Sometimes, you just gotta trust

I have to say that the response to yesterday's sermon, "I Would Like To Apologize", has been pretty special. For those that were not there, I had an opportunity to preach on one of my favorite verses, 1 Peter 3:15-16. If possible, I'll put up the mp3 when I get it.

The sermon focused on the need for a Christian to have a proper apologetic and the fact that the moden church has moved from focusing on the truth of who Jesus is to the experience of God. I have more to say on the topic of experiencing God, specifically the Henry Blackaby material of the same name, but I will hold off on that for now.

I was nervous about this sermon, as can happen when you are speaking about something so personal. On Saturday, I removed about two pages of material from the sermon and on Sunday morning I did some editing on the fly as I was preaching. (As Mark Marchak has said to me a number of times regarding sermon preparation, "Edit mercilessly.") The danger was to overstate and I wanted to avoid that. And I have seen how the Spirit works when I am preaching and some of my most memorable statements have come "off the cuff", so I wanted to leave room for that to happen.

But I knew that this sermon was going to hit in a personal way with a number of congregants. I knew that it was going to be a hard pill to swallow for a number of people and that can be a frightening thing to speak about sometimes. I'm human and I want to be liked. And I also don't enjoy making people upset or bothered. I know what I am commanded to do through the scriptures, but that doesn't always make the task easy. And yesterday was an example of that.

Plus, it was an exhausting sermon. Both times. (On a funny note, I fell asleep inbetween services and didn't wake up until the opening hymn for the second service.)

I offered a challenge to the congregation that I could be wrong in the things that I was saying on Sunday morning, and that I would give my sermon notes to whomever wanted them for a price: they had to read them and they had to come to me with any questions/ corrections. About 7 people asked for them at the door to the sanctuary when they were leaving and I have sent them my notes. I am looking forward to their thoughts and ideas.

If you would be interested in my sermon notes, please send me an email or leave a comment in the comment a section.