MessianicMusings.com » sermons

Why my last two sermons aren’t up yet

Craig Hansen — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:51:59 +0000

OK, here’s the reason why my last two sermons at Beth Yeshua aren’t up yet: when my flash drive crashed a couple weeks ago, I lost my only copy of my sermon on the Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Ruler. And it was a lengthy sermon, coming in at over 4,000 words.

I had a print-out, so I was able to deliver it just fine; I even have the audio file uploaded and ready to rock. But I have to re-type it out, which is long, boring work and I just haven’t had the time, since the only reason I’d be doing it is for the blog.

Fortunately, in addition to a new flash drive, I also have a new back-up hard drive, so I should soon be better-protected against data loss than ever. That wouldn’t have helped in this case, though, since I had only just finished the sermon and printed it out before the flash drive crashed.

Final commentary before I write my sermons nearly done

Craig Hansen — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:15:58 +0000

I have one more commentary to finish writing before I can dig into my sermons, and it’s nearly done! In fact, were I not blogging tonight – which I need to since it’s deadline week – I would have finished it by now.

One of the things I enjoy is the chance to teach the same topic again from a different emphasis. This final Torah portion I’m teaching before writing my sermons is like that.

I taught this portion last year and focused on the shadows of Messiah found in the life of Joseph. This year, I’m focusing on what we can learn from Joseph when it comes to resisting temptation; not just that he does it, but how he does it.

I’m still leaning toward my sermons focusing on the topic of Making It Real, but I’m remaining open in my prayer life for the L-RD to direct me to another topic if He wishes. We should know soon.

Two commentaries done, one more, plus sermons, remaining

Craig Hansen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:31:56 +0000

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have three commentaries and two sermons to write and deliver over the next few weeks. The progress report so far? I have two commentaries done or nearly done, one revving its engine, and then I’ll be free and clear to work on the sermons.

That’s a work load that makes me long for a retreat, at least in my daydreams. But even without that, it’s quite an honor to be entrusted with two sermons and three deliveries of said sermons by around the time of the first of the year.

I’m glad my prayer life is better now than it was a year ago, or I’d be more stressed out by this; as it is, the writing is going pretty smoothly, and feels like a natural outgrowth of the study and prayer involved. Praise the L-RD!

Editing the work of others

Craig Hansen — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 05:29:53 +0000

Sometimes I think a Royal Caribbean cruise would be preferable to some tasks. As a person who holds a master’s in English, with a lot of job experience in both writing and editing, one would think that a bit of cosmetic editing / ghost writing would be a breeze of an assignment, right?

Not always.

I was recently asked to edit a pair of sermons into a single message, eliminating duplicate information and references and making it a bit sharper. I was thrilled to get the assignment. It has, however, become quite intimidating to tackle.

The sermons, written specifically for oral delivery, must now be transformed into something that reads well, and there are more differences to such a transformation than one might expect. I’m wrestling with the text more than I expected and while the test is not unpleasant, it is intimidating, given the spiritual element of the messages.

Of course, I’m closing in on completing the task and it’s been quite instructive; but it has taken quite a bit more time than I first anticipated, and demanded far more of me than just my grammatical skills alone.