1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. – I Cor 2
I’ll be honest. I get hung up on sermon preparation. I want to use the right words, a compelling story, impressive phrases, a correct formula, and a degree of wisdom. Paul says to forget everything. Everything except Jesus. Paul was big on sermons that were plain. Persuasiveness, says Paul, comes from the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that the way it should be?
You may not preach sermons on Sunday, but we all preach and speak to those around us. We can get all hung up on saying just the right thing. Maybe we need to relax and speak from the heart concerning Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to do his job. And when God moves, we will know it has little to do with what we brought to the table.
Go do something plain and ordinary today, forgetting everything except Jesus.
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Pastor_T
17 Mar 2009ie….throw political correctness out the window….right?
Michele Cushatt
18 Mar 2009I wonder how much time I spend trying to come up with something brilliant and impressive to say in blog comments???? Wow … even when I think I'm doing Jesus stuff, I can still so easily make it about myself. Three cheers for the Ordinary.