In these columns, I have been reflecting on biblical texts from Handel’s famous Messiah. As, in this issue of Preach, we are considering the theme of preaching and new media, two texts come to mind: ‘The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers’ (Psalm 68:11) and ‘Their sound is gone out into all lands: and their words into the ends of the world’ (Psalm 19:4, both from the Book of Common Prayer. If the music doesn’t come to mind immediately, a quick search of YouTube will lead you to recordings which are instantly available).

In the first chorus, Handel depicts a great procession of preachers being sent out by their ascended Lord. As a trumpet-like fanfare sounds, they go running into all the world with great excitement and expectation. In the simpler second chorus, Handel celebrates the spread of the gospel. There is growing excitement as countless messengers are sent out on their missionary journeys, carrying the message of the gospel even to the ends of the world.

In an age of questioning and doubt, Handel was able to restate the great message of the gospel through the extraordinary popularity of his Messiah. Because he applied his considerable talents in the service of the gospel, that message has continued to be sounded through his music throughout the following generations.

There have been key moments throughout history that have revolutionised the proclamation of the gospel message, most importantly of course the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Church and the apostles began their preaching ministries. The invention of the printing press in the mid fifteenth century was another revolutionary moment, making possible the mass production and distribution of books for the first time.

William Tyndale ushered in another revolutionary age when he began the translation and distribution of the Bible in English. He paid for that work with his life, but it was not in vain. It is said that when English Bibles were, at the King’s command, placed in St Paul’s Cathedral for the first time, the clergy complained because people were no longer listening to their sermons. Instead they huddled around those Bibles, reading them to one another. They were desperate to hear the Word of God in their own language. Illiterate people even learned to read so that they could read the Word of God in their mother tongue.

We are witnessing another revolution in our own lifetime – the growth of new media which, through the internet, has the capacity to reach almost unimaginable numbers of people in an instant. Like many things, it has the potential for great good and for dreadful harm. The world is constantly changing, and yet our calling as Christian preachers has not and never will change: to take the good news of Jesus into all the world. Let’s pray that a great company of preachers will take the sound of the gospel to the ends of the world through these new channels.

Rev Dr David Hull is a Methodist minister, currently serving in the Yeovil and Blackmore Vale Circuit. He is Chair of Methodist Evangelicals Together and of Share Jesus International and is working towards a PhD with Cliff College