A Sermon

Today something odd happened in chapel. During any given month Paul and I each preach 2 times. That leaves roughly 12 worships to be filled with faculty and pastors from around Sioux Falls. Today a Presbyterian Chaplin preached on Revelation 21: 1-4 (the new heaven and the new earth). I thought, Revelation, interesting choice, but let’s see where it goes. She used two examples one was about suffering in an orphanage in China and the other was a Pastor and his wife who had an abortion because the fetus had a rare disorder where its organs were forming outside its body. She specifically mentioned that SD’s Vote on Referred Law 6 (an abortion ban that has no exceptions). She talked about the power of grace in each situation and waiting for the new heaven and the new earth. Usually I’d love this type of sermon. It was powerful and I heard lots of law AND gospel. The concern I have is for the congregation. Many students are voting for the abortion ban. I worried that they’d feel this outsider came into their chapel and used the pulpit as a soapbox. This is an issue that has many people of faith on both sides. I worry about how the message was received in a different way than I normally do just as much as I thought, right on! Is this part of becoming a pastor? Only time will tell.