Olin Moyd, in The Sacred Art: Preaching and Theology in the African American Tradition wrote:
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.
Do Your Sermons Elevate Your People?
I was reading Pastoral Theology: A Black Church Perspective by James H. Harris. In that book he writes:
Sword of Gideon and the Lord – Who is in the Pulpit?
There is an interesting discussion in our new forum about whether it is right to attempt to emulate another preacher when learning how to preach. You can join the conversation and read what was written here: http://shermancox.wpengine.com/emulatepreachers.
One writer stated the following common thing:
You do the work, God will bring the inspiration it is not you who should be in the pulpit but THE PREACHER Jesus by way of the Holy Spirit, you need to get out of the way and let God have God’s way.
What Preachers do you Listen to?
Who are your favorite preachers? Do you attempt to emulate them in the pulpit?
How Do You Begin Your Preparation?
How do you find Bible texts to preach? Do you have a sermonic calendar? How do you plan your sermons?
Do You Practice Style?
How many of you actually practice stylistic aspects of your message? Do you think that practice is something you should even do? Should all of our preparation time be spent in sermon construction?
Preaching True to Bible and Related to the People
My biggest concern as it relates to my preaching style is how can I open up the truth(s) of the scripture all the while keeping it current and up to date… Any way you can assist me there will be great…
I just received your very good question that really zeros in on the question of
“relevance.” I would suggest that you first of all see “application” as a part of the exegetical process. We are about to have a free web seminar on exegesis in the middle of May. However, I do have a few important things to keep in mind to help you with “relevance.”
Preaching to Elderly Population
Dear Sir:
I have an elderly congregation and I’m having a hard time finding material for them to comprehend. The material is like a foreign language and the vocabulary words are to hard…I need material and themes to make them rejoice but it must be on a lower reading and comprehension level.
Thanks,
Bible Software
Thank you for the email and I am excited about being a member. The main subject that I would like touched on deals with Bible software. I know there are many out there but what is considered the best for preachers? There is Logos, Wordsearch, E-sword, PC Bible, etc. I know Logos is the most expensive out of all but just touch on that area a little. Thanks in advance.
Moving from Preparation to Preaching
Someone wrote the following question
Hello Pastor Cox,
My question has to do with the actual preaching event. How does one go from writing great sermons to actually preaching great sermons?
Avoiding a Dull Sermon
How do you avoid a dull sermon? What can you do to help the congregation understand your sermon? In this video Pastor Cox provides the answer.
Are You a Preacher or Motivational Speaker?
Interestingly, some preaching that is considered great by many is nothing more than a motivational speech. It might be true, it might even be helpful. It may help you succeed at work. But too often all one has done is changed the title from the latest pop-psychologist’s seminar from “how to succeed” to “hot to fulfill God’s purpose” where God’s purpose is defined as “succeeding in this life.”