If you write and ask for it I will send you a copy of the sermon as it stands on Friday afternoon. Understand it will be a very rough draft and the final sermon will undergo much scrutiny and re-writing. If you want me to send you a copy I am happy to do that.
The sermon is taking some shape today and it seems to focus two contrasting thoughts. In the dog days of summer we think about our lives and we add things up in a manner that may cause us concern.
There are times in the heat of the summer when we think about the renewal of activities in the fall and we ponder the question, "What now?" What can possibly happen next? What will we face and how will we face it? Things can go from bad to worse and they can go from worse to terrible.
The question about the future can be answer by withdrawing in fear or by facing the future with hope and anticipation. We can accept what will happen as a challenge and look forward to it. God is with us and when God is with us there is nothing we need to fear facing.
What now? as a question yields to "Wait now" as a response. We discover our own strengths and face the future with a sense of adventure and challenge and then we remember that things do change and always they change for the better if we wait long enough. "Wait now" is an appropriate response to the dog days of summer and it enables us to be cool cats in the dog days of summer. If we "wait now" when we are worried about "what now" there is a surprise for us and we can look forward to it.
We can use the down time, the slow time to think about how we will face the hard time and the fast pace.
That's how I see it. If you have thoughts or if you would like to receive a copy of the sermon on Friday email me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you would like to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
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