THEO-logy

This marks the beginning of a new series I will be posting when I can here on the SOTH Blog. It will be comprised of posts that will meld my thoughts with those of my great grandfather, Theodore Arthur Williams. My great grandpa Theo began preaching at Assembly of God churches in 1948. He served at churches in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi before his retirement in 1975. He also used to build churches from the ground up and was a talented pianist and guitarist. Recently, my grandmother (his daughter) gave me a box overflowing with Theo's sermons. You can tell at a glance of their age for several reasons:

• They are typewritten.
• The pages are discolored around the edges and the ink has faded some.
• Many of them bear the date of that sermon's preaching in the top corners.

I am honored to possess these teachings of my great grandfather's. Years worth of his study of the Scriptures, personal stories, convictions, and revelations. I love that he mis-spelled words, typed the Scriptures in red, and often wrote additional notes by hand on his sermon guides. I didnt get the chance to know him well because he joined the Lord before I was old enough to recall much of my time spent with him. I have memories of him sitting in his chair in the living room of the house he shared with my great grandmother - me at his feet surrounded by lots of other family members at Christmas time...

With these sermons of his in my hands, I am coming to know great grandpa intimately for the first time. I am sitting in the pews of his churches as I read. Or even at his feet in the living room of his home.

As I read these writings of his, I am becoming aware of two things:

1) He knew the Lord intimately and loved talking about Him! The sermons are rife with the kind of insight indicative of my great grandpa's thirst for the knowledge of his God and desire to share that with his congregants.

2) His insights are still very applicable today.

So with these posts I want to honor my great grandpa's memory and passion by passing on his love for God as well as his calls for true discipleship. He may have retired, but his ministry has not come to an end. With each post, I will pull directly from his sermons from the 50s, 60s, and 70s - interjecting my own thoughts and sharing the relevance of his expositions from then to our world now.

Join me in the pews of my great grandpa Theo with every post.

My great grandfather is going to deliver his first sermon to a congregation in 35 years starting tomorrow.