Henry Mitchell’s central point in his work
Today we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King and the movement for freedom that he was a part of. The Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly has an Interview with the Dean of Preachers Gardner C. Taylor. You can find the interview in text and some video at this link. Dr. Taylor talks about many issues including church and politics, mega churches, and preaching. One very important quote is the following: Well, the Apprentice is back and I must admit that this is about the only television show that I look at every week. I am not sure why it is so appealing to me, perhaps it is that we are simply looking at human nature. Pat Robertson predicts that a massive terrorist attack will happen to the USA in 2007 according to an article in CNN.Com. The article goes on to tell of Robertson’s other predictions and interesting statements. For example, Robertson saying that God punished Ariel Sharon with a stroke for giving some of the land to the Palistinians. Robertson also predicted that bush would easily win re-election. Over at the Vulgar Homiletics blog, Dave Barnhart is in the middle of a series entitled Preaching Basics. It looks to be a helpful series of pointers to keep in mind when you preach. For example the first is to Keep it Simple. Barnhart suggests that we use simple language without dumbing down the message. The second is to get rid of the passive verbs. The third is to incorporate silence and pause into the message. Go on over and follow this interesting series. Here is a video of Dr. Benjamin Reaves’ sermon entitled More than Conquerors from the 30 Good Minutes Website. Thanks from Dipnoi for this link to the Real Live Preacher’s series on How To Read the Bible. Here is a link to the video for part 1. It looks as if it will be helpful and valuable. The Homiletic Terms bliography defines Celebration as A peak moment of emotional, cognitive, and spiritual release occurring during sermons. This “peak moment” is often the final portion of the sermon. Paul Reid asks this question in his blog. He answers integrity, faithfulness, intelligible, and humility. These are truly good qualities to ask of onesself when the preacher steps into the pulpit, but a couple of things came to my mind. Are these required however is a good question. I have heard powerful sermons by preachers who were not the least bit humble. And integrity is a powerful word. Can any of us really say that we are true to the message that we preach? Our Homiletic Terms bibliography defines Call and Response as “A back-and-forth verbal dialogue between preacher and congregation during the sermon.†Often this is assumed to be in the African American church with an African American preacher, but I have seen pentecostal European American pastors interacting with mixed congregations in this way. Ken Collins gives you a list of things to do if you want to preach a terrible sermon. The whole list is helpful and can be read with profit. A Little Talk With Jesus
Troubles of Every Kind
Thank God I’ll Always Find
That a Little Talk with Jesus Makes It Right
The Preacher that Changed the World
Sermons that Prepare People to Live in the Real World
The Apprentice and Pastoral Reflections
Fortuneteller or Prophet?
Preaching Basics from the Vulgar Homiletics Blog
Dr. Benjamin Reaves Sermon – More than Conquerors
How to Read the Bible
Homiletic Term – Celebration
Definition
Sub-Categories
What is Good Preaching?
Call and Response – Homiletic Term
How To Preach a Lousy Sermon