My crazy Sunday
I know that it has been a while since my last post. I have been told that I need to post something. The reason I haven't posted anything lately is that I didn't feel like I really had anything to write about. Well now I do.
On Sunday, May 21st, I preached at church. This was my 4th or 5th time preaching in front of our congregation. It is a nerve racking thing to do. A family friend of ours says that whenever she hears me preach she can feel God's annointing over me. I like hearing things like that. It makes me feel good and makes me feel that the words I have spoken are not my words, but God's words.(that's my goal too) The reason that I got to preach is that it was Senior Recognition at our church. We take a Sunday every year and recognize those who are graduating from High School. It is a cool thing and I am glad that we do it. We have a breakfast in honor of the students before the church service and then honor them during it. I have to say that this Sunday is one of the hardest days of the year for me. Not because I am super busy, or that it is because I am preaching in front of approxamately 250 people, but because it is hard to see the Seniors go. It is hard to know that I will not see these students on a regular basis anymore. I know that I will miss them.
This day was also hard because my little sister, Amy, is graduating from high school this year. It has been awesome to get to know my sister in this way. I have been able to see her grow spiritually and challenge her spiritually, that is not something that every brother and sister can do in their relationship. While I was preaching I could not look at her, because everytime I did I would start to cry. Man, it was hard. I did end up crying at the end though. I was telling the students how proud I was of them and what a pleasure it had been to get to know them and that I would miss them. And before I got the first words out of my mouth I started to cry. I am such an emotional man.
So then, on that same day, I had to speak and baccalaureate. For any of you that don't know what baccalaureate is, it is a sort of Christian Graduation, that the youth pastors organize. We invite all of the graduating seniors to come out and worship God and be honored for graduating. We usually ask someone who is not a youth pastor to speak at these events, but this year we could not find anyone, so, for some reason, I volunteered. So my Sunday was filled with preaching God's word and urging the seniors to "not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [their] mind." My prayer is that some of them were actually listening to me and take my words to heart.(I will post my sermon later).
So needless to say, my Sunday was a fun-filled day. I thank God that I had the opportunity to share some of my wisdom (as little as it is) with them.
On Sunday, May 21st, I preached at church. This was my 4th or 5th time preaching in front of our congregation. It is a nerve racking thing to do. A family friend of ours says that whenever she hears me preach she can feel God's annointing over me. I like hearing things like that. It makes me feel good and makes me feel that the words I have spoken are not my words, but God's words.(that's my goal too) The reason that I got to preach is that it was Senior Recognition at our church. We take a Sunday every year and recognize those who are graduating from High School. It is a cool thing and I am glad that we do it. We have a breakfast in honor of the students before the church service and then honor them during it. I have to say that this Sunday is one of the hardest days of the year for me. Not because I am super busy, or that it is because I am preaching in front of approxamately 250 people, but because it is hard to see the Seniors go. It is hard to know that I will not see these students on a regular basis anymore. I know that I will miss them.
This day was also hard because my little sister, Amy, is graduating from high school this year. It has been awesome to get to know my sister in this way. I have been able to see her grow spiritually and challenge her spiritually, that is not something that every brother and sister can do in their relationship. While I was preaching I could not look at her, because everytime I did I would start to cry. Man, it was hard. I did end up crying at the end though. I was telling the students how proud I was of them and what a pleasure it had been to get to know them and that I would miss them. And before I got the first words out of my mouth I started to cry. I am such an emotional man.
So then, on that same day, I had to speak and baccalaureate. For any of you that don't know what baccalaureate is, it is a sort of Christian Graduation, that the youth pastors organize. We invite all of the graduating seniors to come out and worship God and be honored for graduating. We usually ask someone who is not a youth pastor to speak at these events, but this year we could not find anyone, so, for some reason, I volunteered. So my Sunday was filled with preaching God's word and urging the seniors to "not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [their] mind." My prayer is that some of them were actually listening to me and take my words to heart.(I will post my sermon later).
So needless to say, my Sunday was a fun-filled day. I thank God that I had the opportunity to share some of my wisdom (as little as it is) with them.
posted by Paul at 11:37 AM
4 Comments:
I would assume that today's preachers that do not indicate a "fear" of teaching Christianity to the masses is a major part of why Christian churches have so little impact on the world.
Hey whatsup, you don't know me but I'm a friend of Amy's and I just wanted say awesome message at baccalaureate. I was wondering where or if you went to college to become a youth pastor? I'm currently attending North Central University in Minneapolis which is a private college. Anyways you are the only face I recognized from Gaylord on blogger. Have a good day, I'll probably see you at Amy's grad party or something.
Aaron,
Thanks for the compliment on my talk at baccalaureate. I did not go to college to be a youth pastor. I originally went to be a high school math teacher. While I was in college God called me to the professional ministry. I got a lot of my knowledge and leadership skills through a group on my college campus called InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. While I was a part of the that group, God challenged me and helped me to grow in my faith. I'm glad that you commented on my blog. Shalom.
Paul
I have loved watching you grow as a teacher of Gods word. I appreciate the fact that every time you speak (teach) it is never about you and what you want to do or say it is about what Gods word is all about - speaking the truth about what Gods word says and making it known to those around you. I love you..
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