Taking time to listen

Well of course the Rays couldn't take my praise and lost last night to the Yankees 2-1. That's what happens when little guys like me put enormous pressure on them.

Anyhow, one of the points of my last sermon was to know that the joy Christ offers is grounded in objective reality. It's not true joy because it makes us happy (there are plenty of happy folks that don't know Jesus), but true joy because Christ has legitimate, objective worth. It is of the utmost importance that we continue to delve into deeper knowledge of Him (why we should have this joy) and how/where He will build His Kingdom through us if we are to maintain that joy in the face of either hardship or skeptics.

We obviously do this-though it has to be intentional and with faith-through fellowship, the word, prayer, sacraments. But another way is reading, or listening to sermons, talks, lectures, discussions. It probably sounds boring to some, but especially for those who don't like to read or have time to read, these aforementioned resources though the internet/Ipod can be of great help. You can kill two birds with one stone: I'll drive, work in the yard, or clean the bathroom with these talks/sermons. Many of the speakers are quite engaging, particularly if the audio comes from a conference: conferences tend to not get boring folks to speak!

Here is a link of talks/lectures (I hesitate to use the word "lecture," because lecture seems so academic and these are not) from the Gospel Coalition Conference of 2007 that I have begun to listen to. I definitely commend to you the talk on "Mentoring Lay Leaders" by Harry Reeder and John Yates.