Skip to main content

Day 42, My Home Office.


Today, I went into work with much to get done, primarily a sermon of which I am preparing to preach this Wednesday at our Chapel here on post. I grabbed my John Calvin commentary, Bible, and my day-planner and hit the road. After arriving at work, I realized that I had not checked my email for 4 days, due to our little field exercise....and thus was far behind.

Minutes after 0900 email traffic began, where I constantly answered email or the phone for close to 2 hours. As 1100 rolled across the clock, I made my efforts to get my 'Korean' Citation award on my Dress Blues, thus completing them, and preparing them for Thanksgiving. 1200, I am back at the house...

Oh, yeah. I am suppose to be working on my sermon.

1300, more email. 1330, counseling appt. 1430, JAG office. 1500, I am sitting in front of my computer again working on Retreat Schedules and Photos for the hallway at our Battalion. YET, ...no sermon.

1620, I lift my Bible up to read the passage in Joel again. Jot a few notes...talk it through with my Chaplain Assistant. Still really no real substance or 'feeling' of accomplishment. 1655, a meeting to go to.

1730, Jessica picks me up, and ask how the day was....I am frustrated. Why? My goal was to seriously work on the sermon, and have something ready for those who would come and hear the messsage. I sit down on my couch, defeated, pick up my Bible again.

Then the Lord prompted me to write on some new paper out of the printer. 1755, I get my G2 pen, and within 15 minutes, I have penned the entire sermon...all the exposition that I had worked on last week, within seconds formed perfectly on the passage...and ran to the Cross of Christ. It was done.

My Home Office. A coffee table, and a sofa.

Bottomline: I am not a fan for fly-by-the-seat of your pants preaching. I am very methodical and sometimes overly zealous for details in sermons. I think at times, I get so 'Army-minded' it seems to forget that the Spirit brings illumination. The still small voice, needs my attention.

For those attending the Thanksgiving Service, please don't think that its going to be an amazing open-air George Whitfield explosion, ...but I do believe it will help us all refocus on the Thanksgiving found in Christ, the terminate end of all our joys. Our fountain. (a little Matthew Henry)

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 24, 2009 at 9:53 AM

    Well one thing I do miss for sure is your sermons. By the sound of what ever you prepared and at this moment I would not mind to here how your day went on a cacual basis from where I am sitting. It has been a goood while since I heard a ispiring man preach in person.
    Hey, has the Lord brought anyone in your company that has any seal for the Him? If this email is one of a thousand to answer you do not have to for I know I will eventually find out who is in your life by your personal internet jounal.
    Say hi to Jessica and Ramose for me =)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 3, 10 years of John Piper

Its true, I am a Piperite. Here's my story: 10 years ago, I sat down in my lovely rented 'Triple-J' Ranch home with Josh Stewart, and popped in a sermon tape by John Piper. I remember as if it were yesterday. The title was appealing, "Did Christ die for you or for God?". Seemed provocative enough to engage my senses. 10 minutes after it had started, I could barely hold back my thoughts of how this man preached with such authority and seriousness. It wasn't hell fire and brimstone, and it wasn't comic relief. It seemed as though this was his last sermon, and this was the last sermon the audience would ever hear. Every now and then, I would steal a glance at Josh as we listened, and I could tell he was going through the same internal breakdown I was experiencing. Soon after the sermon was over, I made it my goal to read a book by this guy. The Borders I went and got a copy of "Pleasures of God". I began to read, and waves of questions flooded my m...
4 comments
Read more

Day 70, Avatar, Did I 'see' it? (I did but it was called...)

"So, what did you think?" is the reverberating mantra as we all stand out our cushy popcorn laiden seats and grab our mysterious trash. I didn't want to answer because I had such mixed feelings. So, after 48 hours of work, a 3.3 mile run, and a several cups of coffee, ...I think I can write something that is not completely nonsensical. Here's my try. It took awhile for me to get passed the Ferngully, Dances with Wolves, Never-Ending Story, Star Wars, Zelda and Smurf overtures. Ferngully/Zelda because it seemed I was watching a documentary on the rain forest and how the 'great tree' held everything together in green peace. Dances with Wolves, as the new 'Kevin' be-friends a tribe and eventually goes 'en-gine' (Indian) on the United States Calvary taming the ta-tonka (Buffalo). Never-Ending Story, because who in the world can hang on to any animal and fly. Star Wars because, if you remember in Star Wars I, the Naboo people with Jar-Jar...I trul...
3 comments
Read more

Day 67, Conversations that Change Us: Predestination

Sunday night a good friend of mine who is a West Point Graduate, and Battery Commander (Pretty Sharp dude) said, "Hey, I have got a question for you...What do you think about predestination?" Now, in many circles this would be resolved with two likely responses. 1. "Well, I think we should just leave those doctrines that divide the churches alone and focus on what really matters." 2. "Well, I have never really nailed down what I believe and thus will continue talking to eventually change the subject." I chose neither. I could tell that he had really been thinking about this. This was not one of those 'stump the chump' questions. I smiled and decided I would let him fill out the question and talk his way through it. As he did so, I would smile and put a guard rail or would give him what various views were. His eyes widened as he just began to have a huge dialogue with himself. I could tell his conversation was shaking and solidifying some idea...
3 comments
Read more