On Mother's Day, I'll be filling in ("pulpit supply," they call it, though something about that term really turns me off) for a pastor here who's reserve unit was called to active duty for the Iraq war.

It's still about 10 days off, but I'm a little nervous about what to preach on. I always feel for congregations who are getting fill-ins from all over the place, none of whom has heard the other, or even been to the church before in many cases. I imagine the lack of continuity must become quite tiresome after the first month or so, when the novelty wears off.

Anyway, I guess the obvious thing to do is to preach a Mother's Day sermon, though being a "guest" it probably wouldn't be absolutely expected of me. But I just haven't been able to settle on anything yet. It seems like there are about three Mother's Day sermons, and they've all been preached ad nauseum.

I'm not a snob who believes that "expository" preaching (working verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter through a book of the Bible) is the only way to do things. Most of the sermons in the Bible appear to be topical, and guys like Spurgeon did fairly well with that approach. But I have also realized that if I ever have my own pulpit (which I suspect I am called to, though I frequently waver), I will have to do the expository method, because I simply am not creative enough to come up with good ideas on my own every week.