I invite you all to head on over to the Reflections of a Jazz Theologian website. The web minister of that website is exploring the use of Jazz as a metaphor for understanding Christianity. The posts are often enlightening and powerful. He has a book coming out soon entitled: Finding the Groove.
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.
When Your Sermon is Done, Sit Down
I really love the website Biblical Preaching. Peter Mead always has a nugget that can be helpful to the preacher. Currently he has written a couple of posts on the subject of closing the sermon.
Principles of Closing the Sermon
Audio 27 – The Sermons of the Black Church
What are the sermons that are preached in the Black church? In this audio we discuss three of the types of sermons that are operative in the Black church.
Great Preaching – The Henry Mitchell Method
Henry Mitchell’s book Celebration and Experience in Preaching provides 2 very important sermonic structural components that can guide the preacher in structuring Black Sermons. The first component is celebration.
Audio 26 – What Do You Need in Your Sermon?
What are five things you need in a sermon? Poor sermons break one of these important components of sermon construction and presentation.
Audio 25 – Whooping with Integrity
I was listening to a preacher who tried to use a “whoop” to hide his lack of preparation. In this audio I give a few principles for whooping with integrity. If a preacher follows these principles he or she will be on the way to not just whoop, but whoop with integrity.
On-line Learning – Biblical Courses without Tuition Fees
Do you want to gain access to seminary and Bible school level education online? There are a number of inexpensive options. However, there are also some completely free options. For example, why not try the Biblical Training website or Theology.edu
BiblicalTraining.Org
Learning to Preach – Books to Help You
[amazon cover 0800629973]One of the most frequently asked questions that new preachers ask is where is a book to help me learn to preach? There are actually tons of such books. I have written on this question in the past on this website as well as another one. Even though that is true, I will take it up again in this article. I think that an African American Preacher needs a few resources to help them to preach.
General Introduction to Preaching Book
Audio 23 – Five Techniques to Generate Sermon Ideas
You need an idea for your sermon. You are not sure where to start. You are in the midst of “Preacher’s Block.” Here Pastor Cox gives 5 techniques to use to generate sermon ideas.
Preaching with Imagination
[amazon cover 0801057574]One of the important components of effective preaching is to help the congregation experience the sermon in as many sense as possible, not just hear the sermon. This book by Warren Wiersbe entitled Preaching and Teaching with Imagination provides an apologetic for using the imagination in preaching.
R. H. Harris – The Greatest Singer You Never Heard
[amazon cover B000000QMM]Everyone has heard of Sam Cooke. Many Gospel music lovers know that he began in Gospel singing some of the greatest songs that can even still be heard today.
From “Wonderful” to “Jesus be a Fence to Touch the Hem,” you can still hear the music made and remade. However few know of the man that influenced both Cooke and much of Gospel music. The man’s name is R. H. Harris. Cooke followed R. H. Harris in the Soul Stirrers.
Sermons of the Black Church – God Will Fix Me
Preachers in the Black church tradition preach many messages. However there are a few that jump out at you. In this series we first looked at the idea that God Will Hook You Up. That message is definitely in the tradition and we cannot forget it. However, in these days, many are ONLY preaching this message. In addition, some are preaching a distorted caricature of this message. But, God skillfully used this message to help Black folks through some dark days in America.
Need a Sermon? – Seeing God’s Healing Outline
The sermon should begin by telling the story of the man who brought his son to be healed by Jesus. The story should be told completely and in a way that people can feel, see, and touch the story. I would say that you tell the story from the centurion stopping Jesus up until Jesus told him that his servant shall be healed. Then give the three points. After that pick the story back up on the way home for the celebration.
Audio 22 – Preaching by Playing Words Like Notes
Can we learn anything about preaching from musicians? Is there any correspondence between playing notes and saying words? In this audio we seek to answer this important question by encouraging preaching to play words like notes.