Making Good News Feel Good

In August 2022, a few Resound churches met in person after nearly 3 years.

Like core memories formed in early childhood, it felt like these 3 days were a core memory etched into the early mind and life of Resound.

Though we may not remember all that was taught or heard, it left a mark so deep, we will never forget how it made us feel.

That is apt given that we were learning from Ray Ortlund about gospel culture—the atmospheric vibe, the beautiful welcoming embrace, and the unmistakable joy that rules the church when Christ is exalted in her midst.

The Church We All Want to Belong to

I discovered Ray’s ministry a few years ago and felt instantly captivated by the weight of his voice, the gentleness of his tone, and the depth of his confidence in the gospel.

I have deeply appreciated his emphasis on gospel culture in the podcast “You’re Not Crazy.” Though it is meant to be for pastors, members of our church listen to it and love it too.

I suspect it is because he and co-host Sam Allberry are imagining the church we all want to belong to: a church that makes it feel like Jesus is with us and He wants us there with him.

It is a church that feels like a foretaste of eternity. It gives us a hint of what it will feel like when we meet Christ face to face.

Making Good News Feel Good

When Ray teaches it feels like a warm hug. For some reason, the truth feels truer when he speaks it.

He chooses his words carefully and communicates them clearly. It is almost as if he believes every word he wants you to believe. That makes you want to believe it.

He says familiar things in his own unique way. It is like reading your favourite book all over again as if you are reading it for the first time and falling in love with it once again.

For all of us who grew up without much affirmation, he tells you everything your father should have told you. He points your wounded heart to your true and beautiful Father, your faithful and wonderful elder brother.

Jesus shines so brightly in Ray’s teaching, you forget about him and revel in the ministry of the Spirit to your heart.

You feel as if you are the only one in the room and the Lord has his eyes fixed on you, binding your heart to his love in a way that no hand can break the knot.

You Can Survive a Life in Ministry

Ray is a scholar and a pastor who has successfully handed over the leadership of his congregation to his successor. He is still married and delights in his wife. His children are in the Lord and fruitful.

This living sermon was probably the most encouraging to me. He showed us you can go a long way in ministry and do many things well—without losing your faith, your marriage, or your children.

That is not to say you can have it all. It is to say you do not have to fear whether you will fail or fall in ministry. You can find rest in Jesus without being restless in ministry; you can preach without worshipping the pulpit, and you can love your wife as Christ loved the church.

I think we all need to know that.

Wonder Can Age Like Wine

Ray has a childlike wonder about the promises of God in Christ. If there is an inner cynic in him, it has probably given up trying to discourage him and has given its life to Christ.

His “vibe" is an education that you can continue to grow in the gospel. You do not have to outgrow the gospel.

Ray told us about the decade that almost destroyed him, the hardest years of his life, and how the strength of Christ was made perfect in weakness.

As a result, his sense of wonder about Jesus has not weakened. It has only deepened. He made young people feel old and made us want to recover our youthful, wonder-infused, first love for Jesus.

It gives you hope that you can age without getting old, and be more captivated by Christ in the years to come than in the years that have gone by.

Self-forgetfulness Reminds You of Christ

It is rare to meet someone so unconscious of themselves. Because Ray is so self-forgetful, it reminds you of what Christ is like.

When he speaks to you, it makes you feel seen and heard. You are the important person, not him.

It marks him out as a man so full of the Spirit of Jesus, you are less mindful of Ray and more conscious of the Christ in him—the very one who is in you and for you.

Our time with him was brief and when it was over, Ray returned to his home and each of us to ours. But Ray made us joyfully conscious of Christ; the one who has made his home in us.

Listening to Ray makes you forget about Ray and thank God for Jesus.

Rooted and Established in Love

The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Its power comes from the zealous love of God for his people.

There is nothing more powerful than the power of being loved.

The ministry of Ray sounds a lot like the testimony of John to the early church, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3 V1).

We saw that love, we felt it, and we want everyone we know to receive it.

What would your life and ministry look and feel like if your heart was rooted and established in this kind of love?