PREACHERS: OUR STRUGGLES HAVE LITTLE BEARING UPON HIS TALENT

For those who teach and preach, I share a personal struggle with the assignment.  The past two Sundays have been painful for me.  I think I need to say so for those who feel it is only you who have such experiences.

I love preaching.  A good shift came when I evaluated my topics a couple of decades back.  Self-appraisal is challenging as it would not be unusual to be biasedly critical or benevolently lenient.  However, I took a look at my topic and my demeanor and concluded two things about my preaching:

1. If I were a member of this church I would be afraid to invite a visitor for what tirade they might encounter.
2. What the church was hearing could not be classified as Good News which is the assumed message of Gospel.

My intent every sermon is to now reach for two things:

1. A message continually relying upon the Bible.
2. Hope and hope and even more hope.

However, the last two Sundays I have struggled with my delivery.  I could not get comfortable with me.  This is important to share because, once again, I had to believe while I was fighting myself during the delivery, that the Word of God was/is sufficiently powerful if I will just continue to expose it. 

Strangely (and I feel certain you know what I mean), those times I feel inadequate seem to draw the strongest and most genuine responses of gratitude.  Go figure.

I want you to know this because you are quite capable of believing you alone live in this dungeon.  Not true.  You have company!  We are never professionals at this work.  We are called.  Those called will always find it true; we must perpetually decrease that He might increase.  The more we feel inadequate the stronger He seems to be present....II Cor. 3:4-5.