Here I Am Lord, I'm Your Vessel!

Bob Russell is the Senior Minister for the 18,000 member Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Before Bob preaches, if he feels that he has been distracted or is not in the right fram of mind he has a text written in his Bible that he turns to and reads. "O god, don’t let the pulpit call me to the sermon...let the sermon call me to the pulpit. Before I break the bread of life, Lord, break me! Wash from heart and lip the iniquity there...I want to preach, yes hemorrhage, under the divine anointing, God, strip me of all pride, all cleverness, all showmanship, and salesmanship. Deliver me from reliance on suaveness, education, academics, personality, notes, canned quips, and celestial clichés. Let me speak with the humility of Moses, the patience of Job, the wisdom of Paul, the power of Peter, and the authority of Christ. Lord, make my preaching clear, not clever; passionate, not pitiful; urgent, not, usual"; meaty, not murky. May it comfort the disturbed, disturb the comfortable, warn the sinner, mature the saint, give hope to the discouraged, and ready for heaven the whole audience. Let self be abased, Christ be exalted, the cross be central, and the plea be with passion. May my eyes never be dry. Just now, Lord, take me out of myself, usurp anything I’ve planned to say when it’s in the way of your message. Here I am Lord, I’m your vessel! Amen."