A Heads-Up From The Real Service Planner.

At Bronx Bethany yesterday, we had the joy of seeing and hearing Reverend Dr. Donovan Thomas, our beloved friend and occasional guest speaker. Dr. Donovan, though, “enjoyed” an additional experience: the trepidation of having the Lord change his agenda on the spot. As he sat in worship for Sunday’s second service, the Lord instructed him to preach a different sermon than the one he had prepared and already preached in the first service. [By way of explanation, Bronx Bethany has a tradition of conducting "identical services" for the English-language services on Sundays.]

For ministers, this can often be a wrenching moment. Aside from the “lost work” of having prepared a sermon (and accompanying PowerPoint presentation) that God then tells you not to use, there is the concern of preaching without really knowing where the Lord might take you (and the accompanying risk of looking incompetent or under-prepared). We are blessed that our speaker obeyed God, and we trust that God had His own reasons for sharing different messages with each set of attendees.

That said, I am not sure how the Lord will have me approach the blog posts for this week. I don’t know yet if there will be posts from just one sermon, or from both. But I do know what He would have us do for today.

Today, I’d like to encourage us to read the Scriptures that were central to each message:

Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of Habakkuk (First Service);

Luke chapter 1 (Second Service).

O Lord, our great God, You are never obligated to do the same thing in the same way. Give us grace to wait on You, ears to hear Your voice, and hearts to joyfully obey Your commands.