Reflections
It is hard to believe I haven’t blogged in three (3) months. Nevertheless, here I am. God be praised for the journey.
The last time I wrote, I had just begun my preaching series through the 7 churches of Revelation. This past Sunday, August 30, 2017, I finally concluded. One commitment I made during the process is to not break the series. By God’s grace, I did not. Whenever I stood in the pulpit of Shiloh, the Lord allowed me to continue, amid the challenges of working through the texts, holidays, personal desires not to cover certain issues (i.e.-Jezebel), I forged ahead. During the course of this study, I received a couple of reminders of how there seemed to be no love entailed in my sermons. One brother who has become near and dear to me noted that he had to duck and dodge as I preached. Someone expressed that they had felt that perhaps God was not pleased with them. At first, I felt bad regarding such comments while going through the series. But then I had to remember Christ’s aim in the Book of Revelation: REPENT!
One of the most difficult things, in being a preacher, is communicating to the hearers how hard it hits us before it ever reaches the pulpit. I am convinced that it must touch us if it will ever touch anyone else. It has also challenged me to work harder and do better in communicating the love of God, even in the hard passages. The fact it – Revelation (as it relates to the 7 churches) doesn’t mention the love of God. But I hope to always communicate that God’s love is present from Genesis to Revelation. Therefore, I am always grateful for ways to become a better communicator of God’s Word.
This week, in the midst of my pastoral duties, I’ve been working my way through the three parables tucked away in Luke 15. However, I think I am going to preach a couple of messages on encouragement before I delve into dealing with God’s love for the lost. My hope and prayer is to do better on this platform; and chronicle my journey in my pastorate, marriage and parenthood without getting myself in any trouble. I am learning that the people we least expect often peer into (and sometimes misinterpret) the things you intended to purely help someone understand the journey… I hope and pray to continue that dialogue here….all for the glory of God.
Kraig Lowell Pullam 