Running Up to Your Chariot

Last week I laid down a guantlet.

The next time the Sprit whispers into your ear to run up to a chariot, I challenged us to simply run. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, this past week’s message was from Acts 8, the passage about Phillip and the Eunuch.

Phillip was walking led by the Spirit to a desert road when he sees a chariot up ahead, boarded by an Ethopian Eunuch.  And the Spirit tells Phillip to run to that chariot and stay near it.

The more you take that encounter at face value, the more incredible it really is–that Phillip, despite the differences in class, ethnicity, and the utter awkwardness of running next to a chariot–just runs because the Spirit tells him to run. And this of course leads to an incredible moment of evangelism.

The next time you’re on the metro and the Spirit urges us to talk to the person next to us, the next time you’re on a plane, and you hear that whisper to share your faith; the next time you find yourself at the water cooler and the Spirit urges you to take the conversation to a deeper level—for all the moments we hear that awkward, unwanted whisper of the Spirit to share the gospel– RUN! It’s a “CHARIOT” moment!

And we’ll see what happens. We’ll burn through a bit of our dignity, I’m sure. We’ll make a fool of ourselves at times. But if all of us were to run when the Spirit tells us to run–think of all the miracles we’ll hear about on any given week!! This is a challenge I’m applying this week. And when I do run–I’ll post the results!

Pastor Dihan

What It’s Like to Preach a Sermon

Usually we post the content of last weeks sermon. And I’ll do that eventually. But I thought I’d post something about the actual act of preaching. 

People ask me from time to time–what is it like to preach? Is it like preparing a speech? Writing a paper? How do you feel when you’re actually up at the pulpit?

Here are a few of my own thoughts. The other pastors can leave comments about their own experience…

- During the actual sermon–it’s like playing a contact sport; 30-40 minutes of pure adrenalin. You’re sprinting, dodging, defending, pushing, lifting, blocking and you go and go and go and then you’re done. And when you’re done–the odd thing is sometimes you’re not sure if you’ve won or lost. You just feel tired. And then a few hours later, you feel really, really sore.

- Preaching is like puking out your guts. You’re up in front, exposing yourself, pulling out your lungs, your heart, your spleen and laying it out before the people to examine. And then when it’s all over, you have to find a way of putting your organs back in your body. And sometimes, you feel like you’ve put them back in the wrong way.  I find the hardest part of preaching can be the evening after. You just feel so exhausted and emptied. 

-When preaching really works, and you feel like you’ve connect with the people, and God has used you, there is nothing more satisfying.  Nothing engages you more–physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, than the act of preaching. Which is why I do it and will continue to do it!

So an inside look in the life of a pastor.
I’ll post a few more down the road.

In his love

P.Dihan