Jesus, The Lord of Time, and the Lord of My Time

Two weeks ago I was planning the upcoming week. I noticed that I had more than I usually do on
my plate of things to do. Planning the service for the upcoming Sunday was routine. But I remem-
bered that I had been invited to speak to the Baptist church seniors on Thursday. Since it was my
first time there, I did not know what to expect and I began my preparation the week before. I con-
nected Psalm 23 with Jesus' declaration in John 10:14-15 that he is the Good Shepherd who lays
down his life for the sheep. I thought about focusing the Sunday sermon on Jesus' proclamation
on the Son of Man in Mark 10:45. Little did I realise that my plate would soon have more for me
to do.

On Sunday evening as I surveyed the upcoming week, I remembered that I had also promised to
attend a Pray for Scotland consultation on Wednesday with some new friends from the North-
East of Scotland. It would be a 6 am to 6 pm time commitment made up of six hours of travel
time and six hours in conference. It would cut down on the amount of preparation time I had
planned on to prepare to speak to the Baptist seniors. But I was committed to going because I
believe that concentrated prayer is needed in this critical time in Scotland. No ifs, ands, or buts
about it.

But I received a stiff challenge when the local funeral director called me Sunday evening to ask
if I could take a funeral on Thursday at 2:00. It was with a great amount of relief that I informed
him that I was engaged elsewhere at that time (the Baptist church seniors). But that didn't stop
him. He came back at me with a 12 noon time for the service. Reasons to say no quickly flooded
into my mind, but all I could do was whimper a yes. I have vowed never to back down from an
opportunity to preach the Gospel or serve others if I am able. Even though I expected to be hard pressed in a way I never had been before, I took the funeral.

I spent the rest of Sunday night and early Monday morning asking God for help. I felt chal-
lenged in a way I had never been challenged before. Never before had I had to prepare three ser-
mons or messages and two services in a four day period. I was stretched beyond what I thought
were my limits. That's how I was feeling Monday morning when I received a second call from
the funeral director. He asked me to take another funeral on Friday morning. I chuckled to my
self and thought why not? Bring it on!  I wanted to go for the gusto! I had my work cut out for
me, so I called the grieving families and made arrangements to visit with them on the next day.
Monday is my usual day off.  I really needed to be re-energised and refreshed. I committed all
that I had to do in the next few days to the Lord. I put it all in his hands and rested.

Tuesday morning I was like a race horse shooting out of the gates. I visited the two families,
prepared the Thursday funeral service and message, and worked on the Thursday message to
the Baptist seniors. Most of the day Wednesday was spent traveling to and from the Pray for
Scotland consultation. It was a great time, especially the fellowship with my three travel com-
panions and fellow pray-ers. But I had to make use of every minute Wednesday evening to
be sure I was ready for Thursday's funeral service and the talk to the Baptists seniors. Things
went very well with both services. That evening I attended a Presbytery committee meeting
even though I wanted to be home preparing for Friday's funeral. I worked late on the service
and then got up early to finish it off. I took seriously the preparation of the Friday funeral, as
I do all funerals I conduct. The service went well.

By Friday evening I was starting to run out of steam. I still had to prepare a short meditation
on Psalm 1 for a prayer meeting I help lead at another Church of Scotland congregation in
Peterhead. I also had to prepare the service and sermon for that Sunday. The lectionary gos-
pel text for that Sunday was Mark 10:32-45. I focused on Jesus saying in Mark 10:45: For 
even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many. This verse is rich in proclaiming the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I enjoyed
the Saturday prayer meeting and I was really engaged with worship on Sunday morning.
Mark 10:45 is one of the classic texts on why Jesus came into the world and what he did on
the Cross. I felt Sunday morning worship went particularly well. I was brimming with energy
until I went home and had lunch. Then I took a long, very enjoyable nap. I was worn out by
all I did that week.   

I learned a lot about myself that week. I was stretched well beyond what I felt I could do in
terms of speaking and preaching. Never before had I preached or spoken five times in four
days. I was stretched beyond what I thought were my limits. I realise now that I spend more
time than I need in preparation for speaking and preaching. I over-prepare and waste time in
sermon preparation. But when I had several sermons or talks to prepare at the same time, I
had to be disciplined in my use of time. I felt I always had just the right amount of time that
I needed to do a good job that was honorable to the Lord. It was a big step forward for me
in my use of time. I was reminded again that Jesus is not only the Lord of time, but he is al-
so the Lord of my time.

Blessings to you and yours,

Gettin' Back in the Preachin' Groove Ag'in

Last Sunday and Monday I had the pleasure of speaking three times. Two of them were ser-
mons: at St Fergus Parish Church's Sunday morning service, and at the Fishermen Mission's
Sunday evening service. Then Monday evening I spoke to the St Fergus Parish Church Guild.
It was the first time in nearly ten years that I have spoken that many times in two days. I really
enjoyed it. I felt like I was getting back into a preaching groove. It is important to me to be pre-
paring sermons weekly and in a disciplined way. My goal is to prepare nutritious and Christ-
focused messages based on Scripture that feed growing believers in Jesus.

I never use material from one sermon or talk for another at a later time. I firmly believe in 'home
cooking' for each speaking engagement. It means that I spend time pacing back and forth in my
study in order to discern what the Lord would have me say. Now that I am preaching at St. Fer-
gus Parish Church every Sunday and often speaking to some other group, I can't spend as much
time as I used to listening and discerning what God would have me say. I often find myself think-
ing through a text of Scripture while doing something else. It gives me great pleasure to be back preaching every Sunday. I haven't done that since I was pastoring two churches in South Dakota
ten years ago.

Having to prepare for three speaking engagements in two days, I had to discipline the use of my
time. I realise that I have a habit of spending too much time preparing and, as a result, I have too
much material. Over the course of a twenty to twenty-five minute sermon, I have found that I of-
ten use half of material I had prepared. I would like to preach for longer periods of time, but that
would not be received well by people. Hopefully I can do that further on down the line. So, I have
been cutting down on the time I spend in sermon preparation. As a result of more experience
preaching recently, I am learning what material to cut out and what to use in support of my main
point of a talk or sermon. I am also finding ways to cut corners without jeopardising nutritious con-
tent of my message. Plus I am rediscovering my own style of preaching.

I really do enjoy preaching and consider it one of the most significant skills and gifts I have. But
as much as I enjoy it, I have much room for improvement.  So it is nice to realise that  I am com-
ing back up to speed after not being able to exercise this gift as much as I wanted for over eight
years. It's great gettin' back into the preachin' groove again.

Every blessing to you and yours,