To understand these conversations, a little background is necessary: At Desiring God Church, about 80% of our preaching consists of working our way through books of the Bible. A typical sermon is about 45 minutes long. I have been preaching through Romans for more than a year, and focused on Romans 8:26-27 this last Sunday. During the sermon I mentioned that, prior to studying Romans 8:28 – “God works all things together for good for those who love Him, for those who are called according to His purpose” – we will leave Romans for a few weeks to look at what Scripture teaches about suffering in the book of Job.

Also: Our service begins at 9:30 and ends at 11; our host church begins their service at 11:30. When we first moved to our present facility, I thought the early starting time would be a negative. But we discovered an advantage: Many people are happy to stick around and talk when they don’t have to rush out for lunch. We often have a third of the congregation still at the church 45 minutes after the service ends.

Here are three vignettes from the ten or so conversations I had between 11 and noon on Sunday:

Shortly after the close of the service, I see a couple I have never met before talking with another elder. After introductions, they say, “We have never heard preaching like this. I now feel like I understand what this passage means, and how I can live it out. Thank you so much! Do you preach like this all the time at Desiring God Church?”

A few minutes later, Janey approaches me. A native of Congo, Janey received her citizenship in a ceremony at the US District Court two days previously. She had asked me after that ceremony if she could speak to the congregation following Sunday’s church service, thanking God and those individuals who helped her to get to this point. She now reminds me; I clap hands to get folks’ attention. Janey notices a few people talking outside the Fellowship Hall door, and asks if I can go alert them. When all is arranged, she very graciously thanks those who helped her study, those who drove her to classes, those who loved her and prayed for her – and praises God for taking her from a dangerous situation into this country. As she finishes, everyone claps, and Bruno – also a refugee from Congo – breaks out into a Swahili song, praising God for His goodness.

As the crowd begins to thin out, I sit down next to eight-year-old Rachel. Her family was part of this congregation before her birth, so I had the privilege of holding her when she was a newborn. As part of our service, we always ask for a volunteer to recite the week’s memory verses; this morning, Rachel and her brother had done so. I thank her for that, and we discuss Bible memory for a while. Then Rachel surprises me: “Pastor Coty, I was sad about something you said in the sermon.” “What, sweet girl?” “You said we were leaving Romans. I love Romans! I’m learning so much from it. So I’m sad that you’ll be preaching on something else” It takes me a bit to know what to say. Finally: “I’m so glad you are taking Paul’s message to heart, Rachel. I promise you, we will get back to it – I’ll only preach about five sermons on Job. And you know what? I think Job will help you understand Romans even better!” Then she is satisfied.

Driving home, tears well up in my eyes, praising God, and thanking Him for so much that I don’t deserve: For visitors responding to expository preaching; for those from a number of countries and peoples who grace our church; for a new citizen and spontaneous song; and for a little girl I once held as an infant who loves both the book of Romans and the in-depth preaching that opens up its truths.