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Listen while you read: "Saviour Like A Shepherd Lead Us"1 (Lyrics) |
2 Timothy 4:1-2 – I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (ESV)
It was a typical Sunday morning with a full house ready for worship. The singing and music were uplifting, the prayers were heartfelt, and God was obviously moving by His Spirit. What wasn't typical was the fact that I had had an unusually long, stressful week, and the sermon didn't go as well as I had hoped, both in preparation and delivery. By God's grace, I made it through the service and walked to the main entrance to greet the congregation as we shook hands and encouraged each other at the beginning of a new week.
As the final few people were leaving, a prominent member of our congregation looked me straight in the eye and said, "Well, that's the worst sermon I have ever heard you preach." He was right, of course, but I don't remember my response, if there was a response. I do remember feeling emotionally exhausted and humbled as my mind raced in all directions to come to grips with what I had just heard. By the following Sunday, I had come to the conclusion that rather than being a failure for me, this was a wake-up call. I didn't quit the ministry, but rather chose to be back in the pulpit to preach the Word because I had received a charge from God to do so.
In today's verses, Paul was encouraging Timothy to preach the Word even when the truth is awkward, difficult, or resisted. Timothy was to focus his ministry on communicating God's revealed truth as the Holy Spirit guarded his heart and mind while he maintained complete patience and teaching to reach their hearts.
Paul was reminding both you and me that serving as a pastor, ministry leader, musician, singer, usher, children's worker, or whatever we do in Christian ministry, we are to do it as a child of God enjoying a healthy relationship with Him, which becomes the foundation for everything which flows from our ministry.
Prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name as we gather in prayer to express our heartfelt gratitude for pastors and all those who tirelessly serve Your people. We ask for Your grace to renew their sense of purpose each day. May their steps be guided by Your divine wisdom, and may they find strength in Your Word through the Holy Spirit. We thank You for all those who are involved in and support Christian ministry and for the profound impact that they have on our lives as they navigate the challenges of ministry. Grant them a clear vision of the lives they touch and the life-changing role that they play. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!
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daughter: "Update May 12, 2025: Please keep praying for my daughter. She needs the Lord in her life*** April..." 
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Keep up the good work, Stephen.
May this be our prayer for those who serve in ministry.
Pastoral leadership is a challenge, but the Good Shepherd is with you.
A wonderful message, devotion. Thank you and Blessings to you always.
Thanks Stephen, very good devotional, as yours always are, encouraging. Blessings.
Many thanks Stephen for your positive and encouraging words today. It is so important that there are “workers” who are dedicated to do the work of spreading the Lord’s word out to others. People like you and the many others who take the time to write devotionals are such a blessing in our daily lives. May you continue to share God’s love and care through your spoken and written words.
Oh. My goodness, Stephen, you were “preaching” to me today. Our small Presbyterian Church in Texas, USA, has been without any children for a while. We now have three and sometimes five who come for Sunday School and worship, and here I am in my 80’s teaching Sunday School again. I needed a reminder that what I am doing is a blessing and not a worry. Thank you for writing…and perhaps for the member of your congregation who spoke so frankly to you!
(Texas)
Hi,
Thank you for another devotional to start my day.
It would be interesting to tabulate how many sermons you have preached throughout all your years of ministry. And to have only preached 1 where someone gave you that feedback but there were probably many more times when you had long stressful weeks, and yet gave a successful delivery. Because God called you, he also equipped you.
I also liked your prayer today.
Thanks for starting my day with me!
Hi Steven,
As a pastor for 40 years (now retired), I can relate to your experience.
Of the hundreds of sermons I preached, by definition, one of them was my best and another was my worst!
Sometimes I got to Saturday night and I realized that the sermon I had been working on all week was not going to be my best. It didn’t feel great preaching it.
On the other hand, I felt God’s power in many that I did preach and prayed that the good and it’s teaching outweighed the bad.
How demoralizing, unforgiving, and rude was your parishioner who made that negative comment.
It sounds like you were gracious and forgiving in your response.
Continued blessing in your ministry,
(BC)
Thank you, Stephen, for sharing a difficult moment with a difficult church member! A good lesson for all of us.
We have a woman at our church who believes it’s her duty to point out every flaw in the sermon, the failure of the sound system to amplify sufficiently for her to hear, and the fact the service went five minutes overtime. She is brutally honest about everything. But she is the first to volunteer for tasks in the kitchen and is always willing to lend a hand. So we love her anyway.
Maybe she is our wake-up call.