My First Sermon: Reflecting on November 1954

On a Sunday evening in November 1954, I drove the 13 miles from the farm where I lived with my parents and little sister to the Baptist church in the small town of Worth, Missouri. There I preached my first sermon. I was 16 years old and a senior in high school.  

LKS (1954)

Why would a boy be asked to preach? Those of you from many other Christian faith traditions likely think it strange that a boy who had celebrated his 16^th birthday only three months earlier would be asked to preach in a church worship service.  

Although not common, neither were such instances rare in the Baptist tradition. Regardless of age or lack of theological education, those who had felt “called” by God to be preachers/pastors were usually affirmed by their home church as well as by nearby churches with which they were associated.  

Back then, most Baptist churches had worship services every Sunday morning and evening. The attendance on Sunday evening was usually far less for the morning service. Probably only 20~25 people were there for that Nov. ’54 evening service at Worth Baptist Church. 

As a high school senior, of course, I had no formal theological education. But for more than eight years, every week with very few exceptions I had attended Sunday School, Sunday morning & evening worship services, and Wednesday evening prayer meetings. That was beneficial Bible/theological training. 

What would a boy preach about in his first sermon? Joe Wolven, my good friend and “best man” at June’s and my wedding in 1957, also started preaching when he was in high school. His first sermon was based on Genesis 1:1, and he titled it “In the beginning, God.” That seems quite appropriate. 

The biblical text for my first sermon, though, was Matthew 16:24-26. I have no memory as to why I chose that text and have been unable to find the brief notes I typed out to use for my mostly unscripted sermon.  

Here are those words spoken by Jesus as recorded by Matthew: 

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (KJV).

It seems a bit strange to me now, but I titled the sermon based on those words, “Self-Discipline for Growth.”*¹  

Last week, I read these words: “In speaking of self-control, one is easily misunderstood. It should not be associated with a destructive repression, but with a constructive expression.”*² I am quite sure my sermon was about the latter (and I equate “self-control” and “self-discipline”).  for

Even for quite some time before preaching that first sermon, I sought to live a purpose-driven life. Prior to receiving what I felt sure was God’s “call” to be a preacher/pastor (in Aug. 1952), my main purpose in life was to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ—and that purpose necessitated self-discipline. 

Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life (2002) was a highly successful and influential book.*³ Recently, I took a look at that book again. For the 23^rd day of his 40-day program, the prominent California pastor wrote, 

Spiritual growth is not automatic. It takes an intentional commitment. You must want to grow, decide to grow, make an effort to grow, and persist in growing. Discipleship—the process of becoming like Christ—always begins with a decision.

Although I was preaching as a high school boy nearly 50 years before Warren’s bestselling book was published, I am quite sure I said something similar in that 1954 sermon. And I still believe that that is true for all who claim to be Christians, regardless of age. 

As I continued to grow through the years, my understanding of what it means to be a disciple deepened and broadened. But the driving force of my life for the past seventy years (and more) has been, and still is, doing my utmost to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.

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*¹ I have the sermon title, Bible passage, and date (Nov. 54) recorded in My Pastoral Record, a splendid gift from June not long after we were married in 1957. That record book also indicates that I preached 17 more times (in my home church and seven others) before starting college in September 1955. The last sermon recorded in that book was number 1,112—and that was in June 1976. I regret that I did not continue keeping the record of sermons preached, which would be far more than double that number. 

*² James Allen, Book of Meditations and Thoughts for the Day: For Every Day of the Year. I know almost nothing about Allen (1864~1912), but this year I have enjoyed reading his helpful book, which was published the year after his death. The words cited above were some of his “thoughts” for November 14.  

*³ The Purpose Driven Life was on the New York Times Bestseller List for over 90 weeks. It is reported (see here) that 50 million copies of it had been sold in more than 85 languages by 2020. 

 

Expressing Sympathy (and Congratulations) to VP Harris

This is not the article I planned to write for this month’s first blog post. “Expressing Congratulations (and Sincere Sympathy) to Pres. Harris” was the title of the post I anticipated making. But the sad news I read upon arising early Wednesday clearly indicated that I would have to write a different article. 

VP Harris making concession speech (11/6)

Kamala Harris campaigned well, but both the popular and the electoral votes were decisive. Nevertheless, I congratulate her for her valiant efforts, determination, and forward-looking spirit. In her concession speech on Wednesday afternoon, she said,

... while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign—the fight: the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness, and the dignity of all people. A fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up.

Of course, no politician likes to lose, but for VP Harris herself, losing may have been good for her. Because of current and lurking problems in the U.S. and the world, she could have well ended up with a failed presidency. (For some of the same reasons, the same may happen to Trump). 

If Harris had won, she would have had to contend with debilitating Senate opposition and continual opposition by the NAR (which I wrote about here a month ago) and other MAGA adherents, including the growing number of White Christian nationalists.

In addition, Kamala would have had to—and now Trump will have to—deal with the warfare in the Near East, which will likely grow worse before it gets much better. We don’t know how she would have handled that incendiary situation, but she would likely have faced considerable criticism no matter what she did.

Perhaps more serious than anything else is the worsening of climate change and the urgency of dealing with the ecological predicament. This crucial matter will quite surely get markedly worse in the new Trump administration, but Harris would not have been able to forestall the coming crisis.

Consider why Trump “should” have won the election. In addition to the large block of White Christians voting for Trump and the residual racism and sexism still lingering in the land (as I wrote about in last Saturday’s “extra” blog post (see here)**, consider the following:

* The unpopularity of President Biden. According to a highly reliable poll taken on Nov. 1-2, Biden’s approval rating was 40% and 56% disapproving. It is rare for the Party in power to win a presidential election with the sitting president’s rating 16% more negative than positive.

* The perception that the country is on the wrong track. As indicated here, 63% of the U.S. public think the country is headed in the wrong direction (on the wrong track), and only 26% that it is headed in the right direction. That makes it very hard for the incumbent Party to win a presidential election.

* Continuing high prices because of inflation and corporate greed. This 11/6 Washington Post piece doesn’t deal with corporate greed as I think it should, but it does suggest that the widely held perception that the economy is “not good” or “poor” impelled many to cast their vote for Trump.

* The unaddressed problem of classism. This issue is addressed well by a 11/6 New York Times opinion article by the eminent journalist David Brooks (see here). Another source indicates that while voters with graduate degrees vote Democratic overwhelmingly, this year more than ever before, those with no college education voted overwhelmingly for Trump.

Where do we go from here? On Wednesday, the editorial board of the New York Times wrote, “Benjamin Franklin famously admonished the American people that the nation was ‘a republic, if you can keep it’.” They go on to say,

Mr. Trump’s election poses a grave threat to that republic, but he will not determine the long-term fate of American democracy. That outcome remains in the hands of the American people. It is the work of the next four years.”

So, I conclude by again congratulating VP Harris for her valiant campaign and expressing sympathy to her for losing the election to a far less worthy candidate. And I trust that she will, indeed, continue to lead in the struggle for implementing “the ideals at the heart of our nation.”

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** In that post, I wrote, “If VP Harris loses the election, … it will be because of the votes of White Christians more than any other chosen demographic (that is, other than non-chosen demographics such as gender, race, or ‘class.’)” Thursday morning there was this post on Religious News Service’s website: “White Christians made Donald Trump president — again.”

What More Can We Do?: One Week until Election Day

Although several of you USAmerican Thinking Friends have likely already voted, Election Day is one week from today, and I assume most of you will be voting then, as I plan to do. But is there anything more we can do this week? 

“A Return to Abnormalcy? Perish the Thought!” That was the title of the article I originally planned to write this week before the election. “A Return to Normalacy?” was the title of my blog post just before the 2020 election. My point: the election of Joe Biden would be a return to normalcy in the U.S.*1  

The current presidential polls continue to indicate this year’s election will be very close, and there could very well be a return to the “abnormalcy” of a second Trump presidency. I certainly would like to “perish the thought,” but I also definitely thought he would not be elected in 2016. 

If Trump is elected next week, I predict he will not serve for four years. Whether by impeachment and removal from office, using the 25th amendment to the Constitution, or because of debilitating health issues, I think it is quite unlikely Trump will be in the White House until January 2029. 

But sadly, the country (and the world) would perhaps not be much better off with JD Vance as president.  

But recognizing that I might be wrong, I am nevertheless sticking by my prediction that VP Harris will be elected and there will fortunately be no significant abnormalities with her as POTUS. 

What Can We Do? Most of us live in states where there is little doubt regarding which presidential candidate will get our state’s electoral votes. Nevertheless, we should vote anyway. Even if our votes will most likely not help elect our candidate, the total number of popular votes is still important. 

In addition to the presidential election, there are other important races in most states. Don’t overlook the importance of voting for down-ballot candidates. Control of the Senate and the House is also at stake, and that control will make a huge difference regardless of who becomes POTUS. 

Unfortunately, some of us live in states where there is little doubt regarding who will be elected for the two houses of Congress as well as which presidential candidate will get the electoral votes.  

Some of you might be interested in checking out VoteMaximizer.org, which analyzes what they call “voter power.” The closer the race, the higher the number (from one to 100) of one’s vote. The bad news for us Missourians is that no state race has high enough voter power to be listed. 

The only matters listed as being uncertain enough in Missouri to be listed are Proposition A and Amendments 3 & 7. So I will go to vote mainly for the popular vote outcome of the presidential election and the outcome of the three issues mentioned.*2 

It is different especially for those of you who live in swing states, such as you Thinking Friends who live in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina. Since your voter power number is high, work hard this week for the presidential candidate whom you intensely want to win.  

“All we can do now is pray”: this is what some may say at this point since many have already voted and most have already made up their minds about who they will vote for—or since the outcome in their states is quite certain.  

That may be true, but what will we pray for? Does anyone think that if enough of us prayed in the right way we could convince God to manipulate enough voters to cause our preferred candidate to win the election? And what about those praying for the other candidate to win?  

There are some things God can’t (or won’t) do, and manipulating people is one such thing. (I plan to write more about this matter in a blog article next month.) So, I am quite sure that prayer by itself will not change the outcome of the election.*3   

However, as a means of lessening our anxiety and promoting peace of mind, prayer is quite important as we face anxieties about the future of our country during this week before Election Day.  

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*1 Here is a link to that Oct. 20, 2020, blog post if you’d like to read it (again). The words in the title were based on the slogan of the 1920 presidential campaign of Warren G. Harding. 

*2 My recommendation to you Missourians is voting Yes on Proposition A & Amendment 3 and No on Amendment 7. 

*3 Not long after I wrote this sentence, I saw this post regarding Franklin Graham’s public prayer asking God to cause Trump to win the election.