One of the elders at church commented to me that he could see the benefit of my college doctrine lectures coming through in my content. Now, not to speak down college, we have probably only spent about 2 hours one Monday afternoon 12 months ago looking specifically at 'mankind'. In fact, doctrine has been one of the most surprising flops so far in my college experience. Three hours straight on one day squeezed into a single semester, meant we regularly covered multiple topics each week, or topics across weeks. I felt it never got to hang in the air, and so I never really got a chance to ponder too much upon the systematics. In terms of the sermon, by far the biggest influence on the content was my time as a university student as we studied Genesis in detail every other year.
Thank you also to everyone who commented on my post last week. If sermons were footnoted, you would all have had a superscript number placed beside your name written in tiny font.
In some ways I felt like it was a rip-off sermon. I mean, I didn't download someone else's talk and fudge it as my own. And I didn't really direct quote anyone. It was more that I can see the influence of those who have taught me coming through. I guess this is what's supposed to happen as we learn. That we are filled with the bits of pieces of our knowledge of God, and it gets pieced together in our minds by the Spirit teaching us, and then somehow at the end of it we have a relationship with God that is not based on any knowledge which is dramatically new, but that which is a direct byproduct of those who have entrusted the message to us. And yet this 'new' understanding in my mind occurs in a way where it would be possible to trace each thought back to its original source.
I think there might be something profound in what I'm realising here. I'm not sure what it is, but it feels deep. I think I'm having a moment.
Is it sad that I know who the guy in the picture on this post is?
ReplyDeleteIt is my subtle nod to a bygone era. And yes, I wondered if anyone would comment.
ReplyDeleteI thought some people might think it was a picture of me preaching with a sock puppet (perhaps a Halloween children's talk?)
And it's not that sad, it just shows your age. What is truly sad, is that the wrestler was one of the first things that popped into my head when I read the email saying I was speaking on 'Mankind'.
I reckon the best theology is done in community. The times I learnt the most was tossing things around, brainstorming, summarising and answering tough questions in our 'study group'.
ReplyDeleteYou could have pulled out socko on a recalcitrant sleeper in the front row.
ReplyDelete