Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Z ~ Zeugnis

At the end of the main sermon the minister who delivered it will ask the other ministers for zeugnis. They are expected to confirm what they had just heard matches with what the Bible says, and then add some of their own thoughts.  For the most part this didn't take long, a few minutes a piece and it was time for the fifteen minute closing prayer and the last hymn.

Some ministers had a problem keeping their zeugnis short. One in particular would ramble on and on and on for thirty minutes or more. The one Sunday it had been the bishop's turn to deliver the main sermon. When he asked for zeugnis this minister again kept going and going, finally at the almost 45 minute mark, the bishop leaned forward and said, "I asked for zeugnis, not a sermon." You could have heard a pin drop.

After that, the zeugnis portion of church was much better, the long winded zeugnis giver now became the shortest, barking out only the bare minimum. We didn't mind.

30 comments:

  1. Thank you SO much for this series! It was my favourite blog to read every day! I took an electronics break for lent this year so has to catch up a bit but catching up was fun too! I think it is fair to say this series was appreciated by all your readers. Thank you again! Blessings.

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  2. I am sad that we have reached Z as it has been so interesting to read your posts on Amish life. I have read many 'Amish' novels and so many of them provide quite conflicting information, so it was good to hear the real facts. Thank you.

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    1. I'm planning to choose more topics from my list of A-Z ideas to blog about over the next few weeks, possibly even months. I counted and I still have well over two hundred ideas so it could continue for quite a while, unless people get tired of it.

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    2. Us get tired of it? I believe I can speak for your readership when I say: "Fat chance of THAT happening!"

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  3. Good morning my friend,
    OKAY ....... I learned a new Z word !!! Couldn't wait to see what the word and thought for our Z day would be !!! Made me start yawning just thinking about the Zeugnis ...... :O:O sounds like a very L O N G church day, maybe that is just why it wasn't EVERY Sunday !! Again, this was sooo very FUN !! I'm SAD we have reached Z .... hope you do think of a NEW alphabet series .... soooo much information ...... Gosh, your life has to be so much easier without ALL these rules and regulations coming at you. Thank God we know the truth, and, the TRUTH is what sets us free !!!
    Thanks so much Mary Ann, wishing you a wonderful, happy, blessed Spring day .... hoping you get to spend some outdoors ..... It's just down right HOT here today ..... love to you Tanza

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    1. Church services were long, which is probably why our in between Sunday used to be my favorite. Today looks like a great day to stay indoors. It's foggy and cold here. Perfect for crafts and baking!

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  4. Gosh, hard to believe it's cold and foggy there !! We have winds today, and it's suppose to be 99 ..... too warm for me .... have all the windows open and letting the house feel nice for a bit ........ my poor plants outside, need lots of water ...... stay cozy inside today :):)

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  5. I've enjoyed this series, also. What a relief it must have been for the bishop to put a stop to dragging out that portion of the service. I've sat through some long sermons, but I noticed they didn't seem long when they are truly inspired and delivered in a thoughtful way,

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    1. It was a relief! I have also noticed how sometimes a sermon can go well over an hour and yet feel only about thirty minutes long, the inspiration and method of delivery has a lot to do with that.

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  6. I am a quiet reader of your blog, but love reading it. I have especially enjoyed your alphabet series. I love to read about the Amish and while I admire so much of their way of life, I couldn't follow some of their man-made rules.

    I can't wait to read more of your alphabetical series. I do have a question for you from your celery comment. Do you know why so many Amish books talk about growing it for creamed celery for a wedding?

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    1. The reason so many Amish books talk about raising celery for weddings? ...... Most of those authors were never Amish, they thought of Lancaster when wanting to do research, heard about celery there and ran with it. Lancaster and its daughter communities are the only ones that do that though.

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    2. I wondered if it was something like that. One author I read does have an Amish background, so that was why I was confused. But now that you explain it, it makes sense because that is where her g'ma was from.

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  7. Great series Mary Ann. I laughed out loud when I read the Bishops words! I agree with your comments that an inspiring message can seem half as long as it is, while a dry sermon can seem to stretch twice as long.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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    1. It was funny, and very out of character for something like that to happen in church where everything is so prim and proper.

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  8. Funny story! I'm excited to hear you have lots more A-Z ideas!

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  9. I have really enjoyed reading your A-Zs! I'm so glad you commented on my blog one day and I went to check yours out. You are now in my "daily reads." Thank you!

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  10. Good for that bishop's reminder. I remember a few such preachers...

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    1. Some other ministers could have have benefited from such a reminder, I'm sure. :)

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  11. Thank you so much for this A-Z series of blogs. So interesting and informative. I am so glad you shared all of this with us.

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  12. Too funny! It must have been shocking to HEAR what everyone was probably thinking!

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  13. My dad was a minister, and his sermons were usually pretty short. He said the spinal cord runs from your "bum to your brain", and when your backside gets tired, your brain stops working. Most of Jesus' talks were short, and there's no need for humans to try to out talk Him.

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    1. That's a great way to judge how long a sermon should be, wise man! :)

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  14. I loved this series so much, and I'm happy to hear that there is more to come.

    I agree that pure Bible preaching can seem much shorter than it really is. Our pastor routinely preaches for well over an hour, but he's so good that nobody notices.

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  15. This made me laugh. My grandfather was a minister with the Assembly of God, and he never preached a sermon more than 45 minutes long. He would write the sermons and practice and time them. He said after 45 minutes, people had to go to the bathroom and you can't hold the spiritual thrall of a person who has to go to the bathroom. LOL

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment. I love hearing your thoughts.