Announcing a Brand New Service
The basic concept of sharing sermons with the public has been with us for centuries. Books and pamphlets have been published and re-published, filled to the brim with sermons and editorials. Although this tradition is still alive and well, there is a newer, more dynamic contender: audio. Sermon tapes are nothing new, and have been enjoyed by many people, but how would people react if these messages of instruction were available on the internet, for all to see? The answer to that question is what 40+ area churches are trying to find out. By posting their sermons online, the message of the gospel has a potentially unlimited reach.
And yet, it does no one any good if no they don't know where to find these free audio sermons. That's where we come in.
After teasing about this new directory for a couple weeks over at our twin Institute, Epsilon, we've launched the Grand Rapids Online Sermon Directory, a free listing of Grand Rapids-area churches that stream audio of their sermons online. It's still in it's infancy, with Grand Rapids proper having the most links, and surrounding cities having either no links, or very few. And despite that, we were able to launch with 45 links to area churches.
Much like a community listing in a newspaper, we don't discriminate based on denomination. It's not our duty to deny the Word of God to anyone, from anywhere. A denomination that one person sees as "proper" may give bad speeches, while a "improper" church may give a more meaningful sermon. It is up to the individual to chose which church he or she enjoys. We are not going to make that decision for them. Anything less, and this would not be a public service.
And this directory is a service, and we hope that people find it useful. Whether you're moving into the area and want to hear some of the churches in the area, of if you're looking for a new church home, or if you're at home or work and want to hear a sermon, we hope you'll use the Grand Rapids Online Sermon Directory.
The internet has a virtually unlimited reach. And by sharing these sermons online, these churches hope to spread the word of God and his message of salvation to everyone who has a willing ear, or a hungry heart.
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