I won’t say it stunk, but it definitely wasn’t my best sermon ever. My text was Exodus 14:10-14. If you don’t happen to have a Bible handy I’ll just tell you that the text is about how God fights for his people. Specifically the text is the narrative of the time just prior to the crossing of the Red Sea. The people of Israel have fled to the desert and are pursued by the Egyptian army when they find themselves trapped between the chariots of the Egyptians and the impassable sea. God says to them, “I will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Apart from a few structural and technical mistakes I made the development of my sermon; my delivery wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. Part of the problem is my own prayer life. E. M. Bounds says, "The character of our praying will determine the character of our preaching. Light praying will make light preaching. Prayer makes preaching strong, gives it unction, and makes it stick. In every ministry weighty for good, prayer has always been a serious business."
On the positive side, I had a great experience this afternoon going on a couple of home visits with the congregational care pastor at Central Pres., Lance Hudgens. We took Communion to two of our church’s shut-in members. In both cases there were live-in caregivers who joined us. It was such a cool thing to be able to deliver such an important part of worship to these people. It was extra special to me to get to help give communion to a man who was a WWII veteran.
It was such a great experience that it totally wiped out all the feelings of defeat and discouragement I still had from my so-so sermon the day before.
“I will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
