Getting it across...

This evening (Saturday) I've spent several hours preparing the message I intend to share at Trinity Presbyterian Church of Seven Springs.

I feel good about the content. But the exercise has given me a renewed sense of admiration for preachers who create new material every weekend... and even more admiration for those preachers who do that plus make the message interesting, inspirational and instructive.

Rebekah especially. She never fails to encourage me, to make me laugh, to bring home incisive truth, and to teach me something about faith in a new way. Her messages are not only relevant, but loaded with good news. Her passion is authentic and compelling. She believes with her whole heart, and she puts her whole heart into the message.

So my main focus tomorrow is going to be to make sure that I remember to bring some enthusiasm into the pulpit. I know that my writing is - typically - loaded with much more than just words. So I pray that I manage to bring that kind of applied joy to what I say when I open my mouth.

I am convinced that the core message I need to get across - wherever and whenever I speak - is the amazing opportunity that we have, as believers, to live the kind of life we've always wanted to. Jesus is the key. He has given is the word of life - our opportunity is to live it in a way that communicates the truth of God's generous love.