Remember the days when the greatest danger to our youth was that they’d be “fritterin'”
Youth’ll be fritterin’ away
I say your young men’ll be fritterin’!
Fritterin’ away their noontime, suppertime, choretime too!.
Remember the days when the greatest danger to our youth was that they’d be “fritterin'”
Youth’ll be fritterin’ away
I say your young men’ll be fritterin’!
Fritterin’ away their noontime, suppertime, choretime too!.
Preaching can be marginalised as a monologue. In pastoral ministry the sermon is part of an ongoing dialogue – the pastor hears the congregation throughout the week (and over time) and hears God’s Word; speaking in response as an ongoing dialogue.
The challenge of the authority which attaches itself to pastoral office is not to listen and respond but to treat the hearers and the Word as tools to shape the pastor’s vision instead of remaining supple in seeing our vision shaped by the ongoing conversation.
From Will Willimon:
…listening is difficult when you are in a position of authority. By the time you have your ordination credentials in hand and have some church experience behind you, you have probably been trained more to talk than to listen. Congregations crave pastors who give them answers to their problems rather than do the adaptive work of asking questions and encouraging them to help with the answers. Fortunately, the one who leads is also the one who preaches. All good sermons begin with something that has been heard. Biblical exegesis is a series of respectful questions that we ask of a text in the faith that God will give us something to say if we ask prayerfully. Great leaders are questioners and listeners; so are good preachers.
William H Willimon, Leading With The Sermon, Fortress Press, 2020, pgs 134-135.
This weekend has two games in each code, the winners of which will play a grand final, the losers of which will live with the knowledge that any of them really could have won their respective comps given their day.
They’ll know that this year they were realistically close, and that doesn’t happen very often, and adds to the sense of loss.
In the NRL Easts and the comp again have seen just how good a player Cooper Cronk was. He elevated good teams to an exceptional level.
And Souths are seeing the difference a great coach can make to their team. I expect that to stand both Souths and Melbourne in good stead this weekend.
In the AFL Richmond seem to have the most to lose, Brisbane the most to win, but Port Adelaide have more determination than any club in the comp and Geelong have the greatest gap between their best and worst of any top club.
(Draws count as correct)
NRL (last round 1/2; season tally 119/166)
Melbourne
Souths
(Draws count as correct)
AFL (last rounds 2/2; season tally 110/159)
Port Adelaide
Brisbane
Comfort, Oh Comfort is the first released song from Caroline Cobb’s soon to be released Advent themed EP called A Seed, A Sunrise.
As some you may guess, the song’s lyrics borrow from themes in Isaiah.
In the wilderness, the green of Eden
In the wasteland, the garden blooms
Up from the desert, springs a river
For He is making everything new
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