Preaching

Today I preached for the first time.  It was a little nerve wracking.  You see, I'm good at public speaking, but it makes me really nervous.  I couldn't believe that I was actually going to preach when I stepped into the worship service.  I have sat and listened to many preachers in my day, but I never once imagined myself as one.

Thankfully, God spoke this morning.  In a public speaking situation there are a lot of things that I can control.  But in a preaching situation I can never control the action of God speaking through the preaching.  I say that very thankfully because when I preached, it seemed like my only goal was to sound eloquent and doctrinally sound.  I didn't care whether or not I engaged peoples' hearts with the gospel.  That is one reason Grace North Atlanta ends their service every week with the Lord's Supper.  The spiritual reality behind the Lord's supper is dependent upon God;s grace, it is something that man cannot manufacture.  No matter how poor the sermon, the congregation is always led to Christ and the gospel through the Supper.

My Grace is Sufficient for You

As I think about going into the ministry after college, I come up with endless objections.  I keep saying “God, I can’t do ministry because…”  Even though ministry is a passion of mine, I come up with plenty of objections.  The problem is, when I do this I am still sitting on the throne of my life.  My conversation with God is completely centered on myself and why I can’t do ministry.  I focus on my issues instead of on Christ.

This Sunday I am preaching on 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.  In this passage Paul discusses the thorn in his side that constantly reminds him of his weakness.  But in verse 9 the Lord tells him “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Only when we are honest about our brokenness can we lead others to Christ and not ourselves.  As I think about pursuing ministry I need to remember that it is okay to be broken, it is okay to have problems.  There is not an elite standard which I have to meet in order to be in the ministry.  It is God who works in our weakness.

More Pictures

You can still see some affects of New York's past life as 'New Amsterdam'

The crew in Times Square

Wall Street

Freedom Tower under construction

Center Church on the Green, an important church in early America.

Theology Camp with Preston Graham

Our crew on East Rock

View of New Haven from East Rock.

Discussing the importance of living while gathered around BB Warfield's grave

We spent the night at Princeton Theological Seminary on the way back.  I thought Prof. Cioffi might appreciate this.  Sadly, I did not meet George Hunsinger.

The view from atop Stone Mountain

Respect the 'Stach

The Barbers

Attempting to play crab soccer

Playing Wiffle Ball