As we jumped into 2015, First Christian began a series called “Revolutions.” Resolutions focus on changing problems. Revolutions – old school disciplines – focus on changing patterns. In this series, I had a chance to preach on the discipline of study.

Truthfully, I have a love-hate relationship with study. There must be some part of me that enjoys it, since I’m working on wrapping up a second master’s degree with my eyes toward an eventual doctorate. And I do love to learn…for instance, there were a few years where I think I had a legitimate addiction to Wikipedia (I’ve since recovered).

But the work that often goes into study is not so fun. One of my college roommates – currently wrapping up a law degree – often contacts me in the midst of one of his long papers, just to remind me that whenever he writes such a paper he hears me in the back of his head. In this recollection, I am saying what I would always say over and over while pulling an all-nighter writing a term paper: “I HATE writing papers!”

“I hate writing papers.”

“I hate WRITING PAPERS!”

And so on…

Despite my refrain in this sermon, we don’t just study what we love. Sometimes we study what we want to love. My buddy Titus says some words to this effect over on his blog. So whether you love Jesus, or just want to, let me tell you that the hard work always pays off.