Sermon Jams (i.e., rhetoric and melody)

What is a Sermon Jam?

There was a time when I would have answered this question with the same angst and befuddlement that you are right now experiencing. A 'sermon' 'jam', you say, does not make much sense. No. Good try, but it is not some sort of sanctified breakfast condiment either. Rather, a 'sermon jam' is an amalgamation of impassioned clips from sermons and groovy beats. I was skeptical at first as well, but after I heard Allister Begg read Acts 17 to a hip back-melody, I was hooked. Sermon Jams are now some of my favorite things to chill, exercise, and wash dishes to.

Allister Begg--Preaching is in the Shadows (Acts 17): A Taste:
One of the reasons there is such a distaste for preaching, is because there is so much dreadful preaching.

In this monologue, there is actually a divine dialogue. And it is not the dialogue of a man with men and women, but is a dialogue of the Living God with the souls of men and women, who quickly forgetting the one who is responsible for the monologue, find themselves saying, "these are strange Ideas, and they seem to be impinging upon me."

What his listeners have been unable to discover by investigation, Paul says, this information is now disclosed by revelation.
Ravi Zacharias--Christ as Lord: This is by far my favorite sermon Jam. The way the piano begins in this one and the way Zacharias begins is unforgettable.
Have you ever wondered what you would do to frighten Lazurus after he'd been raised from the dead. What would you do to frighten him? Lazarus, I'm gonna kill you? Caligula says I'm going to kill you. He says, "Ha, ha, ha." He says stop, "ha ha ha-ing" I'm going to kill you as I'm killing all the christians. He doubles over in uncontrollable laughter and says, "Caligula haven't you heard? Death is DEAD! Death is DEAD!" How can you frighten somebody who has already been dead, and knows the one who's going to let him out?

Behind the debris of the fallings of our solemn supermen and imperial diplomatists lies the gigantic figure of one person, because of whom, by whom, in whom, and through whom, mankind may still survive. The person of Jesus Christ.

John Piper--America and Suffering: This is from a sermon that Piper preached after the Tsunami. He is addressing God's sovereignty in relation to suffering. Powerful words.
America should be on its face. And what would that look like? What would that look like? It would look like being broken hearted that God means so little to us? It would mean grieving that God is a "whipping boy" to be blamed for pain and almost never praised for pleasure. It would mean lamenting that God makes headlines only when man mocks his power, but no headlines for TEN THOUSAND DAYS of wrath withheld.

Oh, America, America, America, Get on your face. Your day is coming. That's the message from God.

He could have stopped the waves with ONE WORD, and he didn't, which means: There is design in this suffering.
Ravi Zacherias--Truth: This one perhaps has the best moment of beat and rhetoric. When he says "intent is prior to content", the beat and tone of his voice is perfect.

S.M. Lockridge--My King: This samples from Lockridge's famous sermon about Jesus being King.

Note: The guys that produce the "sermon jams" above are relevant revolution, and they have a Sermon Jams Archive on their website. There is some interesting stuff there, but listen with discernment, as false doctrine is just as false put to a hip beat.

Allister Begg
July 30, 2007
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