We’re still going through our section on being trained in preaching in the
Training Center (where I’m being trained for ministry right now at HBC Elgin). I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it!
David Jones is leading us; he’s doing a wonderful job breaking down all the various aspects of preaching an effective sermon.
I can’t imagine where I’d be spiritually if I hadn’t heard good preaching for all the years I’ve been following Christ. By the Holy Spirit, those preachers have made the word of God come alive for me; I hope to do the same for many others for the rest of my life. I count this an immense privilege.
Here’s a summary of some of the things that went on in the training center last week for us.
Summary:
Sermon prep time throughout week
Visited some property that “might” be given to HBC and had a church service where James MacDonald preached
Delivery in sermons
Use of notes in sermons
Practiced delivery before classmates
Reviewed classmates sermon
Reviewed my sermon with classmates
Scripture:
“…our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.”
Psalm 33:21
There is a direct connection between our joy and our trust. When we trust God to take care of us on a moment by moment basis, we will find joy in Him welling up inside of us. When we trust in other things to take care of us or to ultimately comfort us, we will find our joy diminishing. God is trustworthy; anything apart from Him – isn’t. God created us to trust in Him for our every need, and the result of that is for us to be continually joyful in Him!
We can trust in God because He is “holy.” He is utterly unique, the one and only true God. One God made and rules all things. He is the one to look to; He is The One to trust.
The glad heart is the trusting heart, and the trusting heart is the glad heart. As trust rises, joy rises.