Thought for the Week Devotional, September 12, 2004

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Each week you will be able to read a devotional thought
which we hope you will find enjoyable and comforting
as well as insightful and challenging.

The following story has been around for quite a while, but continues to make a good point. It is supposed to have begun with a letter to the editor of "The British Weekly."

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"Dear Sir:

I notice that ministers seem to set a great deal of importance on their sermons and spend a great deal of time in preparing them. I have been attending services quite regularly for the past thirty years and during that time, if I estimate correctly, I have listened to no less than 3,000 sermons, but, to my consternation, I discover I cannot remember a single one of them. I wonder if a minister's time might be more profitably spent on something else?

Sincerely...."
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That letter triggered an avalanche of angry responses for weeks. Sermons were castigated and defended, but eventually a single letter closed the debate:

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"Dear Sir:

I have been married for 30 years, during that time I have eaten
32,580 meals -- mostly of my wife's cooking. Suddenly, I have discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I have received nourishment from every single one of them. I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.

Sincerely...."
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There is a great deal of wisdom in that letter. I have heard countless sermons over my lifetime -- many were memorable, many more were not. The truth is, I can't even remember everything that I have preached (that's why God created databases)! But I know that many of the sermons which I heard have made an impact in my life, and I pray that the sermons I deliver do the same for others.

"And my speech and my preaching were not with
persuasive words of human wisdom,
but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men
but in the power of God."
(1 Cor. 2:4-5)

In Jesus' name, Amen.

This weeks thought and comments comes from
Thought-for-the-day

a daily devotional which you can
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join-thought-for-the-day@xc.org

It is created by Alan Smith,
Boone Church of Christ,
Boone, NC