Thursday, August 18, 2011

Who am I?

    "Preach the Gospel always; if necessary use words."  That quote, which is often attributed to Francis of Assisi, sums up the very job of every believer.  The problem becomes one of lack of confidence in ourselves to actually follow through.  We begin to ask ourselves, "Who am I to do such a job?"  We tremble with nervousness at the prospect of really having to share our faith in physical form.  We wonder how we will do what God is asking.  We complain that we don't have the proper training.  We believe we simply aren't equipped to do God's work.
    The problem with that excuse is it fails to take into account the magnificent power of God in our lives.  No amount of training in the world can take the place of a movement of God in the life of an individual.  There have been many "preachers" throughout history who were well trained, eloquent speakers.  They led hundreds, if not thousands, to faith in Jesus; but they never knew Jesus themselves.  In Matthew 7, Jesus speaks of such people.  Those who on the last day will say, "Lord we prophesied for you, drove out demons, and performed miracles in your name."  These people will be told He never knew them.  Training and gifts cannot replace the power of God.
     It would be easy to think that training makes bringing a sermon a lot easier, but nothing could be farther from the truth.  At times, training gets in the way.  You become worried about the proper form or which word sounds right.  Sometimes the best sermon is the one that is led by the Spirit in the moment.  Even though training can give you the tools, it never takes away the nervousness of being the vessel God is using.  As much as any layperson is asking "Who am I?," every pastor asks it each week.
   The good news is that we are the blood bought body of Christ.  We are the residence of the Holy Spirit, and the greatest power this world has ever known is alive within each believer.  God takes that which is ordinary (believers) and uses it to do the extraordinary.  We each may struggle with our ability to follow God's lead, but God knows who we are even when we don't.
    Who are we?  We are creations of God!  What are we?  We are loved by God, and that makes all the difference!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

This is the Place

I have started this blog as a new avenue of my preaching ministry.  In the coming weeks, you will find here several different things.  First, you will find my thoughts on different biblical topics.  Second, you may find mini sermons I just don't feel led to preach in the pulpit.  Finally, you will find the rest of the sermon.  Thoughts that didn't make it out on Sunday morning.  My process by which I came to a certain point.  Almost a behind the scenes look at my preaching.  This post isn't too long, but it will suffice as an explanation.