This week our pastor is in Florida, so I had the opportunity to lead the worship service this morning. The youth group along with a couple of stand ins (our group is pretty small) provided the music for the service.
I preached on Isaiah 6, the call of Isaiah, and contrasted that call with our worship experience. It went well. The video was available after the service, so I took it home for a review. Mostly it is good. I pace a bit too much and maybe could have put a sharper focus on the message.
This is a passage that I had to analyze for my Old Testament course. Having done the assignment did save a bunch of time on the sermon, but, I soon realized that the one does not transfer all that well to the other. Since the material had become very familiar, I was able to speak rather than read which I find much more rewarding.
This week I spoke to three different groups. A producer meeting in Belleville, a sheep meeting in Mount Forest and finally our church service this morning. All went well. The first two got more audience participation than the third. The third one got more comments of appreciation. I often wonder if those positive comments would continue if preaching were my job or if they would turn to criticism.
Next week I fly to Red Deer to speak to a group of sales people. I’m not ready for that one so I may need to do it on the plane. That event will end the spring speaking tour.
