LTSP - Preaching with Power 2004

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‘Sing the Lord’s Song Through Storms,’ Preaching with Power preacher implores

Two of Pastor Ethelyn Taylor’s children have died during her Christian journey, but her faith remains stronger than ever

Pastor Ethelyn Taylor: "there is hope and redemption even in the darkest hour."

PHILADELPHIA (March 17, 2004) – Pastor Ethelyn Taylor could make plenty of excuses for not "singing the Lord’s song" throughout her life. She told her Preaching with Power listeners this morning that she had lost two of her children along her Christian journey – one through a traffic accident, and one through illness.

"You will have storms in your life," Taylor said. "You may be ill, alone, filled with despair or depressed. And you just feel helpless. You may be going through a separation or divorce. A son or a daughter may have disappointed you in some way. Don’t let the devil take the Lord’s song from you. Remember what it was like when you first believed, how the Lord lifted you on high…placed you on a solid rock and put a new song in you, took away fear and gave you peace. Whatever gloomy song you are feeling, let your new song be of unspeakable joy. The world didn’t give you the Lord’s song, and the world can’t take it away!"

Taylor during workshop: She told seminarians and others she finds inspiration for her preaching from listening to the stories of her parishioners.

Taylor, pastor of Oxford Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia’s East Mt. Airy section, preached on the 137^th and 138^th psalms and on Acts 16: 25-36. The title of her message was "Singing the Lord’s Song Through Storms of Life."

"The tragedies in life are not really about us," Taylor said at the outset of her message. "They are part of God’s plan for us to send us to places where we dare to tread." She said that many people experiencing great loneliness in the modern day search for wholeness and healing by looking in all the wrong places for all the wrong reasons. You and I know that we must first seek The Kingdom and not put our faith in people and things. It’s easy to sing God’s praises when things are going right, but if we hold onto the Lord’s song we know there is hope and redemption even in the darkest hour. People who sing the Lord’s song know that their God is immanent, present and intimate with them. They know their God is acquainted with their grief. They know the song of David and Psalm 138 that Your Love Endures Forever. In Acts when Paul and Silas were in pain and prison, they began to pray and sing songs of Zion. They refused to let the devil take their song away." She urged her listeners to keep singing amid their questioning and through tear-stained eyes.

During her sermon, Taylor described her own journey, which has involved 25 years of teaching in the Philadelphia School District, teaching in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Education, and being called by God to serve as a pastor during a stage in life where she might have retired. She is the first African American woman to serve as Moderator of the Philadelphia Presbytery.

The Intermezzo Choir has sung during Preaching with Power at the seminary for many years.

In a brief workshop following the worship service, Taylor told seminarians and others that her sermon preparation involves "getting myself out of the way" so God can speak through her. She also finds inspiration for her messages by listening to the stories of the people in her congregation, she said.

Inspiring music by the Intermezzo Choir added greatly to the worship service. The choir, under the direction of Dr. Verolga Nix, has been part of the Wednesday Preaching with Power experience at the seminary for many years.