Sunday Sermon
The Rev. Mark Henson, First Church of the Nazarene
Friday, January 9, 2009
There’s a blog on the net entitled Hoosier Journal of Inanity (I didn’t misspell it … “Inanity” is how it’s spelled on the blog). In the Jan. 10 blog, the author talks about writers and their excuses for missing deadlines. The author writes the following:
“Nothing quite catches an editor’s attention, though, like a truly weird reason — or excuse — for missing a deadline.
“For instance, there was the author I had who missed a deadline because he closed his garage door on his head.
“Then there was the author who had a tree fall on her when she was out walking her dog.
“There was also the author who missed his deadline because he got deported.
“And then there’s the excuse I heard today: Apparently, the author missed his deadline because, two weeks ago, he spilled something on his kitchen floor. The floor was ruined, so he began pulling it up to repair it. It’s been taking much longer than he anticipated to repair his kitchen floor, so he absolutely will not be able to finish his writing until next Friday.”
You might be wondering right now why I am writing about missed deadlines for a religion article. Simple! I missed the deadline for this article yesterday and I am a preacher. I had an excuse. It’s the Sonic Drive-in’s fault. My secretary last week reminded of this deadline. I started working on the article yesterday (procrastination) but then had to make a trip to the Sonic Drive-in for a large diet coke with good ice. I got back to the office and totally forgot about the deadline and the article. Sooooooooo … my excuse is simple … if the Sonic Drive-in didn’t have such good ice I wouldn’t have left my office and then I wouldn’t have stopped working on the article and therefore I would have made the deadline.
I remembered late yesterday evening before prayer meeting about the deadline and e-mailed The Gazette to apologize. All hope was lost. I missed the deadline. But, then this afternoon (Wednesday) I received a phone call from The Gazette questioning where my article was. After a brief discussion I was given a second chance. There was some grace built into this deadline so I had little more time. So I decided to start from scratch and talk about missed deadlines.
There are consequences for missed deadlines like ridicule, guilt, fines, imprisonment (OK, maybe that’s too much). But there is one deadline all of us should never miss. The apostle Paul in the New Testament speaks of this deadline.
“… For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2 (New International Version)
We in the Nazarene church and others believe Jesus Christ will come back to earth one day and take us back to heaven. We just don’t know when that will be. We are given hints, but Jesus said only God knows the exact time. I know it kind of sounds like a fantasy story, but we believe it to be true. If we have accepted Jesus Christ the son of God to free us from the penalty of sin, we believe we will spend eternity with him in heaven. If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ, when he comes again we believe you won’t spend eternity with him in heaven.
It’s a deadline we believe you can’t afford to miss. Earlier in this article, I mentioned The Gazette had some grace built into the deadline. Let me assure you today God has grace available to us all as well. God’s grace through his son Jesus Christ is so much more than just a freeing grace. It is grace that helps to sustain us in times of difficulty as well.
It’s one deadline I have already made. I pray you make it as well.
Now, it’s time to head to the Sonic Drive-in and buy another delicious diet coke with good ice.
F “Sunday Sermon” is a forum for Emporia area ministers to share their sermons, thoughts and observations. This week’s sermon is from the Rev. Mark Henson, pastor of Emporia’s First Church of the Nazarene.