The sermon is the key to the worship service. People like to hear the music and sometimes it can sooth in ways that only music can soothe. Sometimes prayer touches us in…
Category: Black Church
My God, My God, Why….?
On the cross Jesus uttered a fascinating sentence. We find it in Matthew 27:45-46, Jesus said “My God, My God, Why has thou forsaken me?” If you have been in the church…
Three Steps to Effective Assistant Ministers
I have been tan assistant for much of my time in ministry. Some pastors have treated me with the utmost respect. I have seen other pastors who treat their assistants almost as slaves, giving them the least desirable jobs and neglecting acknowledgment of the work that they do.
Senior pastors should note that they are not the only ones who are giving their time and energies to the church. Many of these assistants are in part time situations sometimes they are not even be paid at all. But these assistants finish their work in industry and then come to ministry to seek to give their talents to God.
There are, in my estimation, three steps that a senior minister must follow if that minister is to have effective assistant ministers.
Prophet or Orator?
In the book Sacred Art: Preaching and Theology in the African American Tradition Olin Moyd quotes Peter T. Forsyth who said: “The Christian preacher is not the successor of the Greek orator, but of the Hebrew prophet. The orator comes with inspiration the prophet comes with a revelation.”
Oratorical Talent Alone is not Preaching
Is Your Mouth Open? Preachers and Proclamation
H. Beecher Hicks in the second chapter of his book Preaching Through a Storm has a sermon entitled How to Silence a Preacher; or, Shut Your Mouth!. Rev. Hicks preached this sermon…
Scriptures as Sermon Illustration Resource
Charles Kohler, in his book how to preach without notes, has written on the importance of using the Scripture as an resource for sermon illustrations. On page 45, he he writes, “one…
Responses about the Prosperity Gospel
We don’t get many comments on SoulPreaching.Com. However this post on the prosperity Gospel has elicited a number of interesting ones that I didn’t want the readers to miss. The original article can be found here: http://shermancox.wpengine.com/prosperityfalse.
A Deeper Joy
Dr. Michael Williams wrote:
Preaching from the Margins
The Jazz Theologian has just written an article for reflection. The article is entitled “Marginal Christianity.” In that article, Robert Gelinas uses Dr.
The Prosperity Gospel’s False Promise
Marvin McMickle, in his work Where Have All The Prophets Gone writes about one of the biggest heresies that has grabbed hold of the church. This one is the idea that Christians are some how immune from suffering, sickness, or pain.
The Power of God is not Theory
Olin P. Moyd writes in The Sacred Art: “The power of God is not Theory. The power of God is action.” What Moyd is getting at is that when we preach about the power of God, it is important not to turn it into a theory. I remember when I was taking Calculus in college.
Celebrating Today and Tomorrow
It was not really that long ago when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr dreamed of a better world and then had the audacity to go out and attempt to bring that world into reality. A reality that included a world without racism. A reality that included marching for poor people and workers who were taken advantage of. A reality that included not being invovled in unjust wars.
Today We Celebrate the Movement
I Shall Not Be Moved
I shall not be, I shall not be moved
I shall not be, I shall not be moved
Just like a tree, Planted by the waters
I shall not be moved.
Sometimes the sick think of the blessing of God as a cure. Other times the one who has suffered job loss may see the blessing of God as getting that job back or finding a new one. In these cases the blessing is a reversal of fortunes. The blessing is God taking the problem and eliminating it.
Do we Need the Black Church? – Napoleon Harris
Acts 4:20 (KJV)
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
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.