I normally don’t do this, but I’m asking publicly for prayer this morning. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for prayer on my behalf anytime, but I just don’t ask for it (maybe I should do that more anyway). But today is a little different. Today is the eighteenth anniversary of the day my dad died. I was fifteen at the time, so that means I’ve spent over half of my life without him now.
It’s always a hard day. This year, however, is a little different only because this is the first year that I will actually be preaching on this anniversary. I love preaching, and I know that my dad would be proud of me being in ministry. My mom told me after I had accepted the call into ministry that my dad always said he thought I would be a minister (I had no idea he thought that).
Preaching is one of those things, though, that I need to be as clear headed as I can be. Not because my sermon depends on me. But I need to be able to step out of the way and allow God’s message to be what is heard.
I’m sitting here in my office as I do my final prep time. There is a little less than two hours from the start of our worship service, which means I have a little over two hours before I will be preaching. The closer I get to that time, it seems the more I think about my dad. So, I am asking you to join with me in prayer that I will be able to focus this morning, step out of the way, and let God’s message shine through.
As I type this, TobyMac’s song, “Steal My Show” come to mind. That’s what I want to happen every time I preach or teach. It’s not about me. It’s about letting God shine through what He allows me to do. If you aren’t familiar with the song, the chorus is as follows:
If You wanna steal my show, I’ll sit back and watch You go
If You got somethin’ to say, go on and take it away
Need You to steal my show, can’t wait to watch You go
So take it away
Thank you for your prayers, and let’s all ask God to steal our show!
Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak 