My First Ministry...

I have the opportunity to preach this Sunday again and with that comes preparation time. I know of pastors and preachers that get up in front of a congregation without notes or even really preparing a sermon, yet when they preach it is good and from God. I think that is awesome that they can do that, but God doesn't work that way for me. I'll just be honest, I start preparing the minute I know I am going to be preaching.

As I was preparing for this sermon, I kept getting interrupted by various things. First off, I have been sick for a week now. I hate being sick. Not only have I been sick, but Missy(my wife) and Isaiah(my son) have been as well. Its nothing that bad, but I can bet that the stock market value on tissues have gone up this week. Seriously, the trash can looks like the Kleenex factory exploded! Missy is going back to school for her master's degree which means I am taking care of Isaiah as much as possible so she can study and go to class. As I am reading, taking notes, and looking up the meanings of words last night, my son says, "Dad, will you play Xbox with me?" A few games later I tell him, "I really need to study now." He plays for a bit by himself, then asks, "Dad, can you play Lego's with me?" A few built airplanes and cars later I am back to studying. I check the clock, 8:00pm. "Isaiah, time for your bath" I told him as I got up heading to the bathroom to start the bath water. After his bath and I got him to bed, I was ready to buckle down and finish out my sermon. That's when Missy walked in from class, her head sunk low. She came in and started to tell me about her day. I glanced at the clock as she started, 9:30pm.

It was about that time I remembered something that Dr. David Jeremiah had said. He was trying to finish a book and faced a series of interruptions similar to mine. His son wanted to play catch and David told him, "Not now, I need to finish this, there is a deadline coming up." His wife, overhearing the conversation came in as his son left and told him, "David, there will always be another deadline to meet, sermon to prepare, or book to write, but your son will only be 13 for one year, then it will be gone." David's prayer has stuck with me ever since I heard it, and I silently prayed it while Missy told me about her day:

"Dear God, help me. Let me not put anything before my first ministry ever again. My first ministry is my family."

Are there relationships in your family that are broken? Have you been putting other things before you family like work, play, or even yourself? Now is the time to start repairing your first ministry. Now is the time to make your family your first ministry. They need you and you need them. Don't let them be last in line.

In Christ,

jon walton

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