From the beginning of my life as a blogger, I have always sought to share my life and what God is doing in it. Preaching is an enigma to most people. The average person who listens to sermons gets up, goes to church, hears a sermon–and probably has no idea how that sermon came to be. While I can’t speak for others, I can show you how the sermon I preached this morning came to be–and through the convenience of mp3s, you can even listen to the final product.

Stage 1: Reading & Praying
I read the Bible–and I love to study it. It’s the primary way God speaks to me. When I read it, often passages stand out. When they do, I write them in my journal. (I use a journal with removable pages so it’s easy to move things around into different categories–sermons, potential series, thoughts for my small group, etc.) Often I’ll go back through the journal and an entry might make its way into a sermon. In this case, which is typical for me, I wrote down a passage and just couldn’t stop thinking about it for several weeks. I would read it often and jot questions and thoughts in the margin of my journal. At the same time, I began to read Bible Dictionaries, Commentaries and Theological Journals. (Because that’s the way God wired me!)

Stage 2: Outlining
Since the opportunity to speak was coming up, I began to flesh out an outline. As I outline what I’m going to say, I continue to pray for clarity of thought with the passage and insight into what the people who will be there need to hear from God. As I do that, I begin to outline the message and put extra thoughts in the margins. (Please excuse my poor penmanship!)

Stage 3: Finish the Outline
In our church, we hand out outlines for the message. So I type it up and email it to the person who prints them and puts them in the bulletin. I have been intentionally low tech up to this point–except for digital commentaries, etc. I prefer handwritten notes in my journal while praying and developing sermons. Normally I like to type my own outline at this step because it is easier to edit–and I like to see how it lays out on the paper. Since we use an 8.5 x 11″ piece of paper cut in two,there are two pages to the outline.

Stage 4: Organizing my Notes into the Outline
Although I have been thinking and praying about the message for quite a while by now, I have to decide what will make my notes for the sermon. I don’t like to script everything out so that I’m tied to the pulpit. And, of course, when preaching, often God brings things to mind during the sermon.

Stage 5: Pray and Preach!
Nothing is more important than our relationship with God–especially when preaching! So, I just enjoy His presence in my life and continue to pray…and here’s the final product…

IntoTheDeep.mp3

Nobody sets out to live a life full of regrets—never fulfilling their God-given dreams. Although a life following Jesus begins with excitement, it often becomes routine for many believers. Mark Batterson identifies the “cages” that keep people from living fully and experiencing the unpredictable adventure for which they are destined. Throughout the book, he encourages believers to pursue their God-given dreams, passions and goals—while giving practical advice to finding and discerning God’s will within those dreams and goals.

Much like his preaching, Batterson has a knack for writing in a thoughtful, clear, entertaining style. He authors a narrative filled with real life examples of people chasing the Wild Goose, living dangerously and finding fulfillment as they fulfill God’s purpose for their lives—contrasting examples of those who didn’t.

Buy this book for: college students/young adults looking for direction, those going through the quarter-life crisis, people craving a life of adventure—and yourself. Leave assumptions behind, unleash the Spirit within you and become dangerous to the enemy as you recapture the adventure of a life following the Holy Spirit! As Batterson says, “chase the Wild Goose, He will take you places you never could have imagined going by paths you never knew existed.”

Check out the book’s website for more info and “Mark’s 10 Steps to Setting Life Goals” (free download after your purchase)…and, since the publisher was nice enough to send me 2 copies, be the first to leave a comment or facebook me if you want my extra copy.

Summary:
“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” –from the Introduction.

Author’s Bio:
Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of Washington, DC’s National Community Church, widely recognized as one of America’s most innovative churches. NCC meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the city, as well as in a church-owned coffee house near Union Station. More than seventy percent of NCC’ers are single twentysomethings who live or work on Capitol Hill. Mark is the author of the best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and a widely read blogger (www.markbatterson.com). He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and their three children.

God created us as relational beings—we naturally want friends and relationships.

mySpace—Facebook—myChurch
I am on all three “social networks” so I can connect with people. I love getting “friend requests” and connecting with new people or old friends. But there’s definitely a dark side to the web and what one can see on sites like mySpace. While we can argue about whether Jesus would be on mySpace, but we can also see how God becomes flesh and enters our space. John 1: 14 reveals that He’s become part of mySpace…OurSpace…. God, in the person of Jesus, came to “friend request” us.

Everything in Xnty hinges on Jesus—it’s what separates us from other religions. Jesus is not just a prophet, wise man, etc. He is the centerpiece of Christian faith and who He is affects everything we know about God

Colossians 1:15-19 reveals that if we want to see, know understand God the Father, we need to look at Jesus—who loves us & pursues (friend requests) us.
Jesus is special: 2 natures—human and divine
Some of us don’t have a problem admitting his divinity…it’s the other part of his nature that is hard for some people to comprehend at times, but Jesus was human too (Philippians 2:6-8).

For a time, Jesus gave up his position and humbled himself, took on Humanity and “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). If Jesus is really human—then we can admit we are too.

We clean the house when guests are coming, but friends know how you live. We can’t be ‘super spiritual’ and don’t have to “because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18).” and Jesus calls us friends ( John 15:14-15) when we follow Him. We don’t need to impress Jesus (or others) with how spiritual we are, we need to run to him.

When we deny the humanity of Jesus, we teach ourselves that to be human is to be the opposite of spiritual. Jesus was as spiritual as we can be, but he was also fully human. We don’t want to embrace a lifestyle that embraces sin (Romans 6:1-4), but we can admit that we all struggle and fall. Jesus understands (Hebrews 4:15).

Discussion Questions:
The Bible teaches that Jesus is fully human and fully God. Which part is easiest for you to understand or emphasize? Is it easy to emphasize certain aspects of who Jesus is and ignore others?

Have you, or someone you know, ever felt the need to be “super spiritual” and deny the struggles people go through—anger, depression, etc.? Why do some people seem to think that not having struggles makes them more spiritual?

Read John 15:14-15. Describe your best friend growing up. What was your relationship like? Do we spend time with Jesus? Are we often in a hurry to get through our time with Him in order to get to something else? What does this tell us about our relationship with Jesus? If you’re bored, tired, just ‘blah’ or losing ground in your relationship with Jesus, what can you do to get back on track?

Read Philippians 2:5-11. Everything we want to avoid—pain, loss, hurt—is what Jesus chose for himself when he became like us. Why would he do that? When we suffer, our comfort is in that he lived, suffered, died and rose again. We have a “high priest” who can sympathize with our suffering. How is that comforting?

Bonus: Let us know what you’re thinking…
What things are hard for you to understand about Jesus? Does Jesus ever seem different to you than the God of the Old Testament? Post your struggles/questions or email me.

The main ideas of series: You are a Minister—not about a title (our human nature often makes us want one), but about living the calling God has on your life. Everyone has a ministry (place of service) where God calls them. Check out Ephesians 2:10 to see what I mean.

Growing up, I had a mechanical monkey that pretty much only did one thing: clap. (Except when it was broken!) That’s what it was wired for—and that’s what it did. God has wired us for a purpose–we’re meant to do something.

Recently, I read on a Chipotle cup: “if your life’s work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you’re not thinking big enough.”

We’re hardwired to love, serve & know God—if you are a believer, it is our second nature.

Psalm 139 reads, in part…
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:14

If we want to get into the game, we need to know what position to play
To know what position to play, we need to know how we were built.

A guitar chord is a combination of notes all played at the same time. It sounds best when all the right notes are played together. (In other words, when I’m not the one playing!) Just as each note contributes to the chord, each unique thing about how God created us contributes to how He has created us to serve. If we’re looking to get into the game, we need to use all the notes in the chord. We’ve talked about passion (holy discontent), personality (during VBS) and we’re now looking at talents.

talent: “a skill or ability placed in the core of your being, designed to enable you to fulfill your God intended purpose.”

In order to maximize our God-given talents, we need to:

Embrace how God created you
—instead of coveting the talents of others
Two Wolves

One evening an man told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, adultery, lust, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old man simply replied, “The one you feed.”

We need to feed the right wolf!
1. generally we need to choose what is right
2. learn to be satisfied and EMBRACE who God created us to be
–not who He created someone else to be
–not who we sometimes want to be
–not who we settle for being

Take time to develop talents so you’ll be ready

Use your talents, but rely on God

The talent you use at work may not be the one you use to serve/minister in church or to others.

How do I find my talents?

Discerning Questions:
What do you do well?
What interests you?
What do you enjoy doing? What brings you a lot of satisfaction?
What have you always wanted to do?

Sometimes our talents get labeled as weaknesses…
o Bossy—strong leader
o Over talkative—tells great stories
o Workaholic—exceptional producer
o Unrealistic person—dreamer that can inspire

I just can’t help, but wonder:
What if we used talents…what if we ALL used our God-given talents…

What do you do well?
I have the ability to consistently ______________ very well.
___________ has the ability to _______________ very well.

Challenge:
Find your talents and use them to serve God and others.
Good Books:
What Now by Marc Estes
Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
In the Meantime by Rob Brendle
(who I once saw at Wahoo’s while eating tacos with my friend Nate in Colorado Springs)