Two years ago, I could barely speak, and now I am preaching! This still seems crazy to me! Recently, I preached my first sermon in Thai. I wondered if it would have any impact on the listeners. Would they understand me? What if I messed up? Where would I begin? Rather than allowing unanswerable questions to overwhelm me, I started where I always do before I preach—on my knees.
The week leading up to the sermon was almost entirely consumed with sermon preparation. Not only did I have to think of a good sermon, I also had to translate it. After writing the first part of the rough draft, I shared it with one of my Christian language teachers, and she gave me valuable feedback. I made some revisions, wrote some more and shared it with another language teacher who is Buddhist. He not only helped me with grammar but also asked me questions about Christianity. Over the three days I spent with him, I had the chance to talk with him about the Bible, give him the book History of Redemption in Thai, and pray with him at his request! Who would have thought that sermon preparation could be a form of evangelism?
Finally, after hours of preparation, discussion, revision and prayer, the Sabbath finally came. With knots in my stomach, I grabbed my Bible and computer and headed to church. I had prepared about 27 PowerPoint slides to go along with my sermon, thinking that if people didn’t understand my Thai, at least they would get something from the pictures. This turned out to be a blessing. Cindi told me later that during the sermon a six-year-old girl asked her who the man with the crown of thorns was!
As I began to preach, my anxiety dissipated. I sensed the Holy Spirit’s calming presence in my heart as I attempted to explain God’s Word in Thai. Perhaps He was giving me the gift of tongues! At the close of the sermon, I made an appeal for people to come forward who would either like to receive Jesus as their personal Savior or who wanted prayer. Again, I worried that I was not making myself understood. After 30 seconds of waiting, I was just about to close with prayer when I saw two elderly ladies in the back getting up from their seats. Slowly they made their way forward, one of them on a walker. Shortly thereafter, a third lady came up as well. As we prayed a special prayer for them, I praised the Lord that, in spite of my limitations, He was able to use my sermon, both in preparation and presentation, to touch lives.
