Sometimes you will find a preacher who studies impeccably, the preacher brings together sermons that make the people shout and holla. The preacher gets invitations to preach in many locales, but there is no lasting change among the hearers. They come, shout at the entertaining presentation and leave. There can be many reasons for such an outcome. However, one of the primary ones is a lack of prayer.
Author: Sherman Haywood Cox II
Vanderbilt Trained Minister (MDiv), Univ. of Alabama Trained Software Developer (MS), Author, Blogger (https://soulpreaching.com), Husband, Son, Brother, Father.
Creating Consumerist-Oriented Christians
It has been about seven years since I took the course “Theology and Preaching in Worship” from Vanderbilt Divinity School under Dr. L. Susan Bond, but I will ever be thankful to her for her prodding of the students to have a sound theological rationale for all that we do. It was in that class that I was introduced to the marvelous works of the Lutheran theologian Marva Dawn.
The Connection of Style to Substance
James Harris, in Preaching Liberation, writes:
I am suggesting that style and substance are partners in preaching liberation. The way the sermon is preached–the style of delivery, the involvement of body and mind, the engagement of the audience, the rhythmic crescendos and decrescendos of the voice punctuated by staccato cadences and words uttered in musical style–all this is, to a degree, as important as the substance of what is being said.
Preparation or Inspiration?
Dr. Gardner Taylor, in How Shall They Preach wrote:
Most of us discover that sermons are born of a mysterious romance between preparation and inspiration. Dr. Paul Scherer used to say that inspiration is 10 percent genius and 90 percent firm application of the seat of the pants to the chair.
The Kingdom is not Good News for Everyone
James Harris, in Preaching Liberation writes:
Jesus didn’t come after John Inquiring about a consensus of beliefs or taking an opinion poll in order to tell folk what they wanted to hear or reinforce what they had already heard. No! Jesus didn’t come “shucking and jiving,” not even praying and singing…He came with a message–a message from God and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Audio 34 – Raliegh Jones Jr from The Black Preaching Network
Pastor Raleigh Jones discusses the origin and the continued work and progress of the Black Preaching Network.
the Black Preaching Network is a social networking site that allows preachers to meet, greet, and interact on the internet. The site now has over 10,000 members and is growing daily.
You can join now for fee, and I would encourage all preachers to take advantage of this marvelous resource.
Is Your Sermon a Balm or Band-Aid?
Salve is applied to a wound. It covers the wound like a band aid, but it does much more. Certainly it is important to cover the wound. It is important to block things from getting into the wound. Yes that is important, but a healing balm doesn’t just stop there.
Balm Goes Into the Wound
A healing balm actually goes into the wound. It attempts healing not from the safety of an outsider looking in, but from within the wound. Balm seeps into the wound and attempts healing there.
Don’t Just Preach to Yourself
Preachers must know themselves, if they are going to be effective preachers of the Gospel. Why is this? The reason is that many preachers can fall into the trap of preaching only to themselves rather than preaching to the people.
Audio 33 – The Wellspring of Life -Zachary Mills
The power of life and death is in the tongue.
Audio 32 – Two Preachers
Which of these two preachers are you? Are you the one who continues to get better or the slothful one?
Entertainment and Worship
Marva Dawn, in her work A Royal Waste of Time writes:
If television is causing people to be dissatisfied with the worship of our churches, should we change worship to be more like television — or should the splendor of our worship cause people to ask better questions about television?
Sermons as Medicine
Paul Scott Wilson, on page 22 of the first edition of the book The Practice of Preaching quotes Phillip Brooks at length in writing:
The Necessity of Getting With the People in the Sermon
The preachers who preach truly great messages often come into the lives of the people. Listen to the preachers who really touch their congregations. Listen to the illustrations used. They are illustrations from regular life. They are illustrations that we all can understand.
Preaching Matters
Charles E. Booth wrote: “Therefore, the serious revivalist should always seek to preach as as if life or death hangs in the balance.” He was writing specifically about the revivalist, but it can actually refer to any preacher’s sermon.