Last Sunday was a good Sunday in worship. At least for me. I really enjoy the Sundays where God speaks to me through others, and where I can tangibly see how the Spirit has worked on me and I’ve listened.
We’re continuing our series on doing what Jesus did, looking at Luke 5: 27-32, when Jesus partied with the wrong people and got in trouble with the Pharisees. First service, I pretty much shared what I had prepared. But near the end, I felt like I finally got it, I finally got what God was leading me to share. So second and third ended up much different. I mostly left my notes, had several examples come to mind that hadn’t been there before, and felt like this was what I was supposed to share.
I’ve always been curious about what happens in the process of preparing to speak and speaking. I’ve blogged about it before in various ways. I always try my best to prepare in advance by listening carefully to the Holy Spirit, and to be aware in the moment that God may change that or even just have me be silent. This time, since for me it was an obvious change prompted by the Spirit, I did something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I listened to the recording from our second service and transcribed it.
The biggest “a-ha” was realizing how often I say “and” and how many run on sentences I speak… 🙂 But then I went through and compared what I actually said with what I had prepared, and that was quite interesting to me.
I feel a little weird about this, but I think there might be some others who are interested in this, too. So I’m posting both versions here on the blog, in case you want to look at the similarities and differences. I went through each one and highlighted the places that are the same in both versions. If it’s bold and in red, it’s pretty much word for word what I had prepared. If it’s italics and in blue, it’s more or less a paraphrase of what I had prepared. This Sunday what I prepared and what I said was more different than most Sundays.
Anyway, for those who are curious, here’s what I had prepared, and here’s what I actually said.
Thanks Gregg for taking time to review last Sunday’s services. I was blessed/challenged again as I read what you shared. I know that GOING and DOING what Jesus told to do has been a cosistant priority for you. At best we seem to be slow learners. At worst, non-doers??
Dave Woolsey