sermon preparation

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All Work and No Play!

What a week – maybe the best week of the summer! What could be better than to experience it all at the cottage? The sun, the sand, the waves – what could be better than that?

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Well, not much if I hadn’t been stuck INSIDE that cottage all week doing my yearly planning. I take a week there every August to pray, plan and seek God’s direction for my church for the coming year.

So while every day was a picture of niceness, I was slaving away inside or on the porch, reading, praying or hunched over a computer.

It was so nice – even unseasonably warm at night. After our vacation of cool temperatures and rain, this week really made up for all that. But I didn’t even get down to the beach, let alone go in the water.

Since I never know how my week will go, I don’t plan anything fun throughout the week. I need to stay on task until I’m done. So, by the time Friday rolled around, I was hoping for a little fun.

Things had gone well and, by late Thursday night, I knew that I would finish in good time on Friday. In the back of my mind I had a plan. I would work until about 3 pm and then go golfing.

When I got up Friday, I pictured myself standing on the t-box at the Sauble Golf Club, smoking a drive down the fairway on the way to a great round. But I needed to work first, so I got to it.

It was the first day all week that I wasn’t sure about the weather. It was warm alright, but the sky was overcast. It did sprinkle in the morning, but it only lasted a few minutes and I thought, “That’s nothing. It won’t keep me from enjoying my round later.”

By noon I wasn’t as far as I hoped to be and the weather didn’t look any better. I decided I would get the grass cutting out of the way. I took about 20 minutes to do the lawn and then made my lunch. Still overcast, but warm, and still no wind at all … Oh, that is golfing weather!

I quickly got back to work, making good progress. It looked like I would finish in time; in fact, I thought I might be done by 2:30 pm. I disciplined my mind to keep those images of the golf course at bay while I worked.

Then at about 1:45 pm I heard a very distinctive sound. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like the sound of a squirrel scurrying across a shingled roof, or like the sound of a bug flying straight into a glass window. It’s quiet, it’s faint, but you hear it.

Only what I heard sounded like hundreds squirrels scurrying all over the roof. It was raining! My first reaction was, “Really? I’m almost finished here and now it rains?!”

This was no sprinkle either. There was thunder, and it started to come down hard. I couldn’t believe it. All week the weather had been great. All week I kept myself focussed on my task. And now, now that I was done, the clouds couldn’t contain their moisture any longer.

I can’t tell you how disappointed I was. It’s not right for a pastor to express those thoughts and words … Oh well, I did get to see my daughter for a few hours on my way home from the cottage.

Here’s the thing: I have a tendency to delay gratification until the end, to get the work done first, then have fun. But we don’t know what the future holds and sometimes in doing that we find that the gratification we were hoping for vanishes. When life is busy, it’s easy to think, “I will spend time with God later when my work is done, when I can slow down and take a break, at the end of the day”, only to get there and find something unexpected or that you’re too tired to spend time with God. Day after day we have good intentions, but they don’t materialize. Start your day with God – the work isn’t going to vanish.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has waiting until the end to get what you want left you with nothing?  Leave your comment below.

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Santa Is Dead

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I don’t think Santa is coming back next year.

I am fully aware that it is March and we are far, far from that time of year when the jolly old fella usually shows up. However, I just happened to be driving by a house in a nearby subdivision and there was Santa lying on the ground. Pictures don’t lie … and the spears that have pinned him and his trusty helpers to the ground, don’t bode well for his return next December.

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No, I don’t believe in Santa Claus, but I do believe in keeping your decorations applicable to the season. I understand that some people leave their Christmas lights up all year long, but if you don’t look up too high you don’t even notice them.

Lawn ornaments, though? Come on! How hard is it to pack Santa up and put him a box? He’s already been deflated; there’s no HO, HO, HO left in him. I think the kids on the street would become a little suspect that Santa isn’t real when he is laying dead on your doorstep for three months.

As I have looked around the neighbourhood, I’ve seen lots of Christmas ornaments still on display. There was a plastic snowman on a lawn the other night with a light still shining brightly inside him. This weekend was St. Patrick’s Day – at least put a shamrock or a green scarf around his neck!

I’ll admit I’m not the first guy to take down his lights after Christmas. I usually miss the first warm day and end up taking them down when it’s freezing outside. But I get the job done by the middle of January at the latest!

Last year as I was walking around our neighbourhood, I noticed there were lots of people who still had their Christmas lights up in April and May. By looking at the condition of some of the lights, it was apparent they had been there for several years.

Maybe those people lost their ladder. Maybe their garage is so packed that the ladder is buried in there somewhere. Maybe they figure they don’t have room for lights in the basement or garage so they just leave them up.

I think that if you leave your Christmas decoration up all year you have to use them in some way, like maybe change the lightbulbs to pink and blue and white for Easter. Have your blow up Santa hold a big old Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter egg).

On Canada Day, change your lights to red and white and have your blow up reindeer sport Canadian flag saddles. On Labour Day, place them all working in the garden.

Maybe we should have a law that you get a $25 fine for having Christmas decorations up past February 1st. Here’s an idea: JUST TAKE DOWN YOUR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we don’t deal with the sin in our lives right away. It becomes clutter in our relationship with God. We need to pay attention to the clutter or we get used to having it in our lives. The best way to take down the clutter or sin is through regular confession to God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What tends to clutter you home, yard, life? Leave your comment below.

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When The Couch Is Call’n

Sunday afternoons I like to take a nap on the couch. It’s not really that I like to take a nap, rather I NEED to take a nap. There is some kind of power that overtakes me and I can’t do anything about it.

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Last Sunday was a good example. I was up early at 6 am, had a busy morning, preached a sermon, greeted people at the door, and by the time we locked up and headed home from church it was about one in the afternoon.

After lunch I wanted to watch a little golf, but there was a hockey game on first, so I settled in to catch the last period. Lily came down to join me and show me something on Facebook.

I watched it and then, as we talked, I could feel myself slipping away. Lil noticed and started laughing, which stirred me a little. She said she was going to change the channel to something else. I said, “Don’t. I’m watching the game.” She simply grinned and replied, “I’ll wait 30 seconds ‘till you fall asleep.”

In a matter of a minute I could feel myself going. It’s hard to describe the feeling, but everything around me becomes a blur. The noise from the TV is nothing more than static white noise and I can’t make out what anyone is saying.

Somehow, like Sampson, strength leaves my body and my limbs become heavy and useless. There is also a sense like someone has hit the remote switch on my eyelids and they slowly descend over my eyes like having automated blinds on your windows.

Once that happens, I can’t give you any more details. I am gone, gone gone! And Lily freely changes the channel without any opposition from me.

What happened on Sunday was not the first time. This is a regular Sunday afternoon occurrence – one that I’ve practiced for years … too many years to count, in fact. I inherited this trait from my father and grandfather. For many years I watched them go through this same Sunday afternoon process.

Back then I thought it was wasted time, but somehow, somewhere in my 30’s, it showed up in my life. At times I have fought it and kept myself busy during the afternoon, but more and more I am embracing this phenomenon.

It may have something to do with my ability to sleep pretty much anywhere. If I can get horizontal or even semi-horizontal, there is a very good chance I won’t be entering into conversation for very long.

It’s clear that there is probably nothing I can do about the Sunday afternoon nap. It’s now a habit … and you can probably predict what I will be doing next Sunday afternoon!

Here’s the thing: There was a time when it seemed like work to try to fit even 5 minutes in my day to spend with God. But as my relationship with God has grown more and more, it’s almost automatic now for me to get up before anyone else in the house and spend an extended time with Him. So you can probably predict where I’ll be at 6 am most days.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has become automatic regarding your relationship with God? Leave your comment below.

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Stop Staring!

We had dinner the other night in a restaurant that looked like a hunting cabin. I’m not much of a hunter – never been hunting, unless you count picking off barn swallows with a pellet gun when I was about twelve. I’m also not much of a fisherman. I have fished but I found it to be a bit of a snoozer for me.

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I took our kids fishing on vacation a couple of times when they were little. I had to carry their rods, put the worms on their hooks, untangle their lines when they got too close to each other, and take the fish off the hooks (that part didn’t happen much). It didn’t leave me much time to fish, and just about the time I got my line in the water they were ready to call it quits.

… So having dinner in this place didn’t necessarily make me feel like I was in a familiar place.

Don’t get me wrong, it was very comfortable. We sat in high wingback chairs like the kind you would find in someone’s living room. And all around were reminders that humans are at the top of the food chain.

There were stuffed animals everywhere you looked. These were not the fluffy kind you buy your kids at Toys R Us, but rather the dead kind you buy from the taxidermist.

I kind of wondered if you could order a meal by just pointing to an animal on the wall and grunting a bit. But when I looked at the menu, it didn’t offer any otter, but there was one on the wall!

The whole place was kind of rustic. There was a big old fireplace in the middle of the room and the walls looked like the inside of a log cabin which is what the outside of a log cabin looks like too. When we were shown to our table, I found myself sitting directly in front of the fireplace, above which was huge moose … not a whole moose, just a head.

This moose head came out from the wall a long way, and I couldn’t tell if he had a happy look on his face because he was friendly or because we all looked like a late night snack to him. Apparently, mooses (as I like to call them) are vegetarians so I guess he was glad to see us.

But still, it looked like he had an eye on me. Every time I looked up I saw old Bullwinkle gawking at me. I tried to avoid his stare but something about him commanded my attention.

One time, I said something funny to my wife and then looked at the moose to see if he also got it. He was still smiling so maybe he did. By the end of dinner, I was used to him watching me. I felt like we were buddies, even though he never said a word.

Still, I didn’t turn my back towards him till I got out the door. See ya next time, friend.

Here’s the thing: There is nowhere you can go where God is not present. There is nowhere you can be that He doesn’t see you. It should be comforting to know God is always there … unless you are somewhere you shouldn’t be, and then it should be unnerving.

That’s Life!
Paul

Question: How do you feel about knowing God sees you all the time? Leave your comment below.

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He Said It Would Save Me Time

Sometimes a phrase or sentence – even a word – can save you a lot of time. Recently, I spent hours doing a mundane little task because I didn’t first receive some crucial information.

I bought a new program that tracks and keeps all the information about my sermons in one place.  But there’s a learning curve. I’m learning how to build scripts, portals, and containers.

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It might sound fun – like I’m working on a time machine – but it’s just a database. When I’m done it will be slick, but I still have lots to figure out. I worked on it pretty much my entire day off this week, and I’ll need to spend several more off hours to get it working right.

When I’m done, it will be awesome … in a nerdy, database kind of way. From just one screen I will be able to plan, research, grab resources, catalogue … and clean up after breakfast! It’s like sitting down to do your taxes and having all the information you need in front of you … and not having to get up to find some receipt, address or your son’s tuition information.

I enjoy figuring out how to use this program but what I don’t like is doing work to correct the mistakes I’ve made. I have been watching instructional videos of a guy explaining different aspects of the program. I have a new appreciation for people who have to listen to me preach every week.

The difference is people listen to me for a half hour or so, once a week. I’ve been listening to this same whiney-voiced guy for about 10 hours straight! You can imagine how annoyed I am with him right now. And when, about 5 hours in, he said that it is better to set up a numbering system BEFORE you enter your data, my mood turned really ugly towards him.

I have been building my database while I’ve been learning. In the process, I have already imported 980 records! These are records of my messages, titles, themes, and passages, dating back to 1997!

But then my friendly little instructor says I need to give a specific or unique number to each record in my database. And in a casual way he says, “You will save a lot of time if you do this before you import your data.”

I felt like reaching into the computer and grabbing him, not to hurt him, just to shake him a little and scream into his ear, “Why didn’t you say that right at the beginning?!” It was just one sentence. He could have said it in the introduction. It would have saved me hours! I had to manually go back into every record and number them. What a waste of time.

It was a long, boring task, and a few times I lost track of the numbers and had to go back and correct the sequence. But now that it’s done, and I’m further into my learning, I see how essential it was for me to make that little correction.

Here’s the thing: Life is just like that. At the beginning, we don’t know everything we need to live a godly life. We learn as we go and often find that we’ve made some mistakes along the way. The sooner we discover those mistakes, the easier it is to correct them. That’s why it’s good to keep short accounts with God.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: What do you wish you had known ten years ago? Leave your comment below.

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Some People Don’t Age Well

You’ve heard the line, “You know you’re getting old when…” There are all kinds of ways to finish that sentence: You know you’re getting old when you and your teeth sleep separately; or, you know you’re getting old when you’re the first guy to the public urinals and the last one to leave.

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Well, there is another way to tell you’re getting old, and that is go to a concert of a band from your youth. This week a friend of mine called me up and said he had two tickets to see Randy Bachman.

Now if you don’t have a clue who I’m talking about, you were born before the 1930’s, or after the 70’s and you’re not Canadian. Randy Bachman was a founding member of The Guess Who, and then went on to form another band called Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO).

This concert was a little different, as it was at the Grand Theatre in Kingston, and not at an arena. It was a little more intimate and wasn’t about the performer playing song after song. Bachman was there to tell stories of his life in the music industry and how the songs were written.

The stories and music were amazing. When the band would start to play an old classic, I found that I kept picturing myself back in my teens. But then I looked around and saw all these old people around me.

I couldn’t get over how many old people liked “BTO”. When I say old, I don’t just mean a little grey hair – we’re talking wrinkled skin, unruly eyebrows and white hair. These people were ancient!

I felt like a kid amongst them. I was trying to figure out how much older most of the crowd was than me, and they had to average about 10 years plus.

I knew going in that the crowd wasn’t going to be young. I’d been to a Rolling Stones concert when I was about 40 and everyone there was my age or older. But that was nothing compared to this group. I saw canes, and there was a line up for the men’s washroom … when does that ever happen?!

During the intermission, I found myself staring at people trying to figure out what they might have looked like when they were in their teens or early twenties. I would look at them and squint to see if I could picture them appearing wrinkle-free.

It was about then that I realized I had been remembering myself back when I was in my teens and, in reality, I kind of fit in with these old folks. Of course, I was on the much younger side of the crowd . . . but it probably wasn’t that obvious, except to me.

I thought to myself, “What happened to these people?” Then I thought, “What happened to me?!”

. . . We’re getting old, that’s what’s happening! It was all a little disconcerting.  But the music made me feel like I was 18 again. Thanks Randy . . .  both of you.

Here’s the thing: Even though we get older and mature physically and spiritually, God still sees us as His children. We need to remember we have that kind of relationship with Him when we are with Him in prayer. Enjoy!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What experience of the past causes you to reminisce about how your life with Christ has changed?  Leave your comment below.

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Like a Square Peg in a Round Hole

Yesterday I helped a friend purchase an electronic tablet. I thought it would be straight forward, but part way through the process I realized I was going to be locked into the lengthy task of helping my friend learn how to use the device.

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If I helped someone in their twenties purchase a tablet, by the end of the transaction the need for my help would end. But my friend is not in his twenties and I can see that my services will be required for quite some time.

… And that gives me flashbacks to my dad with his computer! He would call me with a computer problem, hoping I would be able to solve it over the phone. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was a pastor and not a computer geek, but I’m sure that wouldn’t have stopped him from seeking my help.

I would ask him to describe what he had on his computer screen so that I could replicate it on mine and then try to walk him through a solution. That might sound like a great plan, but most of the time, while he was supposedly following my steps, he would blurt out “It’s gone”. And then the following dialogue would ensue:

“What’s gone, Dad?”

“Oh, it’s back again!”

“What’s gone? What’s back? Dad, back away from the keyboard. Don’t touch anything!”

These calls were painful at times, trying to get a 73 year old to master new technology. It was like teaching a child which hole the round peg goes in and which hole the square one goes in. I remember how many times I had to show our kids, saying “No, see? The round one goes in here.”

They would still try to stick the square one in the round hole, but you had the hope that eventually, in time, they were going to figure it out. I remember I didn’t have that same hope with my dad.

One time when I was talking to my brother, I mentioned these computer help calls I’d been getting from Dad. As soon as I asked, “Has Dad ever called you about his computer?”, my brother’s eyes got all crazy-like and he just said, “Don’t get me started!”

It was then that I realized that my dad had a master plan for getting computer help. His plan was simple: phone one son until he was exasperated and then phone the other. My dad would go back and forth asking computer questions to whomever he thought had the most patience.

So yesterday in the store, I started to gear myself up for a barrage of calls and drop in appointments to my help desk. I guess my computer help desk is open for service again.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that God is like us and gets tired of our repeated requests. But God isn’t like us at all. So don’t ever stop bringing your requests and confessions to Him. He is always eager to hear from you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Have you ever felt like you couldn’t bother God with something again?  Leave your comment below.

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I Got All Greased Up

Friday night after a very long day, my wife and I went out for dinner.  I’m not sure I consider getting fast food as going out for dinner, but, we didn’t eat at home. Normally, Friday nights is leftovers night, but this night I needed a treat.

We went to “Five Guys”, a restaurant that just opened in our neighbourhood. The burgers are good there and yes, I know it’s not healthy – you can tell by the grease soaking through the brown paper bag that the food comes in.

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I figure I can handle a little grease in my system every once in a while because I’m taking medication for that.

I don’t know the technical term for what it does, but in my understanding I picture the medication puts something like a teflon coating on your arteries so that all the crud, (triglycerides, cholesterol) or sludge, just keeps on sliding through.

That’s the way I picture it anyway … so that my conscience is clear. If you know something different, don’t tell me. I like the picture I have in my mind.

When we went into the restaurant I noticed a few things. First, there were a lot of employees. They were young; they all looked like teenagers, except for the big guy who I figured was the manager, or two of the five guys!

Second, though they call it fast food, it really wasn’t all that fast. McDonalds is fast. Wendy’s is pretty fast. But at Five Guys, they give you a number and say they will call you up when the food is ready.

With the shear volume of little people scurrying around in the kitchen, you’d think you would have your order by the time you paid for it.

Not so! We found a table and waited. I’ll admit though, the waiting was pretty enjoyable … they have free peanuts in the shell, which we availed ourselves of.

I noticed Lily was being uncharacteristically messy with the peanuts. I was putting the shells back in the tray with the unopened ones, just to keep the table neat. Lily was throwing them on the floor!

Once I figured out that everyone did that – there were peanut shells everywhere – I got right into it. By the time our food came, I think I had the most shells around my chair.

Along with the free peanuts to bide our time, were the signs all around the restaurant inviting you to read them. They were endorsements in big writing so they were easily read anywhere you sat.

They all had a similar theme. They told you how great Five Guys was. It wasn’t like they were tooting their own horn, but at the same time they were because they were using these accolades as decoration.

The only disconcerting thing about these ego-pumping posters was that most of the dates on them were from 5 or 6 years ago. As you read them, you just hoped the food wasn’t that old.

The food finally came, the burgers were delicious, and the fries were well worth the extra grease running through my veins.

Here’s the thing: We went to the restaurant for a burger and fries but we experienced a lot more. When you first come to Christ, it’s often because you have a particular need, desire, or concern. But what you find is your experience with Him is so much more.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How has your experience with God expanded from what drew you to him in the first place?  Leave a comment below.

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Whatever You Do, Don’t Fix It!

It’s funny how you can enjoy something, but then want something else that will take away the very thing you enjoy. If I have you confused, that’s okay. I’m a little confused myself.

Let me try to explain. For the last 5 months I’ve been helping with the dishes after the evening meal. My wife, Lily does the washing and I do the drying. Lily has really enjoyed the time we have spent after dinner each night, talking while we do the dishes together.

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I’ve not alway done the dishes – maybe it’s because of the example I had from my father, or maybe it’s because I’m full after dinner and I really need to relax on the couch.

But mostly, I haven’t helped much with the dishes in the past because we have a dishwasher (I’m not referring to Lily here). When we moved into our house almost 17 years ago, there was a large hole under the kitchen counter top.

It looked so odd that we had to get a dishwasher just to fill the space. As I recall, Lily didn’t really want to get it because she was happy to hand wash the dishes if we could do them together. But I convinced her that the hole under the counter really detracted from the esthetics of the kitchen and we needed to install a dishwasher.

All her dreams of washing dishes together evaporated in thin air because I got pretty good at placing my plates, cutlery and cups into the trays, though sometimes I noticed Lily had to rearrange the items because I hadn’t put them in the best place.

That all changed five months ago when our dishwasher stopped working. I took a quick look at it and determined that we needed a new one. Lily looked at it and determined that I should fix it.

The good news, for Lily though, is that we’ve been washing dishes together.  We’ve enjoyed time together, working together and talking. She has loved it; it’s like the dream she had came back to be a reality.

That’s why I found it strange the other day when we were in a store and Lily blurted out, “You really need to fix that dishwasher.” I looked at her and wondered, “Does she really know what she is asking? Does she really want her dream to disappear again?”

Now the chances of me fixing the dishwasher are slim. My opinion is that a new dishwasher is the best fix I could do. You see, our dishwasher is 17 years old. In human years that’s not old at all, but in turtle years that’s getting up there, and in dog years that’s really old! . . .  the dishwasher is a goner.

It still has a purpose though. It fills the hole under the counter and it looks like it’s supposed to do something. You can’t do that with a dead animal. I’m beginning to wonder if she really does like doing the dishes together?

Here’s the thing: We need to be careful that the thing we want, whether it’s an object, a job, or a change of some kind doesn’t take away the time we spend with God. Sometimes what we want can take away from what we now enjoy.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What “wants” can crowd out your time spent with God?  Leave your comment below.

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Made It Through Valentine’s Day!

Special occasions should lift our spirits high with great anticipation. Instead, they often bury us under heaps of pressure. I think if you’re a guy, you can understand this feeling more than a woman can.

We recently got through Valentine’s Day (I’m speaking for all guys here). I’m not saying it was a hardship or unpleasant in any way. As a matter of fact, the day turned out pretty well. Lily and I had a nice meal out at a restaurant where many other couples were dressed in a variety of shades of red. I would have been decked out with them, but I couldn’t find my raspberry coloured beret.

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The “getting through” part is the pressure we find ourselves in trying to prepare for the wonderful event. My first tip was a closed door about two weeks before Valentine’s Day.

I was instructed not to come in. I couldn’t fathom why at the beginning of February my wife needed to hide something from me – my birthday is not until June! She said she was making a Valentine’s package to send our daughter, and immediately I felt my right eye twitch.

I quickly checked my calendar to make sure the day was free and that I didn’t have a meeting or something scheduled for that evening. Whew! I didn’t; I calmed down, my eye stopped twitching and I kind of forgot about Valentine’s Day for a couple of weeks.

It’s times like these that I wish I was more of a shopper. You see, if I was, I would have noticed the Valentine’s displays. I would have been reminded by the advertisements in the flyers. But sadly, we got down to a day before Valentine’s Day and I felt the pressure of the world on my shoulders.

I not only had to do something for my wife for Valentine’s, I had to compete against a woman who had been planning what she was doing for at least two weeks! She had a huge head start on me.

With my heart rate slightly elevated, and my palms just a little damp, I got to the store and started looking at the cards. With so many cards, you’d think it would have been easy to find the perfect one.

The cards I found seemed way too mushy or just stated the obvious (Happy Valentine’s Day). I was frustrated; there were some empty card slots and I just knew that one of those cards would probably have been perfect … why did I leave it until the day before?

I finally settled on a card … the chocolates would be easier. I just had to stay away from hazelnuts and I would be able to pick a winner. With my loot in hand, all I needed now was to write something warm and tender. But I don’t do warm and tender when my heart is racing and my hands are sweaty. I’d have to write it later.

I had booked the restaurant earlier in the day so I had a whole day to calm myself, dig out from the mounds of pressure and breath. Wow! We made it through another special occasion guys – way to go!

Here’s the thing: Each week, many of us are unprepared for a special occasion. We don’t think about church and meeting God until we get up in the morning and are in a hurry to get there. Take some pressure off by preparing your heart in advance to meet with God at church.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you prepare for meeting God at church?  Leave your comment below.