This past weekend I was away traveling on business. On Sunday night my wife picked me up at Midway Airport and we got home somewhere between 11:30 and midnight. She had taken a non-Christian friend to church with her. I had made it a point to attend church in the city where I was visiting.
In the car she asked about the sermon I heard and I had to confess that I couldn’t remember it all that well. So the next day I looked up the Psalm on which it was based and reread the text. The response it called for was one of praise, and I do recall the preacher saying that this was how the passage started and ended. He also explained the difference between the Hebrew word for bowing your knee as contrasted to the one that meant raising your hands in praise. But how those actions should mark my life wasn’t explained, and I found the message to be more academic than it was practical and motivational.
To be fair, I certainly got the impression that this pastor not only appreciated nature, but almost relished it. But I wouldn’t say that his mood was all that contagious, because the sermon never got to the place where God was enthusiastically praised for his creation as He is in the psalm.
“You have been going hard” my gracious wife told me. “Maybe you were tired?”
“Not really” I responded. I had a good night’s sleep on Saturday, I had time for prayer on Sunday morning, and, as usual, I went to church open to what the Lord might say to me. And, He did touch me through the music. But, this given Sunday the sermon just didn’t connect with where I was.
I believe it’s best to be honest about our evaluation of messages. Not overly critical, but honest. Too often we mouth nice things because we think it’s Christian to do so. But, if my wife had taken her non-Christian friend to the service I attended, I’m sure she would have come away with feelings similar to and probably stronger than mine.
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