Sermon Leftovers

Why do we point our fingers at other people? When you were a child, did you ever tell anyone “Whenever you point one finger at me; there are four pointing back at you!” Never mind that this little statement doesn’t account for the thumb, it always seemed like a good way to keep people from pointing their fingers at you. No one likes to get blamed for stuff. We really don’t like getting blamed for things we didn’t do (on Sunday I talked about one of many cases in which a person was falsely accused and convicted). But the truth is, we also don’t like getting blamed for things of which we are guilty. Have you ever tried to deflect or avoid the blame for something you know you did? Interestingly, Jesus was willing to not only be accused, but to accept conviction and crucifixion for something He didn’t do. Not only that, He accepted the conviction and judgment for all the wrong everyone ever did! He became sin. He took on himself the punishment for us all. Perhaps, that’s somet

For four weeks, I compile as much information as I can. I study individual words, I read commentaries, I create outlines, I dig around for quotes and stories. By the time, I'm done, I have pages upon pages of charts, lists, drawings and web-clippings. After a month of collecting, on Thursday, I start cutting. By Thursday morning, I've narrowed my sermon down to four key movements and one main point. Anything that doesn't fit into those movements or support that point gets erased. By the end of Thursday, I've erased enough to have a sermon that can be preached in less than 30 minutes and will hopefully equip people to take 1-3 next steps on their spiritual journey. Someday I hope to write more about this process, but for now, it's back to the eraser.