Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 1/19/2024
Sermon Prep
Taught this one less then 2 weeks from my wedding day. Like the past few sermons from the summer of 2022, nothing mattered except my wonderful wife-to-be for me. Lost in the rush of young love and the hustle of planning our so close, yet so far wedding day.
Looking back on these final days pre-marriage, my emotional and mental state was a flurry of mixed things. Highs and lows all at once. After nearly a month of not journaling, I wrote to God some of my thoughts after a panic-attack I had in my room that night. This was the Friday before this sermon:
“I feel so immensely alone tonight. I’m writing this after getting home late and breaking down in tears. I cried for over an hour. Something triggered me after the movie with Glory’s siblings. Just seeing the history and love there made me feel the way I do now. Lonely. Sad. Tired. All the changes that have stripped me of control. The absolute exhaustion of this phase in my life. The lack of order. The rapid-fire nature of this time provides me no time to breathe. To be still. To rest in the arms of God. I want to be held. I need it. A break. A true sabbath for my weary soul. I want to be proud of the work I do at my job again. Haven’t felt that in months. I want to be proud of my efforts in ministry. I’ve let a lot of people down there. Proud of my progress in the gym. Feeling useless and weak there. I don’t eat consistently or sleep consistently. It’s always too little. For someone who has so many good things happening, I still feel alone and isolated. Overwhelmed and afraid. I should be happy, but I’m sad. My mentality doesn’t match the mood. I wake up with anxiety. Always behind on something and running late. Not completing things. Ready for the chaos to end. I need Jesus. Hold me.”
If you’re curious, I write a bit dramatically like my Dad. Observing the world more like a stage play, while others view it as a series of projects to accomplish. Regardless, those emotions and thoughts were a grand summary of this season. Bad and good. Excited and exhausted. Anticipating what’s next and yet anxious of it too.
From doing last-minute prep for the wedding to helping spearhead the block party event our church ran for hundreds of people in the neighborhood, it was just a busy time for me. So much so that I think this sermon suffered for it. Not the worst yet not the best message I’ve given either. Anyways, here’s my notes for this one:
Sermon Notes
Opening Line
- Tonight, we’ll continue our series BLESS.
- Have you ever gone to someone for help, but they just weren’t listening?
Intro
- Doctor not listening about my hernia.
- The opposite of listening isn’t speaking, it’s waiting to speak.
- We all have issues listening (i.e. music).
- This is called Mondegreen moments.
Transition To Main Point
- Everyone has a story. They just need someone to listen. When we listen to people’s story, we then can share Christ.
- The gospel is an engaged gospel. People are engaged when they are heard.
Main Point
“Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
But Peter said,“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him…But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”
Acts 3:1-10, 4:4 (ESV)
Why It Matters
- Two areas to listen: the places (4 P’s) and the person (4 H’s).
- 4 H’s: History, Heart, Habits; Hurts
- 4 P’s: Pain, Pennies, Power; Parties
- Listen to people, ask the 4 H’s and analyze the 4 P’s.
- People will only respond if they feel heard.
Final Thoughts
Half-baked is how I’d define this sermon. Not an outright disaster, but not my best. Then again, it’s just a bad day at the office. Every job and person with responsibility has them. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.
Footnotes
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