Preaching is usually the easy part..

One thing about preaching that has always amazed me is to see God use His Word through a human channel to impact someone's life.

A huge part of pastoring is preaching. I love to dive into a study of a portion of God's Word. It is like walking on a spring mountain trail finding freshly ripe strawberries with sounds of a creek's rushing snowmelted water and looking up to suddenly see an antelope and her little ones running though the open field ahead.... get the picture! The discovery and surprises that God reveals through His Word that you know you will soon be able to unwrap and share with others is the joy of this preachers heart.

The other parts of the pastoring puzzle are not so easy. Counseling, budgets, building maintenance, buses, administration, planning, hospitals, funeral homes...

Today, as I prepare a funeral message for an elderly member who heard me preach for the last time just last Sunday, my heart is torn. How joyous for him as he is loosed from "the surly bonds of earth" and is now taking in celestial air in heaven. But for us who still cough in the smog of this world we have to say a tearful goodbye again. Were it not for Jesus' comforting touch and reassurance through the valley of the shadow of death, it would be more than we could bear.

Goodbye, Jack. You won't need that hearing device as you hear the heavenly choir sing glory to the King of Kings. You can throw away that watch and walk straight and strong on golden streets. I'm sure by now you have seen folks that have beat you there. I can almost hear the rejoicing and see the smiles. Maybe you have met my dad and grandpa. But what I envision most vividly is your standing face to face with our Saviour. What a joy that must be.

Preaching this Friday will not be so easy. Another reminder of how brief a vapor our lives are. The change that God's Word has caused in someone's life is now taken its greatest effect. Eternal destiny set. I hope the preaching that Jack heard from me has helped him on his last few miles of the journey. The message still hasn't changed, its only become more real. For both of us.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.