I have found that often when I am preparing a sermon, I end up convicted by the very thoughts I am forming into a sermon. I was not expecting to preach on Christmas Eve, but at the last minute I was given the notes of a sermon the pastor was going to preach and tasked with crafting it into something. This is what I came up with.
And wouldn’t you know, I was struck by this idea that God is not ‘watching from a distance,’ but is indeed in the middle of the messiness of life. I was struck by the idea that to move towards someone in relationship, which is risky and carries with it the potential of rejection, is the Incarnation. Doesn’t matter who that person is…whether it’s the little old lady in the hallway on Sunday morning, the three year old who likes to sit with me during worship, a family member or a friend…when I move towards relationship, I am experiencing the incarnation…the God who is NOT watching from a distance.
So this year, that’s the goal. Work on getting up the courage to potentially… consider… and maybe even attempt… at least once…
hmmm…probably need to write a sermon about moving ideas into action.