Sunday Night Reflections.

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Spent the weekend at Christ's Church of Mandarin this weekend for their annual mission's emphasis.
• Great work in the area of global outreach, the church supports 29 different missions.
• Amazing stories from Haiti, Costa Rico, Honduras, as well local missions in the greater Jacksonville area.
• The church was very gracious with their mission teams, they made sure we had everything we needed to be successful for the weekend.
• Following the worship this morning we had the opportunity to experience Food Trucks and a Classic Car Show, after visiting 150 churches in the last 4 1/2 years this was a first for me.
• What has happened to the Dolphins? Fire a coach and go on a two game winning streak!
• Once again we had the opportunity to see why college football is so exciting; FSU and Georgia Tech reminded us once again you must be ready on every play!
• Great time visiting with family this weekend, it never is long enough!
• Preaching in chapel Tuesday at JUFL on the topic of telling your story in the face of opposition.
• Said Farewell to David and Margaret Eubanks this week, they are headed back to Tennessee, they will be missed.
• Daylight savings time is coming to an end this weekend, Oh what an extra hour of sleep will mean! Especially since I will be in Lake City Sunday morning.
• Something to Chew on; Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. ~ Abraham Lincoln 

Do you miss Preaching?

For the first 30 years of my professional career I was a preacher. I preached, as an associate minister once a month for 17 years. Today I am grateful to the congregations for giving me the opportunity to hone my craft as a preacher. They were gracious and they may not have realized it at the time, but they helped me develop my preaching style. For 13 years I preached on a regular basis as the senior minister in a local congregation. During that time I learned how to develop my preaching as a tool to convict the audience (and sometime myself), cast vision and encourage people through the spoken word.

Recently I was visiting a church representing the University and I was asked, "Do you miss preaching?" Before I answer that question, you need to know I continue to preach about 35 times a year in various settings. Sometimes my messages focus on the University and how individuals can partner with us. I also "fill the pulpit" when a minister is on vacation. I do have ample opportunities to preach. However, the more I thought about his question; “Do I miss preaching?” The more I thought about preaching, what do I miss most about preaching? 

First, I miss the weekly interaction of sermon preparation - I know it sounds crazy, but after 30 years of preparing messages, I still enjoy the AHA moment when I discovery a new insight in scripture. The Hebrew writer is right speaking of scripture as the "Living Word". Every time I dig into scripture I find new nuggets of wisdom that I cannot wait to share. My preaching today is usually a message that I have preached several times depending on the need of the congregation as it relates to the university. While there is preparation involved is not the deep study that comes from preparing a different message each week.

I also miss preaching in series. During my 13 years as a preaching minister, I made it a habit to preach in series or to preach through a particular section of a book. I miss the opportunity to "unpack" a section of scripture for 4 to 6 weeks and to help the congregation journey through the whole counsel of God. 

Finally, I miss the opportunity to see and hear about the life change that comes about from preaching the whole counsel of God. There is something about being at a local congregation and saying, "Last month we talked about this issue" or "You remember we looked at Paul's writings in..."  As I travel from church to church most of my messages are “stand alone” messages, thus I seldom know the impact of a one shot message. I envy the men who stand in the pulpit each week and develop a relationship with their congregation through the preaching of the Word.

Do I miss preaching? I miss some aspects of preaching, however, I am content to be faithful in the place God is calling me.   

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped at Christ's Church of Marion County this morning. 
• Wonderful sermon from their minister, David.
• Great time of worship, the church is really trying to connect with the community around them!
• They completed a Prayer Walk yesterday, can't wait to see how God will move through Ocala.
• Also witnessed the Baptismal waters stirring again - believe it never gets old!
• I wish all mission teams responded like Christ's Church, very knowledgeable about the missions they support. 
• Tonight I returned to FCCK and heard a great message from Dr. Eubanks from the book of Hebrews. He will be missed!
• Still amazed at the generosity displayed at this year's ROUNDUP!
• Not only does Cancer stink; I hate what Cancer is doing to my wife!
• Amazed at her persistence, hoping for a good report in the next few days, please pray for her!
• Don't look now, but Christmas is only 67 days away!
• Watching Michigan/Michigan State game should be a reminder to everyone it ain't over till it is over! 
• Gators lost, but they will bounce back, honestly did not expect them to be 6-1 at this time of the year.
• Something to Chew on; It is not good enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required ~ Winston Churchill

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Wonderful day worshiping at FCC Kissimmee today.
• Jim continued his series from the book of Philippians, great message on what is really important in this life.
• Another ROUNDUP is in the books, a great time was had by all!
• Seeing fellow alumni always stirs my soul.
• May the Zeal never cease!
• Constantly amazed by the generosity of God's people. God is Good.
• So thankful for a student body willing to serve at Roundup.
• Tomorrow is Kathy's last chemo treatment - YES!
• By the way Cancer still Stinks!
• Our Toyota turn over 300,000 miles this week - paint job is faded, has a few squeaks, but it is still going strong!
• How can 6 weeks of college football already be over?
• Another student proposed to his girl friend this weekend - such a quality young man, I wish him all the best!
• By the way, she said YES!
• Something to Chew on; As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man. ~ Solomon, Proverbs 27:19

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped at First Christian Kissimmee today, great message from the book of Philippians. 
• The secret to this life; avoid selfish ambitions.
• From today's message live for a cause, not the applause. 
• Really enjoyed singing the song "Glorious Day" this morning. 
• I wonder what would happen in the church today, if people began to live for the cause. Another thought - how many really know what "The Cause" is today.
• We saw the movie "War Room" Friday evening, great movie about the power of prayer.
• One of the previews at the theater was the film RISEN, could be interesting.
• October is here, now comes the best time to live in Florida.
• Cannot understand how The OSU is still number 1.
• Oh Dolphins, why do you break my heart so early in the season.
• We will never legislate morality, we must fix the heart.
• Let's be honest, we are all surprised by the Gators play right now.
• Something to Chew on; Life has many unanswered questions, but God's ability to save needn't be one of them. Be settled about God's faithfulness. ~ Max Lucado, Glory Days Tweet.