Help Me Not To Foul It Up

The title of this post is a statement spoken by our Senior Pastor in practically every prayer offered during the first minutes of the opening lines of his sermon.

As he offered these words during Sunday nights' message, the phrase stuck with me, as I considered the struggle Pastors face, in delivering a fresh sermon every service.

The position, the influence, the attention of people coming to you with so many interests, requests and opportunities. Add in the business matters of operating a church and if a pastor isn't careful, they could find themselves preaching a sermon biased towards any number of situations that may have come to their attention in the previous days and weeks.

By comparison, imagine the effects of a sermon on individuals, where they know the Pastor doesn't have for-known knowledge of a matter in their lives...the message truly becomes a poignant and relevant word from God; whereby the Holy Spirit can work and God's purpose for their lives transpires to a whole new level.

Pray for Senior Pastors today, as they lead their churches and congregations, that there would be an increased desire to bring forth an inspired and timely message. Pray that God give them discernment, that would allow them to prepare an unbiased sermon, and that the power of the Holy Spirit to work through them. Pray for a humbleness, that people would come for the message and an encounter with God, not just for the person behind the pulpit. Pray that the humanity of man doesn't hinder the divinity of God and that there would be a continued awareness that it's the Word of God that changes lives, not just the delivery behind the pulpit.

-PNC

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