Process

I'm working on a future sermon for Pilgrims.

It will be based on Romans 5:1-5:

"1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

I think this passage sums up my frustration with a lot of Paul's writing - what he says is good and valuable - but it's so wordy and text dense. I think this would get a C- in a Professor Thomas class. He says so much in each passage and never fully extrapolates any discernible theme. While he makes intriguing points, his work is entirely didactic and lacks a strong sense of catharsis. See - that analysis would have received at least an A- from Ms. Thomas.

I feel that I could spend 30 strong minutes unpacking this package for the students and that their lives really wouldn't profit much from it. I simply don't identify with Paul's writing because it lacks a narrative arc. Instead of the beautiful parables and stories of Jesus I read in the gospels, I hear the teacher from Peanuts when I read Paul's books. Waa, waa, waa, waa, waa.

And this passage is beautiful. It's beautifully intricate and succinctly teaches the process of Christian maturity. It just doesn't reach me in the same way that a story would.

So I'm struggling with how to present it.

I think I'm going to make giant posters with all of the different stages of spiritual growth and put them up around the worship space - maybe I could stand in front of each of them and share a story or two to give some examples.

I'll probably focus on the ideas of suffering, perseverance, and hope more than the other themes - primarily because I feel that these thematic elements are lacking in the personal theologies of some of the students(and like any good teacher, I'm teaching to the test!).

I'll probably talk about my weight loss (75 lbs in 3 years is slow and steady progress - but I'm clearly still on the journey so it works well) and show before and after pictures.

I'm just stuck - this isn't the type of passage that would stop me in my tracks - and need to buckle down and get some ideas flowing.

Any thoughts?