The outline of a sermon is important. Even though it may not always show clearly to the listeners, it must be clear to you the preacher. So when you have an outline, how can you evaluate it to make sure it is a good one? 1. Look for the unity of the sermon. When all [...]
Archive for October, 2007
Preaching’s Core Vision
Posted in Homiletics, Preacher's Personal Life, Preaching, Stage 2 - Passage Study on October 26, 2007 | 1 Comment »
“We shall never have great preachers until we have great divines.” That was C.H.Spurgeon’s opinion. In the busy world we now inhabit, a world of phone calls, emergencies, emails, travel, financial complexities, family responsibilities and ministerial intricacies, we need to freshly recommit ourselves to the core vision of the preacher. Our core vision is not [...]
The Problems of Picking a Passage
Posted in Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Stage 1 - Passage Selection on October 25, 2007 | 1 Comment »
One of the struggles many preachers face is selecting passages to preach. It is often easier to plan a year’s preaching schedule than to select a passage for a stand-alone message. I don’t have a definitive solution, but perhaps a helpful suggestion. When selecting a passage there are two extremes on the scale. At one [...]
Spiritual Warfare and Preaching – Part 3
Posted in Homiletics, Preacher's Personal Life, Preaching on October 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Since spiritual warfare is a reality we face as preachers, perhaps there is more we should be doing in order to stand firm against the wiles of the enemy? Again, I would love to hear your suggestions. I would like to focus my thoughts on one key area – prayer. Preaching Prayer Partners – I [...]
Enjoying Exegesis
Posted in Homiletics, Preacher's Personal Life, Preaching, Stage 2 - Passage Study on October 23, 2007 | 1 Comment »
At its core, a commitment to expository preaching is a commitment to biblical exegesis. If we are going to rest our eternity on the message of the Scriptures, and entrust the needs of our congregations to that message, then we must diligently pursue the meaning of the text. Our ministry demands a disciplined, responsible and [...]
Spiritual Warfare and Preaching – Part 2
Posted in Homiletics, Preaching on October 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
In part 1 I opened the subject of spiritual attacks on us as preachers. I’m sure I’m not alone in experiencing unusual technical difficulties before presenting, or out of the ordinary family tensions on a Sunday morning. Then there is the more overt attacks both before and after preaching. Not always, but sometimes. But if [...]
Spiritual Warfare and Preaching
Posted in Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Stage 2 - Passage Study on October 21, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Whenever the subject of spiritual warfare is raised, there is a danger of falling into one of two extremes. On the one hand it is easy to become paranoid, “seeing demons behind every tree” and giving Satan far more credit than he deserves. On the other hand, it is easy to become overly relaxed and [...]
Review: A Preaching Pod Prod
Posted in Homiletics, Preaching, Review on October 17, 2007 | 1 Comment »
This morning I’d like to point you to a helpful new resource for us as preachers. The Preaching faculty at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary have recently begun a weekly podcast for preachers entitled “Preaching Points.” It is free and it is well worth a listen. At this point there are already four brief podcasts on the [...]
The Problem of Performance
Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preacher's Personal Life, Preaching on October 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
The danger of performing is not only there when preaching a first-person sermon. It is a danger every time we preach. After all, as a preacher we study an ancient text, determine its main idea and its contemporary relevance, then design a message to communicate both the meaning and the relevance to the congregation who [...]
Preacher’s Worst Nightmare
Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, Preacher's Personal Life, Preaching on October 15, 2007 | 2 Comments »
There are all sorts of things that can go wrong for a preacher. What is your worst nightmare? Last week I was at an event at All Souls in London, where a preacher referred to arriving at a church and realizing the message he planned to preach there was one he had preached there before. [...]
Preaching Short – The Challenge
Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, Preaching on October 14, 2007 | 2 Comments »
When people are first asked to preach, their main concern is “how can I fill that time?” Once preachers have some experience, they tend to want more time than they have. If you are used to preaching for 30, 35, 45 minutes, then it is a real challenge to prepare a 10, 12 or 15 [...]
First-Person: Beware of the Danger of Acting
Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, Preaching on October 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
If you decide to preach a message “in character,” then you are choosing to act as someone other than yourself. People will know that you are acting and to a certain extent they will accept that. However, there is good acting and bad acting. Good acting looks real. Bad acting looks like a performance. Flamboyant [...]
Perpetual Preaching Student?
Posted in Homiletics, Preacher's Personal Life, Preaching on October 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
To be the best stewards of the ministry the Lord has entrusted us with, we need to keep stretching ourselves. There are many ways to do this. Preaching Passages – Choosing to preach difficult passages or subjects is often helpful. For those who speak in a variety of churches, it is helpful to have them [...]
Motion Detectors
Posted in Delivery, Homiletics, Preaching on October 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Preaching is not about performance. It is not an act. Our goal when we are preaching is to communicate in a natural manner, as ourselves, because “naturalness” is critical to trustworthiness. The problem is that standing up and speaking before a crowd incites a certain level of nerves. Nerves influence movement. So while it is [...]
How to End the Sermon Series
Posted in Homiletics, How to . . . ?, Preaching, Specific text on October 8, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
You are preaching through a book, perhaps an epistle, and you come toward the end. How will you finish the series? There are several options available, none of which is always the best route to take: 1. Summarize the “end matter” in a sermon. You preach the last obvious preaching section and include a summary [...]
Change Takes Time
Posted in Homiletics, Preaching on October 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Perhaps you are one preacher among several in a church. Perhaps other ministers in the church hold a different view of preaching. Maybe the congregation has differing expectations. What can you do if others don’t share your commitment to expository preaching? Accept that change takes time. Take stock of the situation and thank God for [...]
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