the surprise of the semester

of all the classes that i have this semester, i thought preaching would be the one i liked least. first because i don't really forsee myself going into ministry where i preach on a regular basis. i mean, i anticipate that i will be asked to preach occassionally but not enough where i thought i would benefit from a formal class about preaching. second, i was terrified about preaching to my colleagues; to very smart people who know as much, if not a whole heckuva lot more, about theology as i do. to be completely honest, that reason was why i was so nervous yesterday before (and during) the preaching of my first sermon at pts. usually when i preach, i have a kind of confidence, not in what i have done but in that the Holy Spirit is going to work through me. that peace was not present yesterday. but i have preached my first sermon in preaching class. and i feel good about it. people were very amiable in their responses during class. and even though i did find more critical comments on the sheets that were given to me, i am still very grateful for those. it has come through loud and clear that i need to be more loud and clear (more emphasis on the needing to be louder!).

but, the most surprising thing of this semester is now that i've preached two sermons (one for field ed. and one for preaching class), i find that delivering those sermons really brought an energy to my life. it is a blessing that was wholly unanticipated. i'm not saying that i think the sermons i preached were the greatest ever but i felt good about them. i guess it's a good thing that i feel so amicably toward preaching since i get to do it again tomorrow in my preaching seminar!

i think the best thing about these preaching classes is that i've had the opportunity to hear some really great sermons. if i haven't been spiritually fed in church lately, i have rested in the Word of God spoken by my classmates. they have just been beautiful. it really makes me want to get to know some people better. not because i was intrigued by their theology, though that does play its part, but because i really have seen a lot of talent and it gives me hope that these people are going to have a great impact on churches. i'm excited to hear more and learn from my peers. bring on the holy word!