There are many things that I enjoy doing. I enjoy reading, but there is little I enjoy reading more than a classic book.  Since we are on vacation this week, I have brought several books to read.  One of them was given to me by a fellow minister who attends our church.  It is a classic book on preaching that was written in 1898 and published in 1902.  The Making of a Sermon by T. Harwood Pattison is a book about the classical preacher and his sermons.

I have studied many books on preaching.  Most of them have been modern approaches to communicating.  I believe that pastors ought to learn to become greater preachers.  So, that is why we read books on preaching and teaching.  There are alot of great modern books that describe how to creatively speak to this media generation and I agree that we must communicate the gospel in ways that people will grasp.  However, I think sometimes in our modern culture we miss a few of the key elements of communicating like what was seen in past generations.

One of those key elements is that the pastor must be changed by his message before it can change others.  Longfellow said, “To me, a sermon is no sermon in which I cannot hear the heartbeat.”  I am searching my own heart to make sure that my messages reveal my heart beat.  Is what I am preaching a direct result of my relationship with God and His Word or is it only a communication that others are preaching?

In The Making of the Sermon, Pattison quotes John Ruskin’s, Stones of Venice and in this quote I believe is found the greatest definition of preaching I have heard. 

Ruskin writes:
“When breathless and weary with the week’s labor they give the preacher this interval of imperfect and languid hearing, he has about thirty minutes to get at the separate hearts of a thousand men, to convince them of all their weaknesses, to shame them from all their sins, to warn them of all their dangers, to try, by this way and that, to stir the hard fastenings of those doors where the Master himself has stood and knocked, yet none opened, and to call at the openings of those dark streets where Wisdom herself has stretched forth her hands, and no man regarded.  Thirty minutes to raise the dead in!”

The calling of the preacher is a hard task.  Not only does the preacher have to hold the attention of the hearer, but he also must preach to bring conviction and change.  Preaching must be relevant to people’s needs but also, the main call of preaching must be discipleship and developing Christ-followers.  Convincing people there is more to this life than what they already have.  Preaching the Word in such a way that helps them but also changes them.  Preaching is not an easy task, that is why the preacher must walk with God and hear His voice.

We had an awesome service yesterday morning.  God moved in a mighty way!  We had one person rededicate their life to the Lord and many others ministered to.  We continued our PASSION series and looked at Renewing our Passion. 

Our Passion series is meant for us to evaluate the Passion in our lives.  Yesterday morning, we asked ourselves four questions to determine if we are losing our Passion for the things of God.

1. Is my love for God growing cold? 
2. Do I still have a burden for the unsaved?
3. Do I still have joy in serving God?
4. Am I allowing compromise to steal my passion?

These are questions that we should ask ourselves regularly.

We left after service for Sulphur Springs, Texas.  We stayed the night and Hannah couldn’t wait to get to the hotel and go swimming.  We were able to swim a little bit before it started raining.  I have often wondered why we get out of the pool when it rains, are we afraid of getting wet?:)  Actually we got out because it was lightning.  Lightning and water don’t mix.

Today, we will pick up Josh in Greenville.  He has been with a friend of his for a week and I am glad we are going to get him back.  After we pick him up, we are headed to Sonya’s parents for the rest of the week.  Looking forward to spending a week in the country and not doing a whole lot.

Having said all that, I will try to post everyday this week, but no guarantees, I’m on vacation.  I am only doing things if I feel like it this week:)  And yes, that is being lazy!

Yesterday, I shared about Praying Psalmically and the power of writing our prayers.  Today, I want to look at making the most of our devotional bible reading.  Again, you will need a journal and a pen.  This approach is called the S.O.A.P. devotional method.  I believe it was made popular by Wayne Cordeiro in his book, The Divine Mentor.  If you haven’t read that book, it is an excellent look at getting the most from your devotional habits.

The S.O.A.P method is pretty simple.  S.O.A.P. is the process of digesting Scriptures.

S – Scripture
O – Observation
A – Application
P – Prayer

Here is how it works.  During your time of Bible reading watch for any verse that speaks to your heart.  The SOAP approach works well, especially when you have one or two verses that “jump” out at you.  In your journal, write out the scripture verse. 

Next, we look at the observation.  This is where you glean from the verse.  Observe the context of how it is written, why it is written and to whom it is written.  In the observation, you are looking to understand the verse itself and the history of it.  In your journal, write out the observation.

Third, we apply this verse(s) to our lives.  What does this verse say to you?  How must you apply it to your life?  What changes do you need to make in your life?  In your journal, write out how you plan to apply this verse to your life and what it specifically says to you.

Last, is the prayer.  Write out your prayer to God on how you will allow this verse to work in your life.  The prayer is often an extension of what you discovered  in the application of the verse.  Allow this to be a prayer of commitment to God.

I have found this S.O.A.P. method to be a great way to get the most from my devotional reading.  I have often been the type to just read the Bible, but this method causes me to dig deeper and watch for anything the Holy Spirit wants to speak to me from God’s Word.  This method is a way to allow God to not only reveal Himself through His Word but also, to help us apply to our lives.

I am forever trying to create a more powerful devotional habit in my life.  I often change the way I spend my prayer and devotional time in order to ensure that I do not get into a rut.  I read what other people do and then see if that will work in my own life.

I have begun a couple of new practices that have helped me flourish in recent weeks.  Both of them center around a journaling discipline.  The first, I will describe in this post and will write about the other one later.

This journaling discipline is known as Praying Psalmically.  I discovered this approach while reading an article by Justin Buzzard.  I have been amazed at the effects this has had on my devotional time.  For those of us believers who have been accustomed to only praying prayers out loud, this will throw you for a curve.  One of the challenges we have as a believer, nonetheless a human being, is to always be talking when we pray.

I have found a certain refreshing by not only praying aloud but also in contemplating and writing out my prayers.  This is the approach we will look at today.

Praying Psalmically is practiced by choosing a Psalm and meditating on it for a few minutes and allowing it to speak to our hearts.  Pick out a portion of that Psalm to pray in your own way.  I have tried it the way Justin Buzzard describes and it has worked well for me.  You will need a journal (or notebook), a black pen and a red pen.

1. Write the verse that speaks to your heart in Black ink.  I write one verse and then do step 2.

2.  In red ink, write your response/prayer.  What I do is write the prayer which is basically how I would pray that verse in my own way.  Whatever that verse speaks to me, I write it out as a prayer of change, gratitude, intercession etc.

Repeat these steps through as many verses as you would like.

Let me give you an example:

1. “Praise The Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart…” (Black Ink) Psalm 111:1

2. “I praise you Lord because of who you are.  Help me to praise you with my whole heart.  How often I praise you with my mouth but my heart is far from you.  Nonetheless, I praise you and ask you to consume my heart and affections that my praise may be perfected.” (Red Ink)

This allows me to pray the verse on paper and I can look back at what God has spoken to my heart at different times.  I am finding that journaling should become a discipline in our lives because it helps us to witness our spiritual growth more intentionally.

Get a journal and begin to record what God is revealing to you in His Word.  Use the journal to write what God is doing in your life.  Years from now, it will be something you can look back upon and evaluate your growth.

Christians have to look more redeemed, if the world is to believe in our Redeemer.

-Gary French-

The last couple of days have been long.  It seems that we stay up late and get up early.  When I got home from work yesterday, I wanted to take it easy.  Sonya had music practice at 6:30pm so that meant it was just me and Hannah (Josh is out of town).

As is her custom, Hannah changes outfits at least every hour.  I knew I was in trouble when she wanted her “Sunday” dress on.  The Sunday dress means she prances around, wants to take walks, play outside and DANCE. 

Last night, I knew there would be no rest when Hannah wanted to watch Mary Poppin’s and fast forward to the song Step In Time.  If you have watched Mary Poppin’s, Step In Time is a ten-minute song of Dancing, Jumping and Swinging.  When Hannah watches that she clears the floor and WE have to do Step In Time.  As I said, it is a ten minute song.  For me, that is like an aerobic workout. 

We danced through the song, I swung Hannah around and we danced for ten minutes.  I was tired to begin with but then came the fateful words, “Let’s do it again!”  I plopped in my chair, held up the remote control and rewound it back to the beginning.  Then, I stayed in my chair and told Hannah to dance by herself this time.

Hannah walked over to me, looked up at me with her eyes of love and said, “Prince, do you want to dance with a dream come true?”  How could I refuse?  We danced the night away!

This morning, I was reading in Genesis 28 and noticed a phrase that changed the way I view prayer and the pursuit of God’s presence.  This chapter describes Jacob’s dream of a ladder to Heaven.  Through this dream He sees angels ascending and descending from Heaven.  Then God speaks to Jacob.  God declares to Jacob who He is, the God of Jacob’s father.  Then God begins to give Jacob a few promises: 1.) I am with you. 2.) I will keep you wherever you go. 3.)I will bring you back to this land. 4.) I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to  you.  What incredible promises for Jacob and all of God’s people!

When Jacob wakes up, he awakens with a reverential fear of who God is.  He proclaims, “Surely God is in this place.”  Verse 17 records, “And Jacob was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of Heaven!”  I like the emphatic use of the exclamation point in this text.  It is as if Jacob is saying with a passionate cry, “how awesome is this place, this is the gate to Heaven!”

Jacob is alerted to the power of a relationship with God.  This was not in a church, Jacob was on a journey.  He experienced God’s presence and power “between Sundays” yet he said this is the House of God.  He was not in a tabernacle but in a wilderness.  May I remind you that the Bible says that God dwells in temples not made with hands.  This means God dwells wherever we are.  We can pursue Him and find Him in church, at home, in the marketplace or wherever we call on His name.  This is the beauty of prayer.  We can experience Him anywhere!

The statement that attracted my attention was when Jacob said, “this is the gate to Heaven!”  Prayer is the entrance to Heaven’s riches, glory and power.  When we spend time with Jesus, we are accessing the unlimited treasures of Heaven.  Prayer is the gateway to God’s presence. 

We have the privilege to access Heaven through prayer.  Though we can only have a glimpse of what Heaven is, we can touch the throne of God and receive mercy and help in our time of need.  We can talk to God, who is on the throne.  We can experience His presence.  I challenge you to spend time in prayer!  It is the gate to Heaven!