Last Thursday, my Pastor took me aside and asked me if I'd be willing to do the sermon on June 14th. Now, normally, at this point I'd probably say something like, "Sure." After all, I'm asked all the time to read scripture or sing or play bells or help set up chairs or make coffee or deliver a message or run an ice cream social - tons of things. And, beyond that, I've been writing steadily since second grade. So no big deal. No sweat. I'll just whip that puppy out and... I just stood there, my eyes bugging out, my head breaking into a sweat, and a nervous laugh escaping from my mouth. ME? Seriously? A sermon? What the heck would I say? What the heck would anyone want to hear from me?
"We've noticed that you've had quite a journey the last year and we thought you might want to share it."
Hmmm... well... there's that. I mean, in the last twelve months I've been to Reno on a business trip, Alaska on vacation, Mississippi on a mission trip, and Idaho on a fishing trip. I've written, produced, edited, and premiered a film. I've stopped being a youth leader. I've served my final year as a stat man for basketball. I've finished my second go around with school. Um... pretty par for the course for me, but to others, it might seem like quite a bit of living in 12 months.
Still, what would I say about those things? A laundry list of deeds is one thing, meaning behind that list are another. I told my Pastor that I'd think about it and then I went home.
By the time I'd gotten home, I was filled with this giddy sense of adventure. God was calling me to write a sermon knowing darn well the sorts of things I like to say! It was like proof that not only did God exist but that deep down at heart, He was a geek just like me! I immediately began to brainstorm ideas.
Songs popped into my head first, as they always do when I'm thinking of God. I have a tendency of thinking in terms of cultural references - movies, books, songs - and when it comes to religion, I will just burst into song, "Great is the Lord!" or "Holy, Holy, Holy!" or "Jesus is the rock and he rolls my blues away!" (Okay, maybe not that last one ;) I know some people experience music as this holy devout way to connect to God and therefore they have very strong opinions about the kinds of music that should be played in church. I experience music the same way today that I experienced it as a kid - COOL! I'm sorry. I just love to sing. Any song. Anywhere. If it gets caught on my tongue, its going to get sung! And since most of the songs that I know off the top of my head happen to be Christian songs, that's mostly what I sing on a daily basis.
So, my first thought was to do a sing-a-long sermon. I'd make a point and illustrate it with song, getting the entire congregation to sing along with me on these tunes that we all know and love - like a campfire sing-a-long. I'd like to say that I quickly nixed this idea but I still think it holds a certain amount of fascination for me.
My second thought was that my journey was some sort of epic adventure leading me ever onward in a quest to find Jesus. Closer to the truth, perhaps, without quite so much epicicity. I imagined breaking out my bullwhip and entering the church to the sweeping refrains of the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme song. If Adventure has a Christian name, it must be Yahweh! Williana Robison and the Christian Path! Now playing!
The various ideas tickled me and I had a big smile on my face for a good twenty four hours. Finally, I decided that clearly something that made me this happy could be nothing other than heaven sent - a well received command from God. Despite the fact that I still don't have a clue what to say or what anyone would want to hear from me, I have gone ahead and agreed to do the sermon on June 14th.
Tomorrow, I'll discuss scripture, as my ever expanding quest for a decent sermon continues.
2 comments:
I think you should start off talking about all of your ideas that you had for the scripture. They are hillarious and poignant. Then talk about how God called you to write the sermon and how he's called you in the past year to keep moving outside of your comfort zone. It all wraps up nicely at the end with a reminder of how God wanted you to write this sermon, whether your flesh was invested in it or not (lord knows your spirit was willing....)
I've had an interesting journey the past two weeks myself. I found myself in a point of deep despair - contemplating chucking a lot of good things out of my life to "start over." I was frustrated at life and extremely stressed out about surviving. The only advice anyone had for me was something I couldn't even fathom doing. So, I prayed. I told God I was unable to do this on my own anymore. I told him I needed his help and I wanted to let him into my life - but didn't know how. I told him that the burdens I was carrying were too heavy and all of my actions were fear. That I trusted God, but didn't trust myself. I asked God to help me with my burden.
I went home and went to sleep, still sad. When I woke up, my mind was clear, my heart was light, and I was focused - for the first time in weeks. I spoke with people about my fears - and got help. I asked people for reassurances and got them. All of these thoughts just came to me.
God will write the sermon with you. Just ask.
Its funny how God moves us to areas that are unthinkable even a short time before. That's actually one of the themes of my sermon.
Of course, after that neat trick, the next one he pulls on you is to get you involved in something innocuous that will end up challenging you in ways you never imagined.
Be open to the adventure and you'll have a journey that you could never imagine!
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