I was asked to preach on Thanksgiving/Harvest Sunday in a mainly tribal church in Chiang Mai called “Beulah Church”. It was impressive to see a huge mound of fruit pilled up at the pulpit that morning (Thailand is known for its abundance and variety of fruits – 28 varieties of Bananas!). I did not inform the pastor of my sermon topic, but since it was Thanksgiving I decided on Luke 17:11-19, the 10 Lepers Story. You can imagine my surprise when I entered the church and saw a huge poster of a scene from that exact story which had just been put up! I could have chosen a number of passages from various parts of the Bible that day to expand on a thanksgiving theme, but amazingly was led to this one. It was gratifying to have a few of the tribals come up to me after the sermon expressing an appreciation for presenting the story in a more oral/dramatic way. Do pray for communicators of the gospel in Thailand, that they would be able to incorporate drama, dance, music, proverbs and Biblical story telling into their presentations in such a way that it will really resonate with their listeners … Christmas is especially a good time of the year to use all of these approaches.
