It’s Sunday night. We have just put the kids to bed. I have had a long post-church nap. And I got to watch some football this evening. The kids and I have watched some TV and had some hot chocolate. And Crystal and I are now watching a movie, kind of. This is a typical Sunday evening at the Charles compound. We are doing absolutely nothing in particular! This is our routine, if we don’t have church on Sunday afternoon. And it is wonderful!
This morning, I preached the sermon that I preached at Midweek a week or so ago. It’s from Mark 6:1-6. I called it, “The Danger of Knowing Jesus Too Well.” I had been studying 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 all week. But I was not able to get it in preachable (I think I just made that word up) form in time. I actually think the Lord had me to study that text this week because he knew what my own soul would need. And boy did Paul’s words, “So we do not lose heart,” come in handy Friday. But there is also a secondary benefit from this. I have a head start for next Sunday. And so I will only have to start one sermon from scratch this week – my Thanksgiving Day sermon on Psalm 138.
It was a long week. And I really haven’t been feeling well since Wednesday. I have been taking stuff to fight off a cold. And it drained my energy. My body does not know what “non-drowsy” means. So I slept most of Thursday, until I had to get ready to preach. George drove me to San Bernardino, which was a life-saver. And I stayed overnight. I tried to study Friday, but I didn’t get much done. One of the longtime musicians of the church resigned. And I’m still not sure how I feel about it. But all of my spiritual energy was spent praying through this issue. In fact, it was so hard for me to concentrate that I didn’t settle on what I was going to preach Friday night until midway through the pastor’s introduction. But the Lord was with me and helped me to preached. And the congregation seemed to receive it. Saturday was just plain slow, until the children got home from their day (my little children have much more of a social life than me and Crystal). We wrestled for hours. And we were all pooped. And we passed out together.
When I woke up this morning, I went to my computer and went straight for my notes on Mark 6. There was no question about what I was going to preach today. It was a good day. My mother led the hymn this morning. I had not heard her sing in some time. It was wonderful to hear her again. And the hymn she led is inspiring, “Rescue the Perishing.” I was tired. But I was very excited about being in worship and having the opportunity to preach to my congregation. I was also a bit nervous. It is very rare that my Sunday morning message is not new material. But it didn’t matter as the message progressed. I pray the congregation was challenged to attempt great things for God and to expect great things from God.
Okay. That’s enough. Good night.