Comments on: Sermon on I Timothy 1:12ff

By: Transformatum » Monday Meditation #44

Transformatum » Monday Meditation #44 — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:45:58 +0000

[...] makes the second time Sufjan Stevens has been read from our church’s pulpit (the first being here). Sing a carol to your mom ‘Cause she knows what’s goin’ on And she knows if [...]

By: Sermon: Renewing Relationships at Transformatum

Sermon: Renewing Relationships at Transformatum — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 05:33:44 +0000

[...] I delivered my second sermon today, with the first occuring a little over a year ago. I may not be up in our elder rotation for another year, but I hope to write another message in the next few months. The process is not something that bothers me so much from a calling standpoint, but vocationally speaking it is difficult to devote time to the task when you are not working in ministry full time. [...]

By: Death to Christians at Transformatum

Death to Christians at Transformatum — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 06:17:22 +0000

[...] If I can fault Cohen for anything, it is for having too much faith in the goodness of man and not enough of an understanding in his total depravity. The fact of the matter is that we are all as bad as the terrorists. However, Cohen strikes a cord with me when he questions whether or not we in the West are justified in criticizing the actions against Rahman as hate crimes, rather than gloss over them as acceptable cultural differences. [...]

By: Transformatum » Blog Archive » Sufjan Songs Available for Download

Transformatum » Blog Archive » Sufjan Songs Available for Download — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 03:23:18 +0000

[...] Thanks to mrscrumley for the tip. Download seven live songs from Illinois here. The last track is the song that inspired this. [...]

By: bobw

bobw — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 03:36:27 +0000

hopefully soon I’ll get a chance to read the text, but in the mean time, well done. anytime you can work Sufjan into a sermon you’ve gotta be doing something right leading a guys small-group Bible study gets me nervous enough, so I’m impressed (if that’s the right word in this context).

By: Leda

Leda — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 00:04:55 +0000

My husband and I were there. And the time length was excellent and the delivery was insightful, relaxed and yet demanding (in the best way). Scott you did a great job of holding everyones attention. Or should I say the Lord kept everyone’s attention in spite of your similarity to JWG? It sure is comforting to know that He is in control of every detail and He loves us in spite of ourselves.

By: felone

felone — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 17:36:11 +0000

Thanks for posting. It was a very insightful sermon (I posted a comment about this on my blog, directed to you after your comment about pandora.)… I’ve justed copied it over here:

I enjoyed reading the text of your sermon. I’m a month or two away from giving a mini-sermon (more of a testimonial on three specific things going on in your life, but I digress) at my church and as much as I speak in public (I give a lot of speeches at conferences for work), I still get nervous when I speak in front of the congregation.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 03:09:08 +0000

When I timed it at home the length was around 27 – 28 minutes. They say if you are nervous then you tend to go faster, but I was able to keep an even tempo–unlike the announcements at the beginning of the service that I do every week. I’ve had a lot of public speaking experience in the corporate arena, between Toastmasters (early on in my vocation) and then more recently (over the last five years) by leading training sessions. One thing that still gets to me is that my mouth dries up. I had a glass of water that I sipped from a few times (and a pitcher hidden behind the pulpit just in case).

No one timed it during the service, but when I sat down it was almost 12:00. Since the sermon comes in the middle of our service (to emphasize the centrality of the Word), I would estimate that it was under a half hour, but at least more than 25 minutes. I did unintentionally skip paragraph about the Greek word protos…and did not realize it until later.

We (pastor Dan mainly) were concerned that the song lyrics might lose some people. He helped rework the intro part with the parallel of “secrets under Saint Paul’s floorboards” in order to soften the blow. I felt like by the time I got to the conclusion that most people were tracking along with me. When I got to the end I was prepared to make the line that goes, “or when you are exposed as 1) __________, 2) __________, 3) __________ ;” as either personal (“I”), collective (“we”), or directive (“you”). The particular sins I would have used to fill in the blank were also dependent on the visual feedback as well. I don’t even remember which ones I chose (would have to listen to the tape), but I did say “you.”

By: Baus

Baus — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 01:17:07 +0000

Thanks for posting this, Scott. So, I’m curious how long it turned out to be and how you felt about your delivery.

By: Illman

Illman — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 17:03:06 +0000

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmen brother. Wow Scott, that is a really good sermon. I love the wrap-around introduction to conclusion; superb mentioning of context and setting; well researched cross-referencing, yet staying true to the text. well done my friend. I think best of all though, is that you made the sermon yours. What I mean is, the best preaching are the sermons that are drawn out from personal devotions, and you did a great job of sounding genuine. I agree that it takes a lot of time for preparation, and now you’ve probably experienced how emotionally draining it can be in desiring to communicate your spiritual passions to others.

I would also suggest looking at Phil. 3:4-8 where Paul calls himself and his reputation “manure.”

I wish I could have been there.