It’s been a while…
Yes, it has been a while since my youngest daughter, Haley, has heard me preach. However, this morning she was with my wife as thy watched the service from home.
Even before we left Soddy Daisy and South Soddy Baptist, Haley had started attending another, larger church several miles away. I couldn’t fault her, for she had grown up hearing me preach every Sunday. At least she would now be going to church on her own, not feeling obligated as my child to attend. That’s a good thing, right?
So, yes, it has been a while since Haley has sat in a room when I preached. The closest she’s been in a year was today, and that was a bedroom, not an auditorium. I do miss her.
Notice any difference?
This afternoon, no more than an hour ago, I asked Haley, “Did you notice any difference in the way I preached today compared to at Riverside or South Soddy?”
Have you ever received a comment that you couldn’t quite tell it’s meaning? In other words, have you ever been told something that could be interpreted as either a good thing or a bad thing, and you just didn’t know how to take it? And have you ever received one of those kinds of comments and not wanted to go deeper for fear it might have actually been derogatory and not complimentary?
That’s the kind of feedback I got from my daughter. I didn’t know how to take it.
“Uhh, well, you’re more of a Bible-thumper,” she said with a cool, matter-of-fact tone.
It’s hard to describe the feeling I got when she said that. At one moment I was both hurt and indignant; sad and elated; depressed and emboldened.
“That could be a good thing, I suppose” was my reply.
Bible-thumper:
- an evangelist or other person who quotes the Bible frequently, especially as a means of exhortation or rebuke. – Dictionary.com
- an aggressively zealous advocate of Christian fundamentalism. – Merriam-Webster
- Used as a disparaging term for a Christian, especially a fundamentalist or evangelical Christian, considered to be overly zealous in haranguing or censuring others. – TheFreeDictionary.com
Or, maybe it’s not.
I guess it hurts, coming from my little girl. I just hope she can see beyond the delivery of the sermon to the Truth of the message.
Decide for Yourself
Should you want to decide for yourself, feel free to watch the attached video from this morning’s streamed service.
(Please excuse the poor video resolution, but in this part of the country the upload speed is only 3-6 Mbps, so I have to set my iPhone to the lowest setting, which is 720p.)
The Recovering Legalist 
You sounded fine to me Anthony, course I’m an old fella, so my opinion is probably a little dated!
Old feathers bunch together. I just made that up. I don’t know if old feathers really do that 🙂
You just thump your hand on your Bible more.
I can live with that.
Good. She might have seen the difference of someone not looking around for another book to get their sermons from.
Exegesis and feeling a need to stick to the book is a great thing.
Some will invent their own stories then apply a scripture to it. Instead a good Preacher and teacher concludes the work is done, and we can repeat what they are trying to say.
Once you have decided the bible is true and God is real, then the doubt and avoidance drops. Why go to a dentist to find out how your pool works. Why go to a painter to see how to make muffins. Go to God to find out what he wants for us and how he wants it.
That makes you a bible thumper. You have taken a side.
Amen.
Well… Your sermon certainly isn’t what I would consider to fit the negative stereotype of Bible Thumping. I think it was a GREAT sermon!!!! And if that’s Bible thumping, I think we need more of it!! ☺️ I loved it!
Awesome. I appreciate it 😊
I mean, like being a Bible thumper is a bad thing?
Well, if it’s a Schuyler Canterbury KJV in marbled mahogany calfskin ($205), I wouldn’t want to thump it unless absolutely necessary. I have a 2007 NKJV large print in imitation leather with which I can whack a pulpit.
If it’s a NKJV whack away. If it’s any kind of Cambridge, of course show it the honor God’s Word deserves and hold it high!
Honestly, if carrying on a fealty and dedication to Scripture and preaching the Word was left in the hands of 20 year olds, every Facebook service would be nothing but some guy with an earring singing “worship” songs for an hour that could just as well be about his love for his GF.
LOL. So true.
I just asked my daughter what she meant by the term. She was amazed I was still thinking about it. When I asked a definition, she said, “I wasn’t actually watching, I was only listening . . . and all I could imagine was to holding up your Bible and doing this (then she imitated me with a flexible Bible flopping it around in the air).”
I now don’t think she understood the derogatory nature of the term.
Pastor Anthony, you were passionate and spoke God’s word with clarity. I enjoyed your sermon. May the Lord continue to bless your ministry brother!