The Needy Preacher

Some sermon messages come easy...(or perhaps I should say easier) because I've definitely experienced the topic and can pass along wisdom gained from it. Some are harder to deliver because I'm currently learning them as I write them to preach them. Of course though the hardest messages I must preach are the ones I don't think I need. (Go ahead and laugh, you're allowed. It is a silly thought after all, and worthy of a giggle at the least.) Martin Luther said that "we preach best what we need most" and it's in times when I have these ridiculous thoughts of having "solved" a particular issue or "dealt" with a particular problem in my life and have nothing else to learn from it that i need that quote most. I have a confession to make, and it may not shock you as it shocked me when I fully came to realize it. Ready? Here goes. Deep breath aaaaaand exhale... I need Jesus. Everyday. Always. I cannot outgrow the gospel... and I will never "arrive", this side of heaven. That's why the Bible talks about the Christian life as a long distance run where we must "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith..." Keep my eyes on Jesus...keep running...stay in my lane, don't look around at others or get caught in the comparison game...keep running my race that He has set before me. As I grow and mature as a Christ follower I've come to realize one thing more and more...I am a needy person. And what I truly need is Jesus, and Him alone. So I seek to shake of the sin that so easily entangles me and keep running with my eyes on the one who's never lost a staring match. I am honored that the Lord has given me a platform to speak into teenagers lives, and preaching is one avenue that I am able to do that. May it be said of me after my final breath that I was both faithful to my calling, and lived a life fully dependent on my God. The Needy Preacher, Josh Mixtape Monday #2 - "Songs of Autumn"