Preaching over…next up…preaching conference!

I’ve spent the last two weekends preaching. Last weekend at St Lucia I went through Ezra 4-6 emphasising God’s sovereignty as we pursue holiness. Today I had another crack at Proverbs 9 to the youth church with Brisbane Cantonese Alliance Church and emphasised the wisdom given to us because we are in Christ. Monday to Thursday I’ll be attending QTC for a preaching conference with David Cook. So for these few weeks I’m going to be saturated with preaching!

I was struck in my preparations for both sermons how difficult the applications seemed to be. Figuring out the passages and finding some structure to the sermons was ok, this process is falling out quicker than at first. But applications are still something I struggle with. Why?

I’ve been tossing up various reasons for a long time, but it finally dawned on me last Friday before my Proverbs sermon today. Are the troubles I have with applications in sermons due to the fact that I myself am not reflecting on how the passage is applying to me? It struck me between the eyes. The questions I was asking of others I was not asking of myself. So keep praying that I approach God’s word with a soft heart, ready to be confronted, challenged and shaped through it.