Plan to Let Go

Today was Laity Sunday, and I planned the service and delivered the sermon.

I've had in mind for a few weeks what the theme of the sermon was going to be, and I could imagine how it was going to be structured. When I started to write it, though, the structure I had in mind didn't work. I created a rough outline of the sermon, I tried to write it to fit the outline, and it wouldn't work. I moved a few things around -- still no go.

It wasn't until I gave up on how I thought it ought to be built that the structure worked. When I let it organize itself, and let go of my preconceptions of it, it worked better.

I used the hymn Lord of the Dance as a basis for the sermon -- it was about dancing with God. I chose the hymn Gather us in as the processional hymn because I thought it matched the Call to Worship we were using, but as we were singing it, I realized that parts of it were echoed in the sermon. I didn't plan that.

When the Choir Director saw the topic and title of the sermon, he changed the Offertory to a piece of music that fit it beautifully. It was a great gift. Of course, I didn't plan that.

I wonder if my biggest lesson for the day was to let go. To plan, but to freely release the plan when God leads in a different direction.

When I told a choir member that I didn't even have the title until the beginning of the week, she grinned and said, "Don't you just love God?"

Yes, I do.

Image: Leaves at Asbury Woods from our Youth Outing this evening. I've been trying all week to get some good autumn images for the sermon ppt. No luck. Tonight, though, when I didn't need them anymore, they were everywhere.