So, today I finished up a weeklong course on Narrative Preaching. Myself, and 4 others in our half of the class got to preach, and listen to each other preach this morning.
I've never had, and will probably never have again, the opportunity to hear sermons from one chapter of scripture after the next. sermons on Genesis 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, in order, just one after the next, and it was amazing. I had the last one, and while everyone said they felt unprepared, I truly felt the least prepared. I was hoping my sermon would be at least good enough that no one would remember it. I was shooting for mediocre.
As a class, we discussed how important it is that it is God alone who works through preaching, and a successful sermon is not determined by how prepared or how well crafted it is, but on whether the Holy Spirit uses it to reach into peoples hearts. I think somehow, thats what happened.
Compared to the two times I went through it, I found myself speaking extraordinarily clearly, much more animated than I thought I would be, and found myself articulating and pulling together thoughts much better than I had planned.
When you feel neglected, abandoned, and forgotten by God, as Sarai did, waiting year after year after year for the child of the covenant God promised, God sees and hears, and knows and cares for our deepest desires.
Narrative Preaching was truly one of the best classes I've taken in all my 7 years of Bible College and seminary....
I got a ton out of that class when I took it too. Glad to hear how God is working in your life.