The responsibility of preaching scares me sometimes!

We had two great services yesterday.

In the morning, Raewyn preached on anger, and with everybody wondering just where the sermon was likely to head, she cleverly talked about Jesus’ anger at corruption and the subjugation of those who are not in a position to resist it.

A major challenge was forthcoming also with Raewyn asking us what would Jesus do if he walked into SAJ today, would he be happy with us or would he make a whip and chase us out and overturn tables?

In the evening I spoke on 1 John 2:12-17 with a special emphasis on how the world takes us into spiritual captivity surreptitiously, not wanting us to deny Christ, but happy that we quietly accept “little” sins and then justify them to ourselves.

God moved in both services and it’s great to see our people opening themselves up to God’s Holy Spirit and the conviction He brings.

However, as I was preparing for that message, I was highly aware that the best I can do is preach my understanding of the word.  Yes, I work with commentaries from truly learned people, but at the end of the day, I have to decide what I’ll say about it!

What if I get it wrong (in a bad way)?

What if I speak without total clarity and someone takes something out of it that I wasn’t trying to say?

Oh, I love preaching but the responsibility really does weigh heavily sometimes.  Praise God that He is forgiving, that He upholds us and that He somehow uses our often pitiful words to make life change happen.