This sermon was a great surprise to me. I have had more comments from people about them needing to hear this message than any other sermon I have preached since being here. But at the same time, I talked with a couple of people who found it nearly irrelevant to where they were. Such is the nature of preaching.
To say that this sermon went in a direction I never intended would be a huge understatement. Knowing that king David had to be a part of this series, I challenged myself to find an episode in David’s life that would be unfamiliar to people. I found one that was unfamiliar to me too. And I wrestled with it all week (2 Samuel 16:5-14). I looked at parallel passages in 2 Samuel 19:15-23 and in 1 Kings 2:8, 9 that made this story more intricate than I had anticipated. Those continuations of the story ruled out the straight forward interpretation I had anticipated preaching. And by Saturday I found myself wondering what in the world God was going to reveal. (I find that much of sermon preparation involves “letting it happen”-waiting until God shines the light on some particular angle that becomes the focus. By Saturday I was like, “God, shine the light already!”).
Eventually I sensed the need to deal with the bitterness that invades the human heart when we are violated or offended by the actions of another. That bitterness makes for ugly, angry, and unhappy people. Shimei and David had been hurt by each other and those wounds festered and got ugly. So what do we do when we are offended, when our hearts get cut by the words or actions of another person? We repent. We go to the cross of Christ- the Great Offense of Humanity! We confront the grace of God that is the sole source of living in grace toward others.
I felt the need to preach without notes. Therefore, the sermon was a little different at each service. And when I was done I didn’t feel like it was one of my best homiletical moments. But boy was it needed. So many people resonated with David and Shimei. Who knew? I found myself praying prayers of praise as I drove home, thanking God for speaking to the very specific needs of folks at First Pres Ocean Springs. And I thanked God for moving me out of the way some to do it.
Pastor Scott
Click here to listen to the sermon
To say that this sermon went in a direction I never intended would be a huge understatement. Knowing that king David had to be a part of this series, I challenged myself to find an episode in David’s life that would be unfamiliar to people. I found one that was unfamiliar to me too. And I wrestled with it all week (2 Samuel 16:5-14). I looked at parallel passages in 2 Samuel 19:15-23 and in 1 Kings 2:8, 9 that made this story more intricate than I had anticipated. Those continuations of the story ruled out the straight forward interpretation I had anticipated preaching. And by Saturday I found myself wondering what in the world God was going to reveal. (I find that much of sermon preparation involves “letting it happen”-waiting until God shines the light on some particular angle that becomes the focus. By Saturday I was like, “God, shine the light already!”).
Eventually I sensed the need to deal with the bitterness that invades the human heart when we are violated or offended by the actions of another. That bitterness makes for ugly, angry, and unhappy people. Shimei and David had been hurt by each other and those wounds festered and got ugly. So what do we do when we are offended, when our hearts get cut by the words or actions of another person? We repent. We go to the cross of Christ- the Great Offense of Humanity! We confront the grace of God that is the sole source of living in grace toward others.
I felt the need to preach without notes. Therefore, the sermon was a little different at each service. And when I was done I didn’t feel like it was one of my best homiletical moments. But boy was it needed. So many people resonated with David and Shimei. Who knew? I found myself praying prayers of praise as I drove home, thanking God for speaking to the very specific needs of folks at First Pres Ocean Springs. And I thanked God for moving me out of the way some to do it.
Pastor Scott
Click here to listen to the sermon
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