at long last...

I have several things to say before moving on to the point of this post
1. I'm taking a break from my homework to do this...
2. Seeing the above sentence brings sadness to my soul
3. I thought of a great April fools day joke I could have done ...a day or two late...
4. my friend Christy wimber did not elope in Scotland...or elope at all ..
5. I am still accepting 'name that post' entry's...
I know I said I would announce the winner by now... but I made another decision which shall be made public on the 15th of April and thus have chosen to extend the contest until then...
6. I am growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ by doing my homework... well the knowledge part from doing homework... The grace part comes also, but not from text books...
7. The other night I saw perhaps the most fantastic thing I've ever seen in my life... a drum ensemble...about 20-25 people playing percussion instruments for about 2 hours... My favourite part was when there was EIGHT (8) DRUM SETS BEING PLAYED AT ONCE!!!
Ahem... moving on

For those who have been waiting...

Reminiscent facts and reflections on my preaching experiences...

I preached on February eleventh on acts 26 -its when Paul gives his testimony before King Agrippa. My application was that we can use our stories to witness for Christ...wherever we are, whoever we are...I told a few stories and had some amusing anecdotes and inside jokes thrown in. 'Sacriligiosity' and 'Jesus?' were used. I was very glad when it was done. The weeks leading up to the Sunday morning were filled with nervousness and near panic attacks. The last few days my dreams were filled with strange occurrences involving preaching. Something going terribly wrong and the like. This happened before both sermon days. I almost fell asleep on the road on the way back and had to stop for some hot chocolate to keep me awake. I mentioned my Thai tie and how it, my travels, my degree etc. can start conversations about why I went to Thailand, what I believe, what I went to Bible school for etc. etc. Deciding whether to work at camp again has also been a topic of conversation that can lead to spiritual discussions.
I talked about the part about the goads and how oxen kick back against the sharp pointy sticks used to prod them along and hurt themselves... And that is what we can do. Kick back against Gods prodding and end up hurting ourselves. I told the story of when I was 'called' to go to Bible school and I fought with God for hours late into the night and early the next morning. Lack of sleep believe it or not is bad for you. I was told by several people afterwards that i did a good job and my evaluation forms were generally positive. My intro was too long and sometimes i lost my place in my notes and had to stop. A more different organization of my notes if I ever preach again will help with that.

My second sermon was preached on Ephesians 4-26-27. There is a lot in these two verses and I had a lot of fun trying to fit it all in to twenty minutes. I wasn't driving my self and thus could sleep on the way there which was needed because i only got a few hours of sleep the night before. Which were consequently filled with strange dreams about preaching. I defined anger as having three parts 1. The emotional -the hurt feelings etc. 2. The cognitive- the thoughts of anger and revenge. 3. the physical- the actions ex. yelling, hitting, swearing etc. I talked about how there are justifiable cause for anger and it can become sin if one hurts them selves or someone else when not dealing with the anger properly. I gave an example from my time at Bible school when I got fed up with the eating 'traditions' and yelled at a schoolmate. (get it?- 'eating traditions' and 'fed up'... I crack my self up) I gave several wrong ways of dealing with your anger. I.e. ignoring it, bottling it inside, over reacting. Don't let the air out of someones tires because there in two spots...(My fall back example of something that makes me angry is someone taking up two spaces in a parking lot.)
Then I finished off with ways to properly deal with anger. I.E teaching forgiveness, finding a physical outlet for the physical tension. etc. etc. I realized just after it was too late to go back that I had forgotten my hoodie at the church. I shall get it sometime when I visit camp. My plan was to get it when I went on the 13th weekend but now that the retreat is cancelled...
i was given a tape of the sermon ...I don't think ill ever listen to it. Maybe ill build a catapult and launch it into the river... that's what I also want to do with my dead car but that's entirely beside the point. Well actually it could be worked in because it being dead causes great frustration and anger in my life at this moment...

Both of my sermons have be come extremely applicable to me. My first one daily when i went to work and was a christian influence for the people I work with and to the customers I sell digital cameras to. It is/was hard for me to not fall into the some of the things done at work ex. bad mouthing both customers and other staff behind their backs. Some of the conversations that came up because of my Thai tie were really good but i don't want to say one thing and then do another so to speak. It was also difficult not to look down on any one there. I always had to remind my self that I was no better than them. We are all beggars I just happen to know the forgiver and provider.
My second sermon became applicable to me when I found out I was one credit short, (see other post) and also when my car died (see above) and there is also people and circumstances at both jobs that frustrate me and I have to remember to deal with my anger properly and not to let our enemy have an opportunity to cause further evil.

All told it was an exhausting experience and I can't imagine how pastors do it every week. I don't think I could make it. Knowing people are evaluating me does put more pressure on the whole thing and I guess it would get easier over time but still it was difficult...I'm glad its done and I'm also very grateful for the opportunity.

Some things in life are undeniable...

Growing in Grace and Knowledge...of the Lord Jesus Christ

-luKe