My Twenty-Second First Sermon

My Twenty-Second First Sermon
By Larry Linville

I’ve preached a first sermon twenty-one times
in churches both large and small.
Some were located in small country towns
and some in no town at all.

Some were in buildings in county seat towns
with a very tall steeple.
Others found their place in a big city
with the pews full of people.

There’s one thing common in every sermon.
I became nervous each time.
But I stood up and never let it show
and tried to speak so sublime.

As I prepare for my sermon this week
good old number twenty-two.
I know I’ll be nervous, but I’m doing
what God’s asking me to do.