach the gospel,And may your Christmas be blessed.