Keep your egos in check or He will! (Forgive me, this was supposed to be published under WORDS)
One Easter Sunday it was my turn to present the Children's Sermon. Having forgotten this until Saturday morning I panicked. I had to present a sermon relative to the season and appropriate for children from toddlers to pre-teens. I had to provide visual aids and make an effective delivery.
After searching several children's teaching aids for an acceptable sermon and failing to find anything, I knew I would have to create something original and provide my own visuals. I sat at the computer and prayed for God's help and finally came up with a short but very informative sermon about the true reason for Easter. I asked my nine-year-old granddaughter, who is a wonderful artist, to paint a picture of an empty cross and an empty tomb. It was just what I needed for my visual aid.
I sat down and pounded out what I considered a very good sermon. I read it over and over, thinking, "Hey, this isn't bad for having no time to prepare." Each time I read it, and felt a tinge of pride, I also felt a warning from the Holy Spirit that I was in danger of taking credit for God's work. I had been warned.
I fought myself all day Saturday as I struggled to memorize most of the sermon and practiced reading it in dramatic way that sounded natural yet commanding. The notion that I had written a good message kept popping up in the middle of my rehearsal. Oh, dear, I needed more warnings.
I have to admit that I did let my pride have its way, once too often indulging myself in a fantasy that had all the church members congratulating me after the service, and all the children telling their parents how great their sermon was that morning. God was going to get me.
After I delivered the sermon, which I thought I did fairly well, my 10 year old niece, who loves nothing better than to point out my faults, said in full voice, "Philly, you were showing your boobs to the whole church!" That of course, brought snickers from the congregations, but guffaws from the front row where my three children ages 18-28 sat. They told me after church that they too saw what niece Hannah had seen and were busting their buttons trying not to laugh out loud during my sermon. Meanwhile, my granddaughter Valerie was agreeing loudly with Hannah that I had been flashing the church the whole time I was delivering the serious message about the death and resurection of Christ.
Glowing like a ruby, I looked down at my top and it had plenty of buttons, but when I moved a certain way, it gapped open at just the wrong spots so that anyone within 10 feet could see whether I wore Playtex or Victoria's Secret, and just how many rolls of fat there were between my top and bottom pieces of underwear!
I was sufficiently embarrassed by God's manner of reprimand for taking credit for His work, and was reminded that the consequences of being proud can be very painful for me, while being a delight for others.
I was reminded of what Valerie had told me at a department store recently that made me laugh out loud at her and caused her embarrassment. We were there with two of her friends (boys) to buy socks and she pulled me aside in the underwear department and told me, "Mammy, you've got to get me something to control these bosoms!"
Well, she had the last laugh on Mammy because in church on easter Sunday in front of hundreds of people, Mammy's bosoms were completely out of control!
After I
Poetry by Phyllis J. Rhodes
Read 508 times
Written on 2006-09-19 at 22:18
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Ego In Church: A Booby Trap
Embarrassing moments keep us humble and help keep things in perspective. To keep me from forgetting to remember not to take credit for things God does through me by way of what I've written, said or done God waits around with great expectations for an opportunity to put me in my place.One Easter Sunday it was my turn to present the Children's Sermon. Having forgotten this until Saturday morning I panicked. I had to present a sermon relative to the season and appropriate for children from toddlers to pre-teens. I had to provide visual aids and make an effective delivery.
After searching several children's teaching aids for an acceptable sermon and failing to find anything, I knew I would have to create something original and provide my own visuals. I sat at the computer and prayed for God's help and finally came up with a short but very informative sermon about the true reason for Easter. I asked my nine-year-old granddaughter, who is a wonderful artist, to paint a picture of an empty cross and an empty tomb. It was just what I needed for my visual aid.
I sat down and pounded out what I considered a very good sermon. I read it over and over, thinking, "Hey, this isn't bad for having no time to prepare." Each time I read it, and felt a tinge of pride, I also felt a warning from the Holy Spirit that I was in danger of taking credit for God's work. I had been warned.
I fought myself all day Saturday as I struggled to memorize most of the sermon and practiced reading it in dramatic way that sounded natural yet commanding. The notion that I had written a good message kept popping up in the middle of my rehearsal. Oh, dear, I needed more warnings.
I have to admit that I did let my pride have its way, once too often indulging myself in a fantasy that had all the church members congratulating me after the service, and all the children telling their parents how great their sermon was that morning. God was going to get me.
After I delivered the sermon, which I thought I did fairly well, my 10 year old niece, who loves nothing better than to point out my faults, said in full voice, "Philly, you were showing your boobs to the whole church!" That of course, brought snickers from the congregations, but guffaws from the front row where my three children ages 18-28 sat. They told me after church that they too saw what niece Hannah had seen and were busting their buttons trying not to laugh out loud during my sermon. Meanwhile, my granddaughter Valerie was agreeing loudly with Hannah that I had been flashing the church the whole time I was delivering the serious message about the death and resurection of Christ.
Glowing like a ruby, I looked down at my top and it had plenty of buttons, but when I moved a certain way, it gapped open at just the wrong spots so that anyone within 10 feet could see whether I wore Playtex or Victoria's Secret, and just how many rolls of fat there were between my top and bottom pieces of underwear!
I was sufficiently embarrassed by God's manner of reprimand for taking credit for His work, and was reminded that the consequences of being proud can be very painful for me, while being a delight for others.
I was reminded of what Valerie had told me at a department store recently that made me laugh out loud at her and caused her embarrassment. We were there with two of her friends (boys) to buy socks and she pulled me aside in the underwear department and told me, "Mammy, you've got to get me something to control these bosoms!"
Well, she had the last laugh on Mammy because in church on easter Sunday in front of hundreds of people, Mammy's bosoms were completely out of control!
After I
Poetry by Phyllis J. Rhodes
Read 508 times
Written on 2006-09-19 at 22:18
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text
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