Sometimes it is a friendly, "How do you do?" Sometimes the comment is on the weather, "Looks like rain today." Or on sports, "Good luck to the Cowboys today."
Sometimes a brief comment is made about the sermon.
Sometimes a comment can slightly hurt, even though I’m sure it was not meant to. I think back to a Sunday morning in another community several years ago. I had researched and written, prayed and struggled with the sermon for several days. On the way out of the service a church member’s only comment was, "The organ was too loud today." Needless to say, I was somewhat discouraged.
The responsibility of faithfully preaching God’s Word is a daunting task. It really is. The conscientious preacher strives to be relevant, interesting and Biblical. We strive to be understandable, faithful and compelling. We strive to be thorough, but not boring. I painfully realize that so often, I fall way short of my expectations.
Allow me to share with you a few comments that are always music to a preacher’s heart: "You really challenged me." "You made me think." "I never looked at it this way before." "God spoke to me this morning."
One of the most encouraging comments I received recently was, "I could tell that you really enjoyed preaching on this today."
Join with me today in praying for the pastors in our community as they prepare and present a message each week from God’s Word.