You’ve heard of the Titanic, but do you know about the SS Monroe? It was another ship involved in a nautical disaster just two years after Titanic. It was January 1914 when the steamship Monroe was sailing off the coast of Virginia in thick fog and was struck by another vessel named the Nantucket. The Monroe sank so quickly and listed so sharply that most of the lifeboats were not able to deploy and 41 sailors were lost.

At first, it was thought the Captain of the Nantucket was to blame for the collision. After all, his vessel had rammed into the Monroe. But after Congressional investigation, it was determined that Captain Edward Johnson of the Monroe had strayed off course and away from his shipping lane because he had not calibrated the steering compass. The New York Times reported that the captain “navigated the Monroe with a steering compass that deviated as much as two degrees from the standard magnetic compass. [The Captain] said the instrument was sufficiently true to run the ship, and that it was custom … to use such compasses. His steering compass had never been adjusted in the one year he was master of the Monroe.”

There is a lesson here for all of us. Every precision instrument needs calibration. Musical instruments need to be tuned. Tools need to stay sharpened. Prescription lenses need to be updated and kept clean. Measuring instruments need calibration.

Spiritually, we need regular calibration as well. That is Paul’s focus in Colossians 3. I preached the opening verses 1-4 last Sunday, and we saw three steps toward calibration: escape the noise, adjust your view, and embrace your identity. In this passage, we learned…

• The importance of being still and spending time with God
• What it means to “seek first” things above
• Common distractions that get in the way of thinking on things above
• Is it wrong to think about the future and to make plans?
• Your identity is not in your looks, your health, or your accomplishments. Instead, it is in your relationship with Christ

As I mentioned last week, I’ve started breaking down my sermons into shorter podcasts and will continue to post those on my Feed My Sheep podcast. I encourage you to subscribe and “like” the podcast to help share it with others. That will appear in the days ahead. Meanwhile, you can find the entire sermon audio as well as video in one place, using the church link below…

Audio – visit our church Sermon Page or listen here:

Video – visit our church Youtube channel or watch below:

Many of you know that I post my sermons and Bible studies on a podcast called “Feed My Sheep.” It’s been a helpful way over the years to share God’s Word and store all the audio recordings in one place. I think I have shared around 700 episodes and have more than 17,000 downloads. Praise God! The Sermon Page on this blog has a list of these sermons arranged topically and by book of the Bible.

Earlier this week, I decided to try something new. Instead of posting each sermon as a separate 40-45 minute episode, I thought it might be helpful to break one message down into shorter, 10-15 minute episodes and post new content more frequently. This would provide a “steady drip” of God’s Word throughout the week and help people who have limited time and like to listen on the go.

I’m curious what you think. It’s a little more work on my end to edit and upload 3-4 messages a week instead of just one, but if it’s easier to listen and has the potential of reaching a wider audience, it’s worth it. Please take a moment to listen and let me know if you like this new format, or if you liked the old way better.

Here are the four episodes I posted this week…

Sneers & Jeers (Nehemiah 4, pt. 1)

Prayers & Progress (Nehemiah 4, pt. 2)

Swords & Trowels (Nehemiah 4, pt. 3)

Breaking the 80/20 Rule (Nehemiah 4, pt. 4)

You can access the Feed My Sheep podcast here or you can subscribe and add the podcast straight into your favorite podcasting service using the podbean or iTunes app. Thanks for listening!