Preach It Girl!

This past weekend I got the opportunity to preach at my home congregation, Zion Lutheran in Anoka, MN and it was quite a trip! First of all, I have been a member of my church since I came to America when I was a baby. I was baptized there and confirmed there and it's my home in every sense of the word. So, being asked to preach by the senior pastor was quite an honor. It's also kind of scary because I've known many of the members for years and you want to do a good job because I felt like I needed to prove it to myself and others that I could get up in front of all these people and get the job done.

It was quite the process writing this sermon and I'll be honest, it was hard. There was just a lot more pressure than usual (most of this pressure was from me, just so we're clear). Plus, preaching to around 1000 people at three different services in a large sanctuary is quite different than preaching before 8 friends and your prof in a small chapel. But, it got done, I got good feedback from a trusted friend, and went with what I had.

Sunday... It went really well! Better than I could have hoped for. I got a wonderful reception from the congregation, people gave me great feedback and seemed to really get something out of it, and I knew that the Holy Spirit was there in a big way. I was told content was good which was most important to me. I talked too fast (which is a bad habit of mine) and need to work a bit on delivery. So, it's been a great learning experience.

I did leave feeling incredibly blessed as well. To know that I have people at home praying for me as I venture out to NC, well, it makes a huge difference. And to have all that encouragement before I go out and do this "for real" in a congregation that will get to hear me preach once a week. I feel very heartened by this experience and will take it with me as one of the highlights of the summer.

p.s. I preached on Ephesians 3:14-21 and Christian identity. It's a great passage, you should look it up!