Here are a few keys to confidence in the pulpit that enable pastors to speak God’s Word with all boldness each week.
My first sermon lasted about 10 minutes. I remember reeling in the vestibule after the message, wondering how I had blown through all my notes, anecdotes, and musings on the divine in the amount of time it takes to make a hot ham and cheese sandwich. I learned a valuable lesson in ministry that day: It is one thing to prepare a sermon; it is quite another to deliver it.
Over the years, I have been comforted by quotes from preachers like John Knox, saying, “I have never once feared the devil, but I tremble every time I enter the pulpit.” Reverence and care are proper responses when fulfilling that divine mandate of proclaiming the gospel through the foolishness of preaching (1 Corinthians 1:18).
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