A preacher friend, now deceased, had an excellent memory.  He never had any difficulty remembering the points of his messages.  He always did a beautiful job presenting a sermon.  But there was one thing he couldn't seem to do...memorize a poem.  There was a particular poem that he favored and wanted to use in a message.  He worked diligently all week commiting it to memory.  He recited it to me word perfect.  The following Sunday morning when it came to the place for it in his sermon he made it through the first half very well.  But, faltering, a blank expression came over his face.  Then he said, "And on and on and on it goes!"

A fellow ministerial student,  during our college days,  related the following experience:  "When I began my message last Sunday, I told the people, 'Today I'm going to tell you three things!'  I gave them the first point and preached a while and then gave them the second point and continued.  When I came to the third point it completely left me.  Hoping to remember, I said,  'Now going back to that first point,' I thoroughly reviewed it and did the same with the second point.'  Realizing it was hopeless, I concluded the message quickly by saying '...and that's the two things that I wanted to tell you today.'"

We very often look for ways out of tight spots.  I've thought while in such a spot, how nice it would be to just suddenly become "invisible" or that "amnesia" would suddenly fall upon the congregation.  These would be the "easy" ways out. 

For man and his sin problem, the only way out is down and up.  Down at the  Cross and looking up to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.

                                                                                                               JWB