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	<title>Undercover Pastor &#187; Preaching</title>
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	<description>Steve Whitney, writing as a pastor, a former Silicon Valley computer guru, husband, dad</description>
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		<title>God works through difficult stuff</title>
		<link>http://www.steve-whitney.com/blog/archives/140</link>
		<comments>http://www.steve-whitney.com/blog/archives/140#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:35:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ethics and Holiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Following Jesus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pastor to pastor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Preaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Undercover Pastor]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[I preached on sex, lust, and divorce on Sunday.  Blech! I knew that I needed to do it, but I sure didn&#8217;t like the idea of standing in front of a whole group of people and talking about sex.  Heck, I don&#8217;t want to talk to a small group of people about sex.  And my [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I preached on sex, lust, and divorce on Sunday.  Blech! <img src='http://www.steve-whitney.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_razz.gif' alt=':-P' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>I knew that I needed to do it, but I sure didn&#8217;t like the idea of standing in front of a whole group of people and talking about sex.  Heck, I don&#8217;t want to talk to a small group of people about sex.  And my parents were there too!</p>
<p>So I did it anyway, and I have to tell you, I haven&#8217;t been this uncomfortable preaching for years.  But at the same time, I knew that it was important and good.</p>
<p>What really made me nervous was the idea that people would become angry and defensive.  Or that they&#8217;d hear me as telling them that they had to clean up their lives to earn God&#8217;s love.  I didn&#8217;t want to sound condemning, but I wanted to speak God&#8217;s truth about what God wants for our lives.</p>
<p>I was amazed to get good feedback from people.  Several people told me that what I had to say was helpful and that they were trying to work on things but weren&#8217;t sure how.  One person shared feedback with me that I <em>know</em>will improve a marriage.  Another person bought the book I recommended and is looking for a group to discuss it in.</p>
<p>God was amazingly gracious and worked through my nervous obedience to do some very cool things.  Now what was I afraid of?</p>
<p>If you have a half hour free, you can listen at <a href="http://www.trinitywestsac.org/podcast/archives/94">http://www.trinitywestsac.org/podcast/archives/94</a></p>
<p>I am learning more and more that I can trust that when God calls us to something, it may be difficult, but God works powerfully through it, and the fruits that come from the action are good.</p>
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