last Sunday's sermons

I usually can remember (sort of) what the evening sermon was better. Why is that I ask myself? Maybe because it was last. Maybe because it was shorter and therefore fewer points to remember.

Anyway what I remember about the evening service was that RC determined to given us a summary of the book of Romans. I listened and was not sure what he said is what I would have said. Sadly I do not know Romans well enough to follow it. I suppose I could have pulled out a pew Bible and tried to follow him.

But as he was doing it I was distracted by the whole marvelous concept. Read a whole epistle through and then summarize the argument of the book. You could do it for John's epistles as well, or James' book which is more like a sermon. A sermon should have an argument and James' certainly does. Paul's epistles are like sermons that have a opening salutation and closing greeting. So summarizing and following the flow is a great idea. It would be a good thought exercise. I pose a lot of thought exercises like that and only follow through on a few.

In the morning MP spoke of being ready for God's call. I loved the sermon because it seems so natural so obvious. It pretty much follows what I think and how I have (at least now) tried to live my life. Perhaps it took me a while to get here or perhaps I was doing it before in a less mature way. Wow even typing that sound self-congratulatory. Yet I know whatever "maturity" I have in Christ, and it is not much, has come because God has been the hornet of heaven trying to work some discipline in my life.

Anyway I do try to prepare myself for God's call. I try to keep my face towards God as much as possible. I do it by giving myself exercises hopefully by God's calling.

It seems MP said something to this effect. Paraphrasing very loosely he said if we are willing to serve God then the things we want to do will be God's will. That's sort of how I live so I am probably importing that into what MP said. He probably nuanced it quite differently, no doubt much more correctly. But without looking at my notes that is what I got out of it.

So we prepare ourselves praying and worshiping and waiting for God's call. That is what Abraham did, what Joseph did, what the prophets did. My call will certainly be less spectacular and for that I say, PRAISE GOD! But I want to do the will of God and bring him glory.