Summer Planning
I have been spending some time this week working on long range planning. So much of this year had been very goal or deadline oriented that I haven’t had a lot of time for creativity. I am now considering sermon planning for the summer. In the past, I have tried to do some creative or unusual sermon series. Last year, I did “God and the Cosmos” and invited the entire church to the planetarium at Jenks High school. I really loved that series as we considered the Holy One and science in the same breaths. One of my favorite summertime series was “Bizarre Bible Stories” where I preached on topics that no one ever preaches on. The music staff were not happy with me for that series!
The other thing that I consider as I pray over where God is leading is the needs of the community. What things are people struggling with? What impact is the world having on our spirits? What pain or heartache are we carrying together? These questions have led me to consider preaching on hope. How do we find it when life is hard? How can hope inform our daily lives. Another thing that I have considered is journeys. Some of us have loved ones in a transition. Those transitions could be graduation, marriage, job changes and relocations. With the 100th anniversary of Route 66 this year, Biblical journeys seems like a good idea. Maybe we could go to the Drive In Movies as a group? It is one of my favorite summer activities.
Next week, I will be spending the middle of the week sleeping in a treehouse overlooking Table Rock Lake as Jon and I have a few days of vacation. I need rest and recovery from the illness and pace of my life for a few days. I wonder if I will be inspired to dive into the lake stories of Jesus? There are so many to pick from and they are deeply profound. Many of us have found life to feel like a shaky and uncertain boat ride. (I will not be taking my cell phone with me so please call the church office if you need something.)
As I pray about the way forward and where God is leading me to preach, I ask you to pray for me as well. If you have great ideas or something that you wish someone would preach about, reach out. There is no guarantee that I will do it this summer but I will definitely put it in my file of possibilities. These next two Sundays we will be exploring resurrection appearances by Jesus and those are always fun.
If you would like to vote for a summer sermon series idea or submit your own, click here.
I love you and God loves you,
