i might be getting the hang of this pastor thing… it’s 5:13 on Wednesday and my sermon is finished! Of course, minor editing may come later, but it’s done! My schedule and my time in the office this week has really worked out smoothly… the only question is – can I keep it up?
Posts Tagged with sermons
first series of sermons: thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path… following Christ in the season of Epiphany
okay… so it’s a long title for a sermon series. But I’m starting out this new pilgrimage with my congregation by inviting them on a journey – and the Light of Christ is our guide. Last week we talked about the star that led the wise men to the Christ Child. This week, we’ll talk about the Spirit of God that came down on Jesus at his baptism – a light that lives within us and sends us forth into ministry. After that – we’ll do the calling of the disciples and the reminder that Christ is the light which shines in the darkness, calling all people to him. Finally, the trip up the mountain, and the transfiguration… more light!
It all works out in my head, but figuring out how to incorporate all of the ideas I have into these worship services – especially as I’m brand new at this is difficult. I have all sorts of experience planning worship… but a much more informal worship. I like the traditional stuff… I like doxologies and liturgy and I want to do so much with the space we are worshipping in! But… baby steps… I’m trying not to do it all at once (for my sake as much as for the congregation).
Today I’m a bit stuck as I write my sermon… this idea of the interplay between water and light keeps dancing around in my head. And then I came across a Wendell Berry poem: The Gift of Gravity
All that passes descends,
and ascends again unseen
into the light: the river
coming down from sky
to hills, from hills to sea,
and carving as it moves,
to rise invisible,
gathered to light, to return
again. “The river’s injury
is its shape.” I’ve learned no more.
We are what we are given
and what is taken away;
blessed be the name
of the giver and taker.
For everything that comes
is a gift, the meaning always
carried out of sight
to renew our whereabouts,
always a starting place.
And every gift is perfect
in its beginning, for it
is “from above, and cometh down
from the Father of lights.”Gravity is grace.
The rain that falls upon us comes from God. And it washes us clean. It surrounds us and refreshes us. But the light comes as well. It dries us off and the water evaporates. It is a cycle necessary for life. “for everything that comes/ is a gift, the meaning always/ carried out of sight/ to renew our whereabouts,/ always a starting place.” As we renew our baptismal covenants this Sunday, our whereabouts are renewed. We are given a new starting place. And we pray that the water and the light will lead us to God.
first sermon…
I’ve been working on my sermon for days… it was supposed to be done yesterday at the latest, but here I am, on friday night, on my day off, working on my sermon. I don’t even have a proper desk in my office at home yet, so I’m sitting on the floor, laptop on my lap-top, typing away. Only I’m stuck and I get distracted.
In one of my bouts of more purposeful distraction I stumbled across a sermon another colleague has written for this sunday… and it makes me feel very inadequate. I feel as though he has said everything I wanted to say – only so much better. More poetic. I would love to read his sermon aloud. I’ve already begun thinking about how I would articulate and intone various passages…. and then I realize that I have my own sermon to finish. blast.
I’ve had a few adventures this week at the church. First youth group night. First visit with a congregation member (officially). So much to say and share about those experiences, but, alas, the sermon still sits there waiting to be finished.
Brandon is fairly frustrated by my procrastination. He has threatened that I don’t get dinner tonight until its finished. I really only have like 3-4 more paragraphs to write. But i’m here, typing, instead of there, typing. grr.