Preacher Powell

Jeremy had a preaching gig this morning! At 9 am, Jeremy gave the message at St. Paul's Church in Stowe, PA, which is just 30 minutes from our place.

St. Paul's is a CCCC church pastored by Pastor Lenn Zeller. Pastor Zeller is the CCCC Area Representative for Eastern Pennsylvania. He mentors and encourages young men like Jeremy preparing for ministry in the CCCC and he has supported the growth of Seven Mile Road Church, where we currently worship in northeast Philadelphia.

Pastor Zeller was traveling this week, so Jeremy preached in his place. Jeremy taught on Luke 24:13-35, a story commonly known as the Road to Emmaus (the "seven mile road"), in which Jesus appears to two disciples walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus after the Resurrection.

Jeremy worked really hard on preparing this sermon and his preparation paid off. I thought it was his best sermon yet. He was clear and engaging, as well as personable from the pulpit. This was his first experience preaching at a church we don't regularly attend, so the stress level was a little higher than usual, but Jeremy was ready to go!

The people at St. Paul's were also lovely. They were a small, older congregation and greeted us very warmly after the service. It was a great experience all around, even for me. I was invited to stand with Jeremy after the service and shake hands with everyone leaving the sanctuary. I realize that being newbies at Seven Mile Road Church last year has given us lots of confidence in meeting new people and engaging in conversation.

Jeremy and I also agree that preaching at St. Paul's has given us a much-needed glimpse of the "end goal," it provided us a taste of life post-seminary, and reminded us why and what we're both working so hard for.

If you have time, please pray for Jeremy this week. The downside to taking time to prepare a sermon and visit a new church is that Jeremy lost a few days of study time for school... and this upcoming week is going to be brutal. He has a major assignment due in all 4 classes by Friday!

Please pray that Jeremy would stay healthy (as he operates on very little sleep), that he would be productive, and that God would be glorified in his school work. For me, please pray that I would be Jeremy's source of encouragement and that I would not become discouraged when we're not able to spend time together. Thanks guys!