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The Call of The Hobbit
The ring of power has been handed down to Frodo, the heir of Bilbo. Years have gone by since he received this “heirloom” from the elder hobbit. Now, Gandalf the wizard is advising Frodo on what to do with the ring of power. Shall they destroy it? Perhaps, Frodo thinks, it could be obliterated with a hammer? Maybe burned in the fire? None of this is actually possible. In order to destroy the ring, Gandalf knows Frodo must travel to the Cracks of Doom in the land of Mordor, the home of the dark lord. Leading the hobbit and the wizard to this conclusion:
The Strength of Wisdom
I recently found myself in a difficult situation. Since I am a beekeeper it is normal for me to need to lift boxes that weigh 60-100 pounds. Not a big deal whenever I am healthy. However, when you suffer a significant shoulder injury it necessitates a change in approach. A small colony can have 2 boxes making it weigh somewhere north of 100-150 pounds or a larger one with something like 4 boxes can weigh closer to 250-300 pounds. I found myself in a season needing to lift the back of these colonies so I could slide pieces of equipment underneath them and out again. How was I going to do it essentially with one arm? Even as someone who strength trains frequently, a 200 pound curl is certainly out of the question for my 160 pound frame. The answer . . . leverage.
Dear Young Pastor . . . Apply The Text
In the year 2020, I preached my first true sermon. Meaning that I am early enough along in pastoral ministry to still be in the formative years, but far enough along to have learned a few lessons by the grace of God along the way. My “Dear Young Pastor” series on the blog seeks to chronicle some of those lessons for the sake of my own soul and others. Every pastor has portions of the preaching they find easier than others. Some are more natural at exegetically dissecting a passage word by word while perhaps being weak at the verbal part of delivery. Still yet, some are very skilled at seeing the application but possibly struggle with weaker theology in their early days. Pastors should constantly be growing in every way, but just as with anything else some points will naturally come easier than others to them.