Category: blog
The Role Of Humanity In Preaching
Some believe that preaching is where the preacher goes off to talk to God with Bible in hand. Then God gives a message to the preacher. Then the preacher comes to the…
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
Connect the Point to Human Experience
The sermon is not a Biblical lecture designed merely to inform the hearer of some interesting facts. It is not merely a place where you can learn different stories from the Bible….
Should You Go To Seminary?
Because of my public ministry, I receive a lot of questions. One question that comes up from time to time is whether the questioner should go to seminary or perhaps the location…
Are You Settling For Good?
Thomas Merton said, “The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.” This reminds me of something that one of my seminary professors said in a sermon. He argued that the…
The Easy Sermon Resolution – Don’t Preach For The Easy Shout
The other day I was listening to a preacher close a sermon about pain. The sermon talked about the pain and struggles of this life. In typical African American style, the preacher closed the sermon with a “celebration.” Here the preacher resolved the pain by pointing to being “hooked-up.”
The God Who Conserves
I am seeing a lot of shuffling, organization, and reorganization in my life. Many of you have the same experience. Further, I have set aside some tasks only to realize that I…
How Do You Use Greek And Hebrew?
We often hear preachers pronounce Greek and Hebrew words in sermons. Sometimes they seem to be clarifying the message by appealing to an obscure word. Whatever the intent, one can easily confuse…
Sermons that are Willing to be Misunderstood
I have been reading a challenging book entitled The Intrusive Word by United Methodist Bishop William H. Willimon. He argues that being understood is not the ultimate goal of our ministry or our preaching. The ultimate goal is to be true to the gospel that we preach. He says:
Can we preachers respect the gospel enough to allow people not to understand it? (page 19)
Is Relevance and Understanding the Point?
Stealing Another Person’s Sermon – What It Says About You?
Teresa Fry Brown makes a startling statement in her presentation of Charles Adams’ 9 suggestions to preachers found on page 164 and 165 of her book Weary Throats and New Songs. She says:
Preaching The Coming Kingdom
I don’t have a big problem when people disagree with me. That will happen from time to time. Actually, disagreements help me immensely. I learn a lot from disagreements. No, it is…
Is All Church Growth Good?
Medical Doctor Phillip Mills writes about the infatuation many have with some popular church growth approaches. Certainly we can question whether it is God’s intention that every church turn into a Mega…
What Is The Laity Going To Do?
There was a time when all Christians were supposed to pray. remember that the prayer of a righteous one avails much. (James 5:16) We were told that we need to pray for…