Yesterday I spent the day researching and writing a sermon. Today I presented it.
It was on gifts of the Spirit, love in particular, working together with fruit of the Spirit. You can download it off the church’s website if you care to hear it; it’ll be there once I get the sound file formatted.
Most of the responses afterwards were the usual, “Good job; that really needed to be said; people really needed to hear that.” In other words, what psychologists call projection.
“People” needed to hear it? Everyone needed to hear it. I needed to hear it; otherwise God wouldn’t have directed me towards the subject matter. To say that others needed to hear a sermon is the same as saying, “I am beyond sin and temptation; I have arrived; you, o lowly sermon-writer, have done me no service, but let me throw your fragile ego a bone by assuring you that the weaker or more immature members of our church probably profited by your labors. I thank God daily that I am not like those publicans and sinners—I fast twice a week and tithe all that I possess—they needed to hear from God, but I didn’t.”
Projection. In this way, people can keep their fleshly desires well-protected from their Spirit-prodded consciences, and never the twain shall meet.
In the future I’m just going to have to answer such “compliments” as “People needed to hear that” with “And what did you need to hear?”
Update. I made a rather memorable statement in the sermon, and followed it with, “Embroider that on a pillow.” And just for fun, I decided to make such a pillow. You can actually order it here. Enjoy.
Update II. Download the sermon here. I can’t help the static.