Personally, I think just about every sermon should end in an appeal. But what should the appeal entail. I would suggest that the appeal have a three-fold focus.
Search Results for: Christ the King
The Sermon is Never Finished
Cleophus LaRue’s next principle of effective sermons is The Sermon as Continuous Creation.
The preacher is to always think on the sermon. Even after it is “ready” for preaching, the preacher is still thinking of new ideas and new ways to present certain ideas.
Are You Preaching a Sermon or Something Else?
Once again the Peter Mead from the Biblical Preaching blog provides a short post with a big punch. This time he quotes from Dwight Stevenson’s work A Reader on Preaching and asks, us to consider if we are truly preaching a sermon or something else.
Replacements for Sermons
Frederick Haynes’ Stories – Improving Your Preaching
I make a habit of listening to Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III of Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas Texas. Dr. Haynes incorporates stories into his preaching very effectively. These stories are gleaned from various sources.
Finding Stories
Maurice Watson – Black Preaching Lectures
At this link you will find two lectures on Black Preaching and a sermon by Dr. Maurice Watson of Beulahland Bible Church in Macon Ga.
The lecture titles are as follows:
- Lecture: The Preaching of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
- Lecture: The Contribution of African-American Preaching to American Christianity
- Sermon: Great Preaching of the Gospel
Sermon – Wake Up, Throw Off, and Put On
Romans 13:11-14
Introduction
Bible Study – Power of the Word
What was the way in which God brought the heavens into existence? – Psalms 33:6-9.
What is it that Christ uses to uphold all things? – Hebrews 1:3.
Of what great truth are some willingly ignorant? – 2 Peter 3:5,6.
By what are the present heavens and earth reserved for a similar fate? – 2 Peter 3:7.
What other passage of Scripture also reveals that creative power is exercised through the word of God? – Psalms 148:5.
What change is wrought out in the life of one who is in Christ? – 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Not You But Me
It’s me, It’s me, It’s me oh Lord
Standin in the Need of Prayer
It’s me, It’s me, It’s me oh Lord
Standin’ in the Need of Prayer
Preaching Patterns – Moves and Structures
The next preaching pattern is David Buttrick’s “Plot’s and Moves” pattern for sermon construction. What is interesting about his methodology is that he conceives of the preaching task as preaching not to “individuals” neither to “groups of individuals”, but to a community.
Simple Induction Pattern for Sermon Creation
Inductive methods are at the base of many preaching methods today. While induction is a good and helpful structural construct, we should not totally do away with the deductive methods that have stood the test of time.
Moses the Model Preacher
Eugene Peterson, in his book Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, refers to Deuteronomy and Moses’ final sermon by saying:
Expository Black Preaching?
Xavier Pickett over at Reformed Blacks of America has done it again. He has presented a concise attack on the status-quo from the perspective of the Black Preaching Tradition.
He states:
The goal of preaching is not expositional preaching, but rather to present and proclaim Christ as resurrected.
The Mega Church Phenomenon and the Black Church
“An Increase in the Number of African American Megachurches” is the fifth trend that Martha Simmons wrote about in the African American Pulpit Spring Edition of 2007.
Articulating the Gospel – Beyond Regurgitation
I must admit that I am impressed by these brothers at Reformed Blacks of America. They are seeking to push African Americans in that movement to apply the Gospel to their own context and not simply regurgitate the pre-packaged presentations of our white colleagues.
I would encourage you to read the whole entry, but of special interest are the 4 traits of Radical Reformed Churches.