Deciding on sermon series is no longer on my plate. Now, I am on the other side of the pulpit, a parishioner in the pew pulling up to the table to be fed.

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3, NKJV)

In retirement I have not so much switched roles as I have changed vantage points, from pulpit to pew. In my brief stints on a pastoral staff I would preach periodically, but for the bulk of my pastoral ministry I would step into the pulpit on a weekly basis.

My approach was to preach through books of the Bible, typically alternating between Old and New Testaments. I mixed it up a bit around Christmas by pulling together Advent series. It’s amazing to me that I was able to come up with 28 different themes, ranging from prophecies from Isaiah to Luke’s nativity narrative to incarnation-related passages from the epistles. One year I preached on passages related to the four stanzas of Joy to the World!

Deciding on sermon series is no longer on my plate. Now, I am on the other side of the pulpit, a parishioner in the pew pulling up to the table to be fed.

In these days of COVID-19 quarantine the pew has taken a different form. I remember seeing a cartoon where church attendance increased when recliners were installed to replace the pews. Well, that has come to pass and perhaps it has increased attendance by drawing people to livestreaming services who might not ordinarily attend.

Another phenomenon that home church (not to be confused with a house church) has provided has been the ability to attend church services out of driving distance or that we might not have opportunity to attend.

Sitting in the “pew,” listening to different preachers brought me to a realization, perhaps even a conviction. A sermon must nourish the soul by delving into the text to reveal the mind and heart of God.

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