A friend of mine asked if she could comment on the sermon from last week. I said, sure! I was not prepared for what she said.
What she said horrified me! [I thought, Oh my, I am out of touch] She said, "that one story that you told in Sunday's sermon, don't tell it again. You have told it three times this year."
Yikes! Oh, my I was so embarrassed. I felt so out of touch. Sometimes it is hard to remember when the last time I told a particular story. I don't ever want to have people sit there in the pew and think, "Oh, this again!" I don't know if I am becoming more forgetful, or if my hard drive is full.
Forgive me for telling that story one time too many. I really care about what we do on Sunday morning and I want it to be good. And I am always open to comments and suggestions.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
3 comments:
Look on the bright side --- be encouraged by the fact that some people are paying attention!
This kind of thing "gets my dander up," as the old old saying goes. Every morning when we wake up we have another day ahead, to either give people sincere encouragement and make their day better, or to offer comments that can be slightly or significantly encouraging. It's a conscious choice.
This person needs to go on a mission trip and get a glimpse of the real world.
God bless Jeff. And you know what, I'm glad we get to tell the Christmas story more than three times, and the story of redemption more than three times Jeff. Aren't you?
And to the person who says, "look on the bright side." Sometimes it's just good to actually put yourself in another person's place, instead of trying to be a "mom" or "dad" to them, and give instructions.
God bless Jeff's day. And keep those stories coming. You have a gift from God for reaching hearts, with your messages.
Correction. I meant to say that every day we wake up with a choice of saying something to encourage someone, or to say things that may slightly or significantly discourage someone. It's our choice.
And when people have just been hit with an unnecessary, discouraging comment, for the next person to say "look on the bright side..." is kind of like a left handed round of "you not only repeat stories, but you are negative." We need to take care about everything that comes out of our mouth. Lastly, my take on this is that the person with the negative comment wasn't really "paying attention" to your sermon. They were giving attention to their hot buttons. If I know your stories Jeff, there was a good message in the story, no matter whether you'd told it once, twice, three, or more times in a year.
Be encouraged. We love your preaching and your stories.
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