Benjamin's Ramblings

So there I was. Seventeen years old. Preparing for my second time preaching ever. I remember wanting to make it great. I wanted to tie in tons of great stories. I wanted it to be deep and compelling, as well as convicting. (I didn't preach often, my youth pastor let students preach when they wanted to) I wanted it to be perfect and for people to talk about it for years to come. I still have the notes for that message in my old Bible. Fast Forward eight years to present day. I now prepare multiple messages a week. The technique has changed. The style has changed. The presentation has changed. Sometimes I still want to "wow" the congregation in front of me with stuff they never noticed before. Rewind to last night. Sitting in front of my computer. Tropical Storm going on around me. Trying to find ways to kill time. I open up an online Bible and start reading 1 Corinthians. Namely,  1 Corinthians 1:17-31 . I got a punch to the gut. I remember thinking back to all th...

So last weekend I went with my girlfriend Bethany to get her hair cut. While I was waiting for it to finish I was reading the Bible on my phone, specifically 1 Samuel 15. In the passage I was reading God was commanding Saul to attack the Amalekites and to leave nothing alive or to take any spoils. Saul destroys the Amalekites but keeps the animals for sacrifices. God tells Samuel to confront Saul about it and that leads to this verse, 15:22 "So Samuel said : "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams." These verses ring true today just as much as they did thousands of years ago when Saul disobeyed God. How many times do we think that we are obeying God because in our minds we are doing the right thing? (Just as Saul thought it would be okay to leave the animals alive so he could sacrifice them later) This reminds me of the people in the c...