Spoke on thankfulness and contentment yesterday at Church.
Response was overwhelming actually. Its amazing how the messages you think are good, are the ones that people come up to you and say how much God touched them, and the ones you think are fantastic, sometimes dont garner as much response.
I want to be a speaker who does not bore people. I think if you bore people as a speaker presenting Gods message, that is sinful. How can you do that? My technique if you like is to really only have one thing to say. I used to be a three point man, many years ago. Thats a bit of a waste of time for me now. I dont think I am really there to impart information or teaching, but to inspire.
Secondly I want to be a speaker who sees the Holy Spirit at work. So I need to bathe everything in prayers of dependence, and have a team of people praying for me (thanks Friday night crew!).
Thirdly I would love to see people changed.
It is for a good reason that God said, on the seventh day you shall have rest. Interesting. For me Sunday is the day when people come to be re-centred. To rediscover what life is all about. The other 6 days seem to try to tell us otherwise, but Sunday is when we be still and know He is God, praise and experience His joy, cry and experience his grace, love and experience His fellowship.
Most of all I want to see people come to know and love Jesus. God help me to see that happen!
If you were not there yesterday, I reckon this sums it up for me, “People come to celebrate with God in a hundred different ways, in a thousand different ways. Sometimes we jump up and down and sing, sometimes we find ourselves on top of a mountain, sometimes we find ourselves with a small group of people praying, sometimes we are sitting having a cup of coffee, reading the paper, listening to our kids play outside, and we are struck by how good it is to know God, and be known by Him. Its not a place, its not even a specific activity, it is knowing Gods presence is with you.” (Pastor Mark Edwards – no one else will probably ever quote me, so I might as well quote myself)