Gator Wesley

I was pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback from my sermon yesterday. If you missed the sermon, or have already forgotten what it was about, you can listen to our Gator Wesley Podcast this week (usually released on Tuesday nights):
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gator-wesley-podcast/id416906433

I wanted to pass along a few additional notes from worship:

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First, Rachael Pendleton wrote a short but powerful prayer based on our text – 1 Kings 19:1-14:

“Dear Lord, our hands are meant to do your work. You have created us to do great things. Let us remember that though you expect much of us, it is never too much. When we feel overwhelmed, give us the courage to move forward. Let our feet once paralyzed with fear bring us to where we are needed most. We thank you for the enormous potential you have given us. May we be brave enough to reach it. In your name we pray. Amen.”

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Second, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a prayer while he as awaiting trial. I meant to share it in the sermon but forgot:

“O Holy Spirit, give me faith that will protect me from despair, from passions, and from vice; give me such love for God as will blot out all hatred and bitterness; give me the hope that will deliver me from fear and faintheartedness.”

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Third, I encourage you to learn more about Bonhoeffer. You can certainly find plenty of mini-biographies and accounts on his life online by googling his name. There is a 90-minute documentary about him on Netflix (on-demand or by disc). But for those who are so inclined, I would recommend reading some of his works:

+ Life Together & Prayer Book of the Bible (published in one volume)
http://www.amazon.com/Together-Prayerbook-Bible-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/dp/0800683250/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301333410&sr=1-2

+Letters and Papers from Prison
http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Papers-Prison-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/dp/0800697030/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301333486&sr=1-2

+ Discipleship (aka “The Cost of Discipleship”)
http://www.amazon.com/Discipleship-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Works-Vol/dp/0800683242/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301333541&sr=1-1

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Fourth, a great quote from Harry Emerson Fosdick I did not have time to share it on Sunday:

“Fear imprisons, faith liberates;
fear paralyzes, faith empowers,
fear disheartens, faith encourages;
fear sickens, faith heals;
fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable –
and most of all,
fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life,
while faith rejoices in its God.”

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Finally, I failed to share an important part of my sermon. I left out some practical ideas for how we can confront our fears in everyday life. As with most things, I find strength and encouragement from scripture. Below are some of the passages I turn towards over and over again to help face my own fears. Perhaps you could one of these each day this week for a time of devotion and prayer:

Psalm 23
Psalm 34:1-10
Psalm 46
Psalm 121
Isaiah 43:1-7
Romans 8:31-39
2 Corinthians 12:8-10


Peace,
David