Speaking the Word of God

As I shared a prayer concern for a former colleague, a verse of Scripture came fresh to me and caused me to do some reflecting. The writer of Hebrews encouraged his readers to “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you.” (Hebrews 13:7, NASB).  This verse became especially appropriate as I remembered that today was my Dad’s birthday.  Although he has been in heaven for many years, for much of my early life he was not only my Dad, he was my pastor. The many ways he “led” me were obvious, but I had to try to remember how he “spoke the word of God” to me.  The sermon I remember most was one he preached every year on his church anniversary.  The message was, “Let us Go On” from Mark 1:28.  As he preached it, I always reflected on the past year with its ups and downs and determined to “go on.” Another favorite of mine was a sermon entitled, “Ships that Never Sailed” from 1 Kings 22:48, “Jehoshaphat made merchant ships to go to Ophir for gold; but they never sailed.”  I never wanted to be a ship that stayed in the harbor.  I wanted to set sail for the open waters and see what all God had for me to see and do.  A third favorite was a sermon on Thomas, entitled, “The Man Who Missed Church on Sunday Evening” from John 20:24.  Preached in the days when most churches had Sunday evening services, my Dad bore down on what all Thomas missed when he wasn’t with the rest of the disciples on Resurrection Sunday evening – he missed the fellowship and support of other believers as well as missed encountering Jesus.  I remember when churches began to cancel Sunday evening services how big a guilt complex I had for being at home instead of at church.  Who speaks the word of God to you these days?