Great was the company of the preachers

Last night it made me think of Psalm 68.11 (immortalised by Handel in Messiah): 'The Lord gave the word and great was the company of the preachers.'

It was our second to last evening of our latest Bermondsey Christian Training Course, Ready to Serve, and our theme was how to handle the Bible and give talks.

Bermondsey Christian Training

After a bit of input from me - from the Bible - and some suggestions of how to give a talk on a verse of Scripture, everyone got going, in five separate groups dotted around the church, to produce the outline of a talk on the verse they had been given - and great was the company of the preachers.

Each group had to choose one point they would make from their verse; think of an illustration of that point; and come up with an application.

Then we came back together and each group shared with the whole group the outline of their talk.

They were all brilliant. No wonder everyone applauded at the end of each talk.

As for Psalm 68.11 that gets it about right (well it would do,  it's in the Bible after all): the Lord gives the Word, and the natural and necessary outcome of that is a great army of preachers, teachers, bible-explainers, and good-news-tellers spreading out all over the world, just like the swarm of would-be preachers who descended on Bermondsey last night.

'Does anyone want to give the sermon on Sunday?' I asked at the end of the evening.