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The most memorable sermon ever happened many years before I met my wife. I was in college and living at home.
My family liked to eat out together after church. My father was fed up with everyone always being late wherever we went. There were days he'd go out to the car, wait, and then come back in to herd.
This Sunday, Pop declared that anyone who was late to church would not get to go to lunch with the family.
This Sunday, Matt and I overslept.
The family van had already departed by the time Matt and I came tearing out. We skipped breakfast, hopped in my car, and raced to Christ Church. I barely stopped the car before Matt jumped out and started running. He was almost hit darting in front of a car. I saw, because I was running a few steps behind him (I had to finish parking the car, after all!).
Matt and I made it to the church doors on time, panting and hungry. Pastor Todd greeted us. He was something of a family favorite. He used to work with college kids, my sisters used to babysit for his kids, his littlest one started dropping F-bombs in front of the twins while they babysat once and they almost panicked until they figured out he was trying to say "fire truck," yadda yadda.
Pastor Todd asked us "How are you today?"
Matt said, "Hungry."
I must have been busy catching my breath, because I don't even remember the exchange. Pastor Todd replied back and we hurried to find Dad so we could get credit for being on time.
Service began, and bellies rumbled. To make matters worse, there was a breakfast table set up on stage as some sort of prop. It was a reminder of a skipped breakfast for me.
When the music stopped and the teaching began, Pastor Todd walked in front of the congregation. He did a short introduction. The sermon was going to be on the Parable of the Great Banquet and Todd asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to sit at the breakfast table.
The gears in my head started turning.
Food.
Volunteering sounded like a good idea. I turned to Matt to tell him "Let's do this!"
Matt's hand was already up. He was already all in.
My hand shot up next to his.
We were the only hands up (or at least the only hands way up and twitching that I could see) and Pastor Todd called us forward. He had us sit up at the table in front of a smorgasbord of pancakes, eggs, orange juice, and other breakfasty foods.
The sermon rolled on and Matt looked at me.
"Let's eat everything," Matt said.
"Let's eat everything," Matt said.
Once again, Matt beat me to the punch. He's always been an "all-in" guy when he's into anything (it's what makes him so fun).
I grabbed a biscuit and chowed down.
We devoured most of the food with gusto. I don't think Pastor Todd counted on two boys snatching rolls from each other and shoveling food like starving animals. The congregation must have laughed at our exuberance, but we were too busy chewing to notice or even hear.
At one point, Pastor Todd looked up and did a bit of acting. "Masters!" we looked up. Todd said something like "The guests aren't going to make it and all the food will go to waste!"
Our mouths were full. We couldn't have replied even if we had been told what to say.
Our mouths were full. We couldn't have replied even if we had been told what to say.
I slapped my forehead in mock surprise, grabbed my cup and downed my OJ. Everyone laughed. I don't think I could have said anything more eloquent if I wanted to. Even Todd lost his pastor face and laughed.
By the time the sermon was done, Matt and I weren't worried about making it to lunch. We were full.
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Years later, I still remember the story. I think it's important to find a church that doesn't feel like a chore to go to every week. A church should be a place of joy, learning, fellowship, and accountability (that last bit may not sound fun, but it's still important). Carrie and I found that in our current church. We just had a guest speaker who had a very memorable sermon about showing the love of Jesus. He talked about how he met some men from Ghana by being friendly at a super market at 3 AM. They ended up going with his family to Disney land.
The speaker went on to talk about how he thought Jesus must have been an incredibly dynamic person when he walked the earth. He wasn't some form of moral police (quote: "Put down the beer! You're driving the camel!"). He was someone who loved deeply and showed it in ways unheard of (like laying down his life for the sins of everyone). I figured I'd share the link: http://vimeo.com/72149289
It was one of those messages that spoke to me, because I want to be that loving and that lively and that all in. Believe it or not, I can be a bit of an introvert in that people tire me out. I enjoy conversation, but I don't normally go around with abandon looking for it, because I have to tame the ADHD and focus! Otherwise, I have a tendency to speak before I think and we all know how that can go.
So there you go. Two posts in one.
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