Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for June, 2007

Luke 18:9-14 – Contemporizing a Parable

Posted in Genre, Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Specific text, Stage 8 - Message Detail on June 30, 2007 | 5 Comments »

Timothy Reynolds commented on my post regarding the preaching of parables. I’d like to elevate that comment to a post, along with my response, so that perhaps others might want to have a go at a modern retelling of Luke 18:9-14. If there is some activity on this, I might also post what [...]

Read Full Post »

Preaching Familiar Texts

Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, New Testament, Preaching, Specific text on June 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment »

What should we do with stories that are very familiar to our listeners?  For example, a friend of mine recently preached the crucifixion account in Matthew 27.  How should he approach a passage that is so familiar and is a subject addressed every week in his church in one way or another?
1 – Know your [...]

Read Full Post »

Explaining the Stages

Posted in Homiletics, Preaching on June 28, 2007 | 1 Comment »

I recently added a 7-stage process to the categories on the site.  This is simply to give another way to find posts on the site.  Instead of using Robinson’s 10-stage process, I decided to use the slightly shorter 7-stage process I use when teaching preaching.  I believe Ramesh Richard’s approach is similar.  The 7-stage process [...]

Read Full Post »

Reflections on a six-sermon weekend

Posted in Delivery, Preaching, Stage 7 - Message Outline on June 28, 2007 | 5 Comments »

Last weekend I spoke six times in two days at a Bible retreat. The texts for the retreat were Nahum and Habakkuk. Four reflections:
1. First-person preaching is not used in many churches. The majority of people present had never heard an “in-character” sermon. Judging by the feedback received, they will remember [...]

Read Full Post »

Sermon Subtleties

Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, Preaching, Stage 8 - Message Detail on June 27, 2007 | Leave a Comment »

Basics matter most. However, subtleties can add to the credibility and reinforce the unity and progress of a message. An intriguing title subtly stated at a key moment in the sermon. The opening phrase of the message repeated later, perhaps even twisted. Subtle humour when appropriate. These things are usually [...]

Read Full Post »

Clever Wording is Not Always Clever

Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Stage 8 - Message Detail on June 26, 2007 | 2 Comments »

Listeners do not want to feel like the preacher is unprepared and making it up as they go along. This undermines credibility. At the other extreme, today’s listeners are often unimpressed by excessively crafted wording. Gone are the days when crowds would “Ooo!” and “Aah!” at unending alliteration (did those days really [...]

Read Full Post »

Absent Illustrations Perceived Present

Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Stage 8 - Message Detail on June 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment »

The term “illustration” is very broad, but I’m referring to those moments in a sermon when the thinking work of explanation, support or application of the text is interrupted by the color and life of something apparently more relevant to the listener. For example, when the preacher begins to tell a story, listeners tend [...]

Read Full Post »

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

Posted in Homiletics, How to . . . ?, New Testament, Preaching, Specific text, Stage 5 - Message Purpose, Stage 6 - Message Idea on June 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment »

Have you ever found in the middle of writing a sermon that you have ten minutes of preaching material that has nothing to do with your main idea? This is easy to do. Some possible factors…an unclear main idea, too much time on one point, an illustration that is over the top in length and [...]

Read Full Post »

What do they remember?

Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Stage 8 - Message Detail on June 22, 2007 | 2 Comments »

In my previous post I questioned the emphasis on having people remember the sermon’s outline. It is much more important that lives are transformed in the preaching of the sermon, than that listeners remember content (although sermonic content is critical). If we want them to remember anything, it should be the big idea [...]

Read Full Post »

What do you want them to remember – the outline?

Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Stage 7 - Message Outline on June 21, 2007 | 2 Comments »

Before preaching, it is important to have the end in sight. Is our goal really to have people remember the details of the sermon? It seems that both preachers and listeners alike assume that the listener is supposed to remember the outline of the message. So preachers lament the lack of note-taking, [...]

Read Full Post »

Don’t short change the conclusion

Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Stage 8 - Message Detail on June 19, 2007 | 2 Comments »

One element of sermon preparation that tends to get less attention than it deserves is the conclusion. One preacher said, “My sermons are like chickens with their heads cut off – once you think the sermon is done, it just jumps back up and runs in another direction!”
A couple of suggestions to avoid short-changing [...]

Read Full Post »

Sermon Titles: Tricky Little Things

Posted in Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Stage 8 - Message Detail on June 18, 2007 | 8 Comments »

I don’t find it easy to write a title for a sermon. Actually, I do . . . a bad one! I don’t find it easy to write a good title for a sermon. So what makes a title tick?
A bad title illicits a yawn, an expectation that the message will be [...]

Read Full Post »

I believe in manuscripts! No notes – part 3.

Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, Preaching on June 17, 2007 | 3 Comments »

Stephen commented on part 1 of the “no notes” post.  Please read his comment there.  He referred to the fact that some famous speakers carry a manuscript into the pulpit. “The defense of using a manuscript I have been told is to ensure every thought is well developed and theologically sound.” Thoughts on the issue [...]

Read Full Post »

Old Testament Stories – part 2: Good Illustrations?

Posted in Genre, Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Old Testament, Preaching, Stage 8 - Message Detail on June 16, 2007 | 1 Comment »

It is often tempting to use Old Testament stories as illustrations in a sermon, but before doing so, here are five questions to consider:
1 – Do they know the story? Many listeners do not know the stories of the Bible. This means we have to explain our illustration. Does it make sense [...]

Read Full Post »

Old Testament Stories – part 1: Preaching Texts?

Posted in Genre, Homiletics, Old Testament, Preaching, Stage 1 - Passage Selection, Stage 8 - Message Detail on June 15, 2007 | 2 Comments »

Some people take the view that the texts for preaching should come primarily, or even exclusively, from the New Testament. In order to preach “the whole counsel,” many use the Old Testament as illustrations in their sermons. Should Old Testament stories be illustrations, or preaching texts in their own right?
There are some reasons to [...]

Read Full Post »

Notes or no notes? – part 2

Posted in Delivery, How to . . . ?, Preaching on June 13, 2007 | 3 Comments »

In part 1 of this post I presented the “why” of no notes preaching from my perspective. The relational connection through increased eye contact is the biggest reason for me. Also the side effects of less complicated messages, more text-related messages, and staying-put-in-your-text messages, these are all positives as well.
So, how? Well, [...]

Read Full Post »

Notes or no notes? – Part 1

Posted in Delivery, How to . . . ?, Preaching on June 12, 2007 | 10 Comments »

I preached with notes for a decade, sometimes extensive, sometimes brief. Three years ago I switched to preaching without notes. I would not go back. I’m pretty sure that Mike preaches with some notes and does so very effectively. We’ll get his thoughts on this subject soon. There are more [...]

Read Full Post »

Preaching Parables – Two Thoughts

Posted in Genre, How to . . . ?, New Testament, Preaching, Specific text, Stage 2 - Passage Study on June 11, 2007 | 2 Comments »

Last Sunday I preached from Luke 18, where there are two parables at the start of the chapter. A couple of thoughts about preaching parables:
Jesus told stories that packed a punch, don’t deaden the force – Of course the preacher’s role includes the need to explain the story, but we also need to preach [...]

Read Full Post »

God told you? Really?

Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, Preaching on June 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment »

I wish more people were careful not to carelessly throw around “God told me” vocabulary. When the preacher slips in this statement, what does it communicate? What do people understand? Did the preacher really receive a supernatural revelation, a voice resounding in the study? That is what people hear the preacher [...]

Read Full Post »

Review: The Passion Driven Sermon, by Jim Shaddix.

Posted in Homiletics, Preaching, Review on June 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment »

Subtitle – Changing the Way Pastors Preach and Congregations Listen

This is a book with both strengths and weaknesses. To be honest, this is not a classic.
Jim Shaddix is a pastor and teacher of preaching at New Orleans Baptist Seminary. He co-authored Power in the Pulpit, a preaching manual, with Jerry Vines. This [...]

Read Full Post »

What if I have a question, or idea for this blog?

Posted in Uncategorized on June 3, 2007 | 8 Comments »

The way this blog is set up, only Mike and Peter are able to publish new posts. However, if you would like to add something to the site that is not a comment on a previous post, all is not lost! If you have a question, or a text you are wrestling with [...]

Read Full Post »