Preaching

Use us

/ The Pastor

A morning prayer as you prepare for your day.  May you know the blessings of God and wonders of his awesome love.  Let us pray…

Loving and gracious Father…you have given us a mighty task; to use our spiritual gifts for the common good.  But too often we are swayed by the world to promote ourselves therefore misusing those gifts.  Please grant us the faith to see what you have done for us so that we may do everything in our power to use what you have given us for the common good.  May we not be so selfish, conceited, arrogant or puffed up that we miss golden opportunities to advance the Gospel.  And…as we use our gifts, may you be glorified in all that we do and say.

Awesome God ~ I lift up to you this morning all who preach your Word.  May they be faithful to the Word and proclaim your promises through Jesus Christ with boldness and confidence. May those servants not conform to the world but be instruments that transform the world by the renewing of hearts and minds.

Faithful God ~ I also lift up to you all those who will hear your Word this morning.  Create faith where it is lacking; strengthen faith where it is weak; renew faith where it has grown stale.  May the power of your Word do its thing as it leads us out to advance the Gospel.

Oh God, you are an awesome God.  You saved us.  You remade us.  You gave us hope through Jesus Christ.  May you be glorified for you are worthy.  All praise, worship and honor be to you, Oh God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

The pastor -|—

Rewrite

/ The Pastor

There come times in a pastor’s ministry when a sermon needs to be scraped and completely rewritten at a moment’s notice.

Yesterday was such a time for me (and I would guess most pastors across this land).

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT has left many people in a state of confusion, sadness, fear, anger…and a list of other emotions.  People have been asking that all too difficult to answer “Why?” question.

Knee-jerk responses have been offered.
Political statements have been made.
Rumors have circulated.
Theories have been postulated.

All of which have not been too helpful…but they are natural responses to a horrific event.  But as a pastor, I need to respond in a different way.  I need to share the light of Christ in the midst of darkness; hope in the midst hopelessness; life in the midst of death; peace in the midst of chaos; Good News in the midst of Satan’s reign of tyranny.

We can not remain silent (even though I was not planning on preaching at Salem this morning).

You see…today is Christmas program Sunday at Salem (Belmont has their program on Saturday).  It’s a Sunday I usually don’t say too much because the kids “preach” the sermon.  I usually only offer up a couple words at Salem (preaching a full sermon at Belmont) and that’s it.

Not today

So as I wrote yesterday afternoon I found my fingers hi-jacked by the Holy Spirit as words flew across my lap top screen.  My faith was poured out into words as I reflected on the Christmas story; realizing that everything fit perfectly.  I was not deviating from the message the kids shared; for this is a season of hope.

For you see…Jesus was born into our world of suffering to bring hope.  Death and sin and evil do not have the last word…God does in Jesus Christ.  And that’s where I find comfort in the midst of such tragedy.  There are so many questions to ask and so many answers to seek.  But what we need to cling to is the love of God that was shown to us at Christmas and through the cross.  This world doesn’t make sense but praise be to God – God has overcome the world.  Find strength and healing in God through Jesus Christ and not in knee-jerk, worldly “answers”.

Blessings to you this day as you grieve and mourn with the hope of the resurrection. Praise be to God!

Have a Merry Christmas!

The pastor -|—

We get to

/ The Pastor

I heard a statement yesterday that I hate to hear ~ but I also love it hear it:
“Eric has to preach tomorrow.”

“Has to”?  Really?

My response was immediate:
“I get to preach tomorrow.”

I hate to hear that phrase because it makes what I do sound laborious and tedious and that I really don’t enjoy it; that I would rather be doing something else.  But I love to hear that phrase because it gives me the opportunity to share my faith and the excitement I have in preaching and leading worship.

“Have to”?  Not even close.

Of course people smile and nudge me as soon as I correct them as if to say: “That is what I meant.” But part of me doesn’t believe them.  Even so…I had an opportunity yesterday and I am happy to say that I took it.

Don’t get me wrong though.  I am not trying to say that my job is any better than yours.  I am not trying to imply that my job is more honorable than yours.  I am certainly not saying that your job doesn’t matter as much as mine.  Sure…I get to stand in front of people and proclaim the Gospel in what I hope to be no uncertain terms.  But then again…so do you.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
[1 Peter 2:9-10]

We are ALL called to be ministers.
We are ALL called to proclaim Christ’s saving love.
We are ALL called to witness to the resurrection.

It’s just that my “job description” is a little different from yours.  We ALL have holy and important callings.  For God has placed each one of us in the vocation we are in for a particular purpose…so make the most of it.  Instead of saying (or thinking) “I have to go to work”, say instead “I get to go to work and share my faith with others.”  That is a holy and important work. Imagine the impact we could have on the world if we looked at our “jobs” as mission outposts for the sake of the Gospel.

God, please help me see myself as an instrument for your glory.  Help me to see my place in life as having a specific purpose.  May you be praise through my “work”. Amen.

edh -|—

Flowing words

/ The Pastor

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
[2 Peter 1:16-21]

I was asked one time by a family member: “How do you come up with all those sermons?”  [He was amazed that for as long as I had been a pastor that I could still come up with a sermon each and every week.]

My response: “God”
Family member: “Yes, I know that, but how do you write one every week?”
My response: “God”

I could tell he wasn’t getting the answer he either wanted or expected as the conversation quickly shifted to another person and another topic.

Peter here is saying the same thing.  He, and the rest of the apostles, are not making this message of Jesus up.
~ It did not come from clever arguments.
~ It did not come from misdirection.
~ It did not come from witty one liners.
The message of the Gospel came from their eye witness experience.  But not only should people rely on the apostles’ eye witness experience of Jesus but on the prophetic word itself that comes from Jesus.

I am not an actual eye witness of Jesus but I have met him.  I do know him.  I do have a relationship with him. So I share and proclaim what I know.  But even more than that the Holy Spirit speaks this prophetic word through me.  It is not me who “comes up with these sermons” but rather they are inspired by the Holy Spirit (some weeks I listen better than others).  I know this to be true because I am NOT a good writer, preacher or speaker and if it were left up to me I would surely bring it all to ruin.

You see…what we share with others, as Christians, is the prophetic word that has been passed down to all who believe.  We share what we know.  We share what JESUS said.  And the word we hear from the Holy Spirit we would do well to listen to.  Why?

This Word is life.

So preaching (whether it is the pastor or a lay person sharing their faith) is not about trying to come up with a clever message, but about trusting the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the prophetic word that needs to be proclaimed.  If you know Jesus then you know his Word, and therefore there is nothing to make up.  Share what you know; trusting the Holy Spirit.

So just listen and pay attention to JESUS’ Word of life…and let the words flow.
Amen!

edh -|—

A bunch of words

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I have a bunch of words written on a page right now…ready to be preached this morning.  I carefully reflected on the scripture text this week and prayed for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  And I believe from the bottom of my heart that these are the “right” words.
I believe that these words are more than just something to fill space.
I believe that those words are exactly what God wants me to say this morning.
I also believe that God will somehow use those words for His glory.

I don’t know how, but God will find a way to use those words.  God always does.  I guess that is why I never tire of writing sermons and preaching them.  Sure…it may be a lot of work sometimes during a particularly busy week when I am under a lot of stress, but in the end, God get’s His way.  He always does even if I don’t see or comprehend what way God got.

But this morning I find myself distracted by a pastoral care concern that is striking close to home.  My heart is breaking for this couple and I can’t seem to think of the right words to say.
I am racking my brain…but nothing.
I am searching my heart…but nothing.
I won’t see this couple this morning in worship but I can’t stop thinking about them.  I guess partly because since I am a pastor in the family I am guessing someone will eventually ask me; “why?”  And…as I consider that potential question I am at a loss for words as my heart continues to break for them.

O God…what do I say? What are the right words?

I ask that question each and every week.  I also ask that question whenever I call on someone.  So I guess I need to do what I do each and every week ~ turn everything over to the power of God through the Holy Spirit; trusting in God’s work through Jesus Christ my Lord.  I need to fall back into His loving arms and trust that the right words will spew forth from my mouth this morning…and when I see this couple again.  For if I focus on my brain; my knowledge, I will no doubt mess things up.

O God…what do I say? What are the right words?

So there you go.  A bunch of words on a page and a bunch of words running around in my brain; all waiting to do something.  I pray that God takes the right words and does something amazing; all to God’s glory.

Use my words, O God, that people my come to praise you!

edh -|—

Feed your sheep (a follow up)

/ The Pastor

Smack!  Right between the eyes…I think.

God was good today.

Following the service, a daughter of the deceased told me she appreciated the fact that I preached the Gospel and did not focus my attention on her mother.  Wow…it’s not every day I hear something like that.

Praise be to God!

It is always nice to hear comments from family like that, but I am mostly glad that they found comfort in the words that God placed on my heart.

Dear God…thank you for feeding your sheep today.  Amen.

edh -|—

Right between the eyes

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

I was talking with a person a while back about a funeral they attended…and I was saddened by what I heard.  I was saddened because  it didn’t sound like the Gospel was preached.  When I asked how the funeral went they said things like:

“It was a great celebration of their life.”
“It was very upbeat.”
“Fun stories were shared about him.”
“He lived a very good life.”

There was nothing about the Gospel.  Maybe it was preached but those comments sure don’t sound like that is what they heard.  What this person remembers are stories and remembrances of the past.  I wish I would have challenged them more but being in a public place I shied away from confronting them…but maybe I should have.

[A missed opportunity]

I also remember another conversation (by the way…I am preparing for a funeral this week, that is why these memories are bubbling up).  This conversation was with a family.  I was meeting with them but was unable to do the funeral because of a prior commitment.  Luckily they had a family member who was a pastor so they were going to lead worship.  Through the course of the meeting the daughter was talking about the service and wanted lots of stories about her mother.  I chimed in and said a funeral has nothing to do with the deceased but everything to do with Jesus and what he has done for you and for me.  This was the response I got:

“Well…at my funeral you are going to talk about me!”

I really wanted to argue but I decided that wasn’t the place.  Besides…at her funeral she won’t have any say what I talk about 🙂

Why am I bring this up?

As I prepare for a funeral one of the things I am keenly aware of is that there could very easily be people there who normally do not attend worship.  These people only enter a worship space on Easter, Christmas, funerals and weddings.  They go through life without hearing the Good News.  So when they do finally show up in a worship space you just can not miss that opportunity.  You have to smack them right between the eyes with the Gospel, not fun stories about the deceased.  The dead person’s past life is not going to help them.  The only thing that will help is Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection; the victory he won FOR YOU and FOR ME.

Too many people in the world today water down the Gospel with the prosperity gospel (which is NO gospel at all; not good news).  The prosperity gospel says that if you believe hard enough, are a good person and keep your nose to the grindstone, you can be successful (to have your best life now).  If bad things happen then you somehow fell short. Please do not buy into this false gospel.

Once again…that is NOT good news.

And it bugs me to no end that this message is being preached by many so called ministers out there; leading people astray.  What they are doing is simply preaching a message that people WANT to hear, not what they NEED to hear.

What people need to hear is:
–We are sinners and can not survive this life on our own.
–There is hope.
–We have a savior in Jesus.
–That through faith in Christ there is forgiveness of our sins.
–That there is NOTHING we can do to earn, merit or deserve this grace.
–God loves you!

So when I prepare a funeral sermon (or any sermon for that matter) I try to keep in mind what people need to hear…and let them have it.

So as I prepare for this funeral on Thursday I am winding up and preparing myself to smack people right between the eyes with the TRUE Gospel.  And I pray that God will use the words I say to change someone’s life.  All to God’s glory.

So if you are reading this and coming on Thursday, get ready because I will be bringing it 🙂

Praise be to God!

edh -|—

God vs technology…and God won

/ The Pastor

Merry Christmas everyone!

I have to tell you about a God moment that I had yesterday right before I started preaching.

The text I was preaching on was John 1:19-28 (but I “warmed up” the congregation with John 1:1-18).  On Thursday I found what I thought to be a good opening illustration and copied it into the manuscript.  It wasn’t the best but it still worked.  I then wrote the opening part of the sermon before getting into the “meat”.  The main part was a biblical exposition of John which I did not write out word for word (that was the part I knew very well).  I saved the sermon on my computer and then transferred it to my Kindle (as I sometimes do).

Sunday morning ~ Everything went well at Belmont (8:30am worship), but when I got to the pulpit at Salem (10:15am worship) God decided to show me that he has a sense of humor ~ and more importantly that God is in control.

As the lector was reading the lessons I turned on my Kindle and pulled up the sermon.  I then placed my Kindle in “sleep mode” until I would “wake it up” in the pulpit.  So far so good.  Nothing unusual.

Then…well…God happened 🙂

I got into the pulpit and read the Gospel text and then proceeded to open the cover of my Kindle.

It was locked up.

Nothing worked.  It just stared at me as if to say “Hey buddy…you’re on your own.”  A moment of panic set in as I tried to determine what I was going to do without letting the congregation know there was a problem.  I knew I couldn’t go on with my opening part of the sermon since I didn’t know it well enough but I did know the main part of the sermon (“the meat”) like the back of my hand.

And then I got it…God didn’t like my sermon opening.

So…on the fly (and by the power of the Holy Spirit)…I began preaching…and the words just came out.  As I got going more, I got into the sermon and before long my Kindle problems were a distance memory.  After worship I got more good comments about that sermon than I have received in a long time…and from people who normally don’t comment.  Praise be to God!!!

I told this story to someone and they suggested I have a backup copy of the sermon on hand next time.  Sounds like a logical suggestion but part of me is not too sure I want to do that…

You see…on Sunday, God was in control…and I like that.  Isn’t that the way it should be?

edh -|—

P.S. Following worship my Kindle started working perfectly 🙂

Life is good…PRAISE BE TO GOD

/ The Pastor

Wow…life has been good.

We have had a great start to our youth education year (release time, confirmation and Wednesday Night Live).  All these programs have seen increased numbers along with a group of caring and committed teachers. I have seen intellectual and spiritual growth in some kids.  Always a fun thing to see.
PRAISE BE TO GOD!

I have been amazed at how God has been working through me these past few weeks in preaching.  On Sept. 4 I preached a sermon about God’s plan for us (which I said is community).  This was supposed to be a stand alone sermon but the next three weeks God has provided messages to build on that theme.  And what a ride it has been.
PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Personally…I had been dealing with an ankle injury that kept me from running for 3 weeks.  It drove me crazy to see friends running knowing that I could not.  I had to pull out of a 1oK I have enjoyed running the past 2 years.  But now my ankle is healed and I am back to running.
PRAISE BE TO GOD!

I started a weight loss program through Weight Watchers (something I did a few years back).  I want to drop about 20 pounds to get back to my ideal running weight.  Well…in just over 2 weeks I have lost 7.2 pounds.
PRAISE BE TO GOD!

It is easy to complain to God when things are not going well and easy to draw away from God when things ARE going well.  But we need to remember to praise God when thing do go well (and also praise God when things do not go well).   Whatever the case, God is good ~ for he sent Jesus to die for you and for me.
PRAISE BE TO GOD!

edh -|—

What we need to hear

/ The Pastor

2 Timothy 4:2-5
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

There are many reasons to stay in the word; to study it and meditate on it but the one that concerns me today is the very thing that Paul warns young Timothy about.  There are so many “gospels” floating around out there.  There are so many “preachers” out there leading people astray; saying things to people that “their itching ears want to hear.”

The problem is that what people WANT to hear and what they NEED to hear are two completely different things.

What we hear so much about today are what prosperity gospel preachers are trying to tell people:  If you live right you can be successful and happy in this life.  They hold up the Bible, quote scripture and give you 7 ways to have your best life now.  People may WANT to hear that message but it is not what they NEED to hear.  Happiness now is fine but there are two keys problems:  (1) Jesus never, ever promised that things would be great in this life (he actually told his disciples that they would experience hardship and persecution) and (2) When this life is over then what?

What we NEED to hear is that God, through Jesus, has over come this world.
What we NEED to hear is that Jesus has reconciled us to God through the cross.
What we NEED to hear is that there is hope beyond this life.
What we NEED to hear is that we have nothing to fear in this world with God.
What we NEED to hear is that God is madly in love with you and with me.

Prosperity gospel preachers do not preach this message but rather disguise the Good News with something that people can use now to be happy and successful.  As Paul warned, the time has come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.

So we need to be even more diligent.

Let’s take Paul’s charge to Timothy and make it our own.  Stay in the Word; meditate on it; study it and remain faithful to the Word.  “…keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. “  Tell people what they NEED to hear, not what they WANT to hear.

May God be praised in all we say and do.

Preach it brothers and sisters!  Amen!

-edh-