Every Church I have led has had a person or a group of people who continually tell me they are having trouble hearing me preach.

Without exception, every one of these people has sat in the back row during worship. They would consistently pick the farthest point from the stage. Then regularly, they would tell me how I should speak up or that our sound system needed to be turned up louder. 

Several issues might be causing this problem. First, some people need to have their hearing checked or upgrade their hearing aids. But that is cost prohibitive for many older adults. Another issue is noise coming from some other source in the auditorium. Distractions can come from people getting up and down, coughing, or a baby crying. I have no control over those areas, but I understand they impact others’ ability to hear. Finally, I know there are mornings that our sound system is set a little low for some people to hear, and we could turn up the volume. 

I try to be gracious with everyone who complains about the sound. I do understand issues occur that make hearing difficult. My response is usually, “I am sorry, and I will look into how we can make it better.”

In every case, I have found that a straightforward solution seems to miss everyone. That is for the person to sit closer to the front so you can hear better. From there, you will listen to my actual voice and not what comes through the sound system. There are always chairs available near the front, and my words are always audible.   

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the ones that allude us. We tend to blame someone or something else for our issues. We can overthink the problem and look for complex answers that don’t exist. We can miss that some effort on our part could be the answer to our problems. 

Often the best way to handle our hearing troubles is to change our behavior. That truth applies to so much more than listening to a sermon. 

Being a Christian is more than being present at a program each Sunday morning. 

It involves doing these things while you are there:

-Worshipping

-Fellowshipping

-Connecting with other believers

-Communing with God

-Learning God’s will and his word

-Serving others in the name of Jesus

-Teaching the next generation of believers

-Sharing our joys, hurts, and experiences

-Giving to the work of the Lord

-Welcoming new people to the faith and the Church

-Helping someone who needs help

-Being discipled in the way of Jesus

I am glad that many of you will attend a Church program this week, but if you are hoping to punch a card so you can go to heaven, you are entirely missing the point. 

The Bible tells us about the world’s end in apocalyptic language that can be hard to understand. It is incredibly complicated when you separate it from the rest of the Bible. However, I do believe with some effort and reading within the proper context, the mysteries of the end times can be understood. But it will not be easy to do. 

With that said, I want you to know that the goal of faith is not to spend our efforts trying to understand the mysteries of the end of the world so that we are ready for the day Jesus returns.

The goal of faith is to live out what you already know so that you are always prepared for the return of Jesus. The bridesmaids in Matthew chapter 25 needed to be ready for the groom to return at an unexpected hour. Christians must be equally prepared for Jesus’ return, but not through charts, graphs, and modern interpretation. They are to be ready by their obedience to the words of Jesus. 

Doomsday preparation is not about reading the times but about following Jesus with sincere faith. 

Often we look back and think, “What if?”

What if I had bought those stocks? What if I had taken that job? What if I went on that trip? What if I did that ministry? What if I started doing that years sooner?

It is easy to spend time thinking about all the missed opportunities of the past.

A better question than “What should we have done differently” is to ask ourselves, “What should we be doing now?” What opportunities will we look back on from today and feel a sense of regret?

Good things are going on all around us, and focusing on potential opportunities is far less maddening than replaying the past.

Sure, not everything will work out the way we hope, but we might be blessed by our effort. After all, we will never be able to rewrite the past; but the future is full of unlimited potential.

Please don’t compare my present life with your current situation.  

Also, don’t compare your past with my past.

Only compare my present situation against my past. If you do, you will see I am making progress in every area of my life. 

I may not be the person I want to be yet, but thank you, Jesus, that I am not the person I was once. 

I can preach from the Bible.

I can write blogs about all things related to faith. 

The Church can get teachers to lead classes on the Christian life. 

Leaders can put together groups for connection and opportunities for fellowship with other believers.

The people of the Church can provide childcare and godly instructions for young children within their care. 

We can purchase resources to give you, offer online training, and provide you with books to help you grow. 

The rest is up to you. 

If you are not learning, growing, and connecting. That might be on you. 

Looking back on my life, I had no idea what God was doing most of the time. 

God used activities and people to shape me when I had no idea. I didn’t acknowledge any of his work, but I see it now. 

Even the little things like listening to my dad tell me stories from Church board meetings have proven significant. The pain and the joy I experienced through loss and victory have molded my emotions. Conversations with mom, the aloof kid in youth group, and both of my siblings helped prepare me for what I am doing today. I could not have imagined any of it was significant at the moment. 

God is shaping you today in the seemingly insignificant things in your life. He has something great in store for you and is using today to prepare you for tomorrow. So listen and learn because one day, you can use all of this for his kingdom.

Recently I heard a woman describing her career path. She decided what she wanted to be in high school, chose a college to help her achieve her career goals, and then set out in full pursuit. She took internships that moved her in the right direction, part-time jobs to help her resume, and educated herself thoroughly in her field. Once she graduated college, she took her first job and started the career she had so long dreamed of for herself. 

Now she was a few years into her work, and she was unhappy. She was considering a job change when she said, “All the way along, I did not realize that I was eliminating other job possibilities with each step. Everything I did was to get me here and nowhere else.”

While they were words of disappointment for her, they also are encouraging words for many. The ruthless pursuit of their goals brought them to the current position of their lives. They are the doctor, accountant, lawyer, teacher, or whatever they dreamed they would be one day. This happened primarily because each step of their journey eliminated other possibilities. 

A life of faith is very similar. When we follow Jesus, each step should bring us closer to him and eliminate all other possibilities. The books you read, where you spend your time, the places you give your money, and the relationships you build should all be pointing you in one direction. 

Each life is the result of all the choices made along the journey. Are yours leading you closer to Jesus? 

Recovery is a process. Healing takes time. 

Whenever someone is hurting from anything, even their own sin or the sin of others, it is a painful experience. 

Once the initial pain goes away, then comes a period of much-needed aftercare. They will need follow-up visits, more prayer, open conversations, counseling, and the opportunity to heal emotionally. 

One failure I often see in the Christian community is that we are there for people when they hurt, and then we disappear. If the Church is like a hospital for sinners, then we need to understand there are levels of care. First, people will need an emergency room, then an intensive care unit, followed by a general population, and finally, some continued therapy. 

No one person can provide all these things, but people need all these things. The Church must work to bring people into a saving relationship with Jesus. Then we need to work together to provide the aftercare until they are able to return to independent living.

One major characteristic of introverts is that they are re-energized by time alone. People deplete them emotionally, and spending time in isolation brings them back to equilibrium. 

I know this is 100 percent true of me. 

With that said, when an introvert wants to move away from people, it has nothing to do with how they think or feel about other people.    

If I say, “this is not a good time for me,” or “I just have nothing left,” it usually means I am emotionally drained and will not be the best version of myself around you and others. What I mean is, “I care about you, but I need time to recharge my battery before we interact.”

The need for time alone is not a personal attack on others. 

When I tell people this, people who are introverts like me nod in agreement. Non-introverts do not believe me and feel like I am emotionally unavailable. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am being honest when I say, “It’s not you; it’s me.” 

Time alone enables introverts to handle social interactions; please don’t take it personally.