Preaching without notes is not a brain dump.
Do You Have Power in Your Sermons?
The Apostle Paul wrote that the Gospel was the Power of God unto Salvation. (Romans 1:16) As I contemplate this scripture, I come to the question, is there power in my sermons? If I am preaching the Gospel, then there must be power in them. Power to break strongholds, the power to change lives, the power to bring salvation to the weak, the power to break addictions, the power to bring good out of evil. The power to change structures of evil.
Telling us What’s Wrong
A Healthy Fear of Preaching – Do you Have It?
As a teacher of preachers, I often see many people who want to preach in my life. Look in any congregation and you will find many preachers who have never had a community of believers validate their internal calling. These people sometimes think that preaching is simply about pounding on members with Biblical truth, belly-aching about some wrong, lecturing on a religious subject, or simply getting folks to shout and praise us.
Preaching from a Different Angle
Gardner Taylor preaches a sermon entitled “A Cry in
Who is Jesus Today?
I was cleaning up another blog and thought this post might be of interest to SoulPreaching.Com readers….
Someone on a blog that has been discontinued asked an interesting question about Jesus, “Who would Jesus be today?” The answer given was a little unsettling to me, you can read it in part here:
Analyzing and Planning Your Own Preaching
Many of us have had the feeling, is my preaching going anywhere? Or maybe you are thinking, “Haven’t I preached this same sermon last month.” I know exactly where you are coming from. And what you need to do is engage in some sermon planning. In this planning, you should do a few things.
Ask Help from God
Four Disjointed Points is not a Sermon
One of the most important rules for preachers is to have one major point. Now if you preach the three points and a poem, what this means is that each of your points should be connected in some way to the main point. If you preach a narrative, it means that you have a major point in mind as you preach the sermon. That way, the people can remember the sermon.
Sermon not Biblically-Derived
I am a Planter – Part 3 Planing Seeds
I am a planter. This means that I not only extract and re-arrange, but I deposit. We do not leave the soil empty, disturbed, and void. Far from it, we leave the ground altered by adding to it. We plant seeds! We plant seeds of hope, that hope that is in Christ and His gospel. That hope that shows the more excellent way of being and doing. We plant seeds! The seeds of self reliance and mutuality. We plant seeds! The seeds of community, and communal interdependence. We plant seeds!
Methods for Preaching Without Notes – Memorize Nothing
We have talked about this method on a few times. Some might call this extemporaneous preaching in that the preacher does not necessarily know what will be preached or how. The preacher prepares by immersing his or herself in the scripture. You take a walk around the scriptural area and simply look around.
I am a Planter – Part 2 Tilling the Soil
I am a planter which means that I have the duty of tilling the soil. I literally have to break the soil, and turn what was up, over so that it is down. They reverse things when necessary. Likewise, I have the task of placing what was down and under the earth up and on top. Likewise, I have to take that which is up and put it down.
Methods for Preaching Without Notes – Memorize an Outline
When people ask me about preaching without notes, many assume that you must write out the whole sermon and then memorize the sermon. These preachers are looking for a method that will help them memorize such a large amount of material.
Links
Resource Links
- Christian Books and Bibles
– A growing discount Christian book house that has many of your resource needs.
African American Preacher Networking Sites
Ministry Education Sites
I am a Planter – Part 1 Digging Weeds
While reflection on my brief tenure in the pastorate I can say in all honesty that there is no greater joy than to work in the area of one’s passion. For about two months I have been living in a region of the country completely foreign to me, involved in an immense act of service towards individuals who constantly perplex, surprise, and at times even serve as a source of agony. Nonetheless, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing!
Why are Some Preachers better than others?
Here is an article by Charles Swindoll that seeks to answer the question, “Why are some Preacher’s Better than Others?” In it he gives three things that go into all good preaching:
- Good Preparation
- Interesting
- Practical