The Sermon I didn't Preach!
I had my sermon outline ready. Pages stacked. Verses loaded like bullets. But God doesn’t shoot blanks. He whispered the night before. Spoke louder in the morning. And by the time Sister Joy, Brother Shawn, and Brother Matt tore open the heavens in worship, the shout ripped out of me. It wasn’t theirs. It wasn’t mine. It was God’s.
What I planned to preach burned up on the spot. My clever idea—John 15 stitched to John 5—dead before it left my lips. God had other plans. He bled Revelation 2 into John 15. The church at Ephesus—the one that walked away from its first love—standing face to face with the Vine who says, “Abide in Me or die.” Two Scriptures. One blade. It didn’t cut clean. It cut deep.
And that’s when it hit me. My outline was dead. My voice was hijacked. God wasn’t asking for sermons—He was demanding hearts. The whisper had turned to thunder, and it was aimed at the Bride herself. Dry branches ready to snap. A flickering flame of love, barely alive.
And His question rolled heavy through the sanctuary, landing like a hammer blow:
Did you forget something?
Revelation 2:4 KJVS
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.