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Institutional First Baptist Church Weekly Sermon Delivered By
Dr. E. G. Sherman, Jr
Dr. E. G. Sherman, Jr
Delivered On
February 1, 2015 at 10:45 AM
February 1, 2015 at 10:45 AM
Subject
Heeding the Lord's Call
Heeding the Lord's Call
Description
| Dr. E. G. Sherman, Jr. | Sunday February 1, 2015 |
| Heeding the Lord’s Call | |
| “And the Lord came, and stood, and called, as at other times, Samuel, Samuel, Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth” 1Sam. 3:10. | |
| Our church is deeply honored to again have the blessed honor of hosting the Annual Scout Worship this morning. Although an official welcome has earlier been extended, this pastoral reaffirmation further signals Institutional’s pleasure in having you with us today. The sermon format today will differ slightly from the regular academic/theological approach and follow, instead, a pragmatic/illustrative style. Hence, while being strongly anchored in the Bible, it will include several present day illustrations. Additionally, it might include some “preaching” as several of the scouts so requested during our rehearsal the past Monday night. Having completed the preliminary remarks, attention will now be focused on the sermon which was entitled, Heeding the Lord’s Call. The word heeding means to listen, to take notice, to consider, and possibly to act in accordance with the message. It will include four concerns, namely: Samuel in childhood, childhood of today, Samuel as an adult, and the scouts as future adults. Prior to addressing these four concerns, attention will be focused on the word childhood. It denotes the first stage of life. It starts a birth and ends between 12 and 13 years of age. Childhood is a time of dependency, learning, and growing. It is also the period when the child experiences the warmth of family life, its place in the family, and the value of having parents who provide care, guidance, inspiration, and keeping the child within the family. Unfortunately, many are the children offered up for adoption, placed on the steps of an unknown home, and even illegally exchanged for a small sum of money. This voluntarily removal of a child from the family leads to the first concern of the sermon which is - The childhood of Samuel. Biblical history describes the account of a young child named Samuel. As promised by his mother, Hanna, he was carried from his home to live with the priest Eli. No accounts are given as to how he felt about being given away nor any negative behaviors toward Eli the elderly priest. Even as a child, Samuel loved God and respected people. He sought to be helpful to Eli and even placed his bed close to the priest so he could easily hear any call from Eli. One night the youngster heard his name being called. Immediately, he got up and say unto Eli, “Did you call me?”. Eli said no and told him to return to bed. Samuel did, but soon heard his name being called again. As in the first instance, he returned to Eli and asked if he had called him. Eli, recognizing that it was the Lord who called Samuel, told him to return to bed and if the voice was heard again, to say, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears”. Before highlighting some of Samuel’s later accomplishments, attention will be placed on the second concern of the sermon which is - your experiences as a child; this discussion is intended for our scouts. Fellows you are blessed with a family, a place to live, food to eat, a school to attend, and groups to join. Whereas Samuel’s mother - in keeping with her promise to the Lord - gave him to Eli, the priest, for religious service, there now exist laws that prohibit parents for just giving away their child. In fact, there are numerous laws, know as child abuse codes, designed to protect children from maltreatments. Returning to Samuel, the question becomes what did he accomplish after listening to the Lord. First, it must be noted that the Lord only spoken audibly until the birth of Jesus. Next, Jesus spoke on behalf of the Lord while He was on earth. After Jesus left the earth, the Holy Spirit speaks to person through their conscience. So fellows do not wait around to hear the Lord tell you what to do; instead, you must be guided by your inner self as the Holy Spirit speaks to you. There will be no voice as your parents, brothers or sisters, nor teacher. Instead, the voice comes as a thought in your mind and a judgement in your conscience as what to do or not to do. Fellows that is how God - using the Holy Spirit - speaks to humankind today. So the next time you plot to do something wrong and it seems that a thought appears that ‘you should not do that’. Well, fellows that’s the way the Lord now speaks to people. Therefore, you should give thought to you planned actions before preforming them. Back to Samuel, what were some of his accomplishments? He became a prophet, he wrote two books of the Bible, and he anointed Saul as the first king of Israel. In sum, Samuel loved God, listened to God, and obeyed God. Now, members of our Scouts, the final discussion is on you. Unlike Samuel, you have not been taken from your family and given to a pastor for religious service. You can not hear God speak because he no longer speaks aloud as did he during the Old Testament period. But, like Samuel, you are going to grow up and become a young man. In planning for that time, you should now be thinking about what you want to do in life; this includes your career, your help to others, and your worship of the Lord. You do not need to write additional books for the Bible. Yet there remains much for you to do. As youngsters, the Bible has some message for you in your growing up process; it calls on you to honor and obey your parents; it tells you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you; and it tells you to act as a child, thinks as a child, and understand as a child, but upon becoming a man to put away childish ways. Fellows, I know you can follow the biblical teachings, your parents have confidence in you, your scouts leaders have trust in you, and I utter prayers for you and will see you at our next Scout meeting. God bless! |
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