Closing The Sermon With Power Chapter 1: Prerequisites to a Powerful Close How do you end a sermon with power? You are asking this because innately you understand that no matter how…
Where does a Preacher Keep The Notes?
OK, if you are using limited notes, where do you keep them? 1. In the Pulpit Here the preacher places the limited notes on the pulpit. When done well, the audience may…
Practicing Preaching and Christian Living – Lessons from the Trumpet
Well I spent a significant amount of time practicing the fundamentals of music. I played many scales and arpeggios (chords). I turned them into patterns and exercises. I played major and minor scales. I played them from memory as well as sight read the scales and patterns. I would play many different patterns and piece them together in different ways. I played them high, play them low, play them staccato, play them legato, play them whole notes, half notes, quarter, etc.
The Spiritual Battle in the Pulpit
Peter Mead, of the Biblical Preaching blog, is starting a series of posts on Spiritual Warfare and the Preacher. You can find his first entry at this link.
In this post Mead provides three things that Satan uses to battle preachers. These are:
- Pride
- The Sin that easily besets us
- Distraction
Not Giving One’s Best
Do You Just Sprinkle The Bible Onto Your Sermons?
A little while ago, a preacher called me and asked me about his idea for a sermon. He wanted me to critique his sermon idea and give him pointers on how he…
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…
On the Reuse of Sermons
Teresa Fry Brown hits on another important topic as she presents Charles Adams’ 9 suggestions to preachers found on page 164 and 165 of her book Weary Throats and New Songs. This one has to do with re-using sermons.
Does Someone Need To Hear This?
You worked hard to put together a sermon. You studied the text. You assembled some funny anecdotes and pertinent illustrations. And now you are ready to preach. You put powerful emphasis on…
Trusting Your Stuff: How to Know When Your Sermon is Ready
One question that often comes up is “When is my sermon ready to preach?” This is not an easy question to answer for a few reasons. One reason it is difficult is because some preachers never spend enough time in preparation. They allow the demands of ministry to overpower their need to preach effective sermons.
Don’t Commentate….Preach!
A while ago, Peter Mead ran a series on his helpful website on the subject of “Preaching Epistles.” People ask me to bring different perspectives, so here is one that I read…
The Black Tradition – Freedom is at It’s Core
Oh Freedom, Oh Freedom,
Oh Freedom Over Me
And Before I’d Be a Slave
I’d Be Burried in my Grave
And Go Home to my Lord and be Free
Coming Up With Sermon Ideas
One of my professors gave me a few approaches to generate sermonic ideas. The first approach would be to take the author of the Biblical passage or one of the characters in…
You Got A Theme – How Do You Get A Sermon?
OK, this is one of those questions where our practice is often at odds with what we say we do. What am I talking about? The big question, WHAT COMES FIRST, THE…
Increase in Sermon Intensity not Yelling
In my post discussing Jasper William’s Whooping System, I wrote about the whooping Curve. This is an increase in intensity that subsides slightly as you enter the whoop and then grows again to the final climax.