Posts Tagged ‘Sermon’
Rooted, Not Restricted
by Robert Smith Jr. The phrase ad fontes – “to the sources” – antedates the Reformation. To Erasmus and the scholars it meant back to classical and Christian antiquity; back to the Renaissance. To the Reformers it meant back to the early church fathers and ultimately to the early church. Back to the five solas…
Read MoreStart with a Bang! Crafting a Memorable Sermon Opener
By Tyler Scarlett Great books often begin with great opening lines. Who doesn’t remember the beginning of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”? What about the curiously blunt start to Moby Dick, “Call me Ishmael”? Authors know that if you waste a…
Read MoreSermon: Purpose and Distractions
We went on vacation last summer to Pawley’s Island on the coast of South Carolina where my family has been going since long before I was born. We pursued the most important things you do at the beach — boiled shrimp and drawn butter, fried flounder, fried oysters, and all the accompaniments. On of the…
Read MoreThe Preacher as Prophet
Preaching has a long and unsteady relationship with prophecy. I was raised to be distrustful of the kind of preaching that would chart a vision for the church in these “end times” – especially if a real chart was involved! Preachers like these always seemed a little too sure of themselves, given that Jesus himself…
Read MoreA Violation of Trust
Pastors have been using other preacher’s material for years. When I was growing up, preachers would regularly quote Billy Graham, Vance Pittman, and Charles Spurgeon. They would also throw in a quote from their favorite childhood preacher or seminary professor. This was common and even expected. Preachers steal lines from each other all the time.…
Read MorePreaching and the Holy Spirit: An Interview with Max Lucado
Max Lucado is the teaching minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the most popular authors in the Christian church today. He has more than 90 million books in print and his newest book is entitled, Help is Here: Finding Fresh Strength and Purpose in the Power of the Holy…
Read MorePreaching and the Technological Society
A technological society envisions deployment of technology that extends personhood beyond restrictions. In other words, in a technological society, techno-human integration pursues creation of the ideal human through enhancement of human functioning without boundaries. To illustrate the point, let’s imagine development of technologies to overcome a human limitation of getting from the first floor to…
Read MoreInclusive Preaching
“What is that thing you do where you start with something and then bring it back in before the end of the sermon? That’s really effective. What is that?” My questioner was not only a seasoned preacher in his own right and one of my associate pastors – he was my father. He had been hired…
Read MoreFinding Joy in Preaching
Finding Joy in Preaching by Jere Phillips “I never take Monday as my day off; I don’t want to feel that bad on my own time.” That old joke brings a knowing smile to many preachers’ faces. They understand the anxiety leading up to the preaching event and the subtle, or not so subtle, depression…
Read MoreFour Powerful Practices of the Preacher King
Four Powerful Practices of the Preacher King By Lenny Luchetti The Christian preaching of Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t merely inspire a congregation, which would be no small task; it inspired a movement, the Civil Rights Movement. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assert that King’s preaching was a primary initiator of social transformation in…
Read MorePreaching in the Heart of the City | An Interview with Mac Brunson
Preaching in the Heart of the City An Interview with Mac Brunson Mac Brunson has served for 11 years as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida. Prior to that he served as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. He is an author and former President of the Southern Baptist…
Read MoreBetween a Rock and a Hard Place
Preaching Points Mike Glenn Between a Rock and a Hard Place Eight seconds doesn’t seem like a long time, unless you’re a professional bull rider, but according to a study done by Microsoft, eight seconds is now the length of the attention span of the average person. In eight seconds, a person will decide to…
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