Search Results for: how to write sermon
Three Points and a Poem – Revisited
I feel like starting with the quote from Mark Twain who said: “The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” There are many who think that the three points and a poem deserve to fall off the landscape of possible sermonic choices.
The Stages of Exegesis – Updated
I just realized that I do not have any posts that give an outline of my method for exegesis. Here is the basic process.
- Prayer – You should not open the Bible without praying for the guidance of the Spirit in understanding the principles found in the text.
Two Questions the Preacher Should Answer
Olin P. Moyd gives an interesting quote on page 121 of his important work The Sacred Art: Preaching and Theology in the African American Tradition. He writes:
Prophetic Preaching or Praise?
Dr. McMickle discusses “praise” as the next reason why prophetic preaching has not been on the agenda of most preachers. Whether it is preaching conferences, journals, magazines, and church services, we are constantly given this call to praise. McMickle writes:
What Should the Congregation Remember?
The Unashamed Workman has a short article where the editor quotes John Stott answering the question what should the people remember from our sermon?
He writes:
Sources of Bible Preaching – Experience
Charles Koller in the book How To Preach Without Notes writes: “Preaching at its best is the sharing of profound personal experience.” He backs up this claim by appealing to the apostles who simply told the story of their interaction with Jesus Christ (Acts 4:20).
Charles G. Adams Preaching Method
Charles G. Adams provides a discussion of his sermon preparation method in Cleophus LaRue’s book Power in the Pulpit. It is detailed and comprehensive.
Sermon Preparation
Pastor Adams first emphasizes that prayer is at the beginning of the sermon. In addition, the preacher must have a text from the Bible and a subject from the preacher.
Preaching out of the Overflow
The last general principle Cleophus LaRue writes about in his book before walking through the methods of the great preachers is Preaching Out of the Overflow
The Manuscript and Great Preaching
Cleophus LaRue speaks of the Importance of a Manuscript in his bookPower in the Pulpit. This is another element of great preaching.
Storr’s General Suggestions for Preaching Without Notes
Richard S. Storrs wrote a book entitled Preaching Without Notes: A Series of Lectures. The book is made up of three lectures on this subject. Storrs presents some general suggestions in the first lecture.
Whitefield and Extemporaneous Preaching
The Exiled Preacher has a post up on George Whitefield and Expository Preaching. Guy Davis, the author, writes about how difficult it can be to use a manuscript effectively. Certainly many of us have left our manuscript for a second to “riff” on a theme or go down a different direction. However upon attempting to come back to our manuscript we find it difficult to find the correct place.
Learning to Preach from a Novelist
What can a preacher learn from a novelist? What specifically can we learn from Earnest Hemmingway? The Preaching Today Blog picks up this interesting question.
There are two primary things that the author notes that he learns from Hemmingway. First is Hemmingway’s question for love and deep healing. The second is his effectiveness in communication.