How to Reach Hearts on Both Sides of an Issue
Not since the Civil Rights era have preachers been so called upon to discern and proclaim what it means to follow Jesus Christ and love one’s neighbor as oneself.
With so many competing viewpoints, so many people unwilling to dialogue, and so much fear driving people apart, how can preachers proclaim the dignity of every human being in a way it can be heard by people on both sides of the divide?
Ask a Supply Preacher: What's it Like to Preach in a Different Context Each Week
As churches increasingly struggle to maintain full-time preaching staff, Cathie Caimano of Free Range Priest sees opportunity for a new model. In this guest post, she discusses supply preaching and what it's like to preach in a different context each week.
How (If?) to Preach the Headlines of the Day: Guiding Wisdom for Preachers
Should you preach on current events? And if so, how?
Discover guiding wisdom from preachers you respect on how to navigate the news headlines pummeling our social discourse.
Your Story: Does it Belong in the Pulpit?
Does telling your own story
in this sermon for these people
point listeners towards God
or towards you, the preacher?
It's a Day of Reflection, So Let's Reflect on your Preaching
In the spirit of reflection, we're sharing four of our most popular blog posts to help you think about your craft and process. May you find something to inspire your preaching and preaching life.
How to Make Your Sermon Stick: 4 Tips for a Memorable Message
Want your sermon to be remembered beyond the end of the service? Check out these four tips you can implement this week to make your sermon stick.
What Are You Asking of Your Listeners? A Good Sermon Counts the Cost
Why does it seem like a good sermon isn't enough to cause hearts to be changed?
If the Holy Spirit is really at work and the Gospel is preached with clarity and conviction, how come as soon as we hear the Good News we don't we embrace it and change course immediately?
How to Keep Sermon Listeners on the Edge of their Seats: Why You Should Build Tension into Every Sermon
Tension keeps us reading, watching, or listening.
Think about any book or movie that kept your attention.
- There's a need... a desire, wish, want, hope
- that's blocked... thwarted, redirected, obstructed, obscured
- which creates a question. If? Who? How? When?
- Questions create tension...suspense, anticipation, dissonance, uncertainty
- that we need resolved....settled, resolved, determined, answered
which keeps us on the edge of our seats
You spoke right to me! How did you know?
A relevant sermon connects our listeners to our message in a way that helps them find God in the midst of their lives. Lent, this season of remembrance and anticipation, is a prime time to address our listeners' challenges and questions directly.
To help listeners feel as though we're speaking right to them, we need to understand their context, their struggles, and their hopes that they'll be OK.
Should You Preach "Relevant" Sermons?
Googling the idea of a sermon that is "relevant to the listener" brings up all kinds of disagreement. Some think the idea of relevance is juvenile or manipulative, that it's a cheap ploy to seem current at the expense of truth. Others say it's essential.
Here's just a sampling of what people have to say about "relevant" sermons:
- Be true to yourself and your sermon will automatically be relevant to the listeners.
- We're not supposed to consider the relevance of the listener but the relevance of the Gospel.
- Relevance will be discerned when we think "from the pew" instead of "from the pulpit."
- "Relevance" is a homiletical and theological disgrace because God is eternally relevant.
Is that the case, though?
Perhaps to determine whether our sermons should be relevant, we should consider what it would mean to preach a sermon that is NOT relevant.
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I participated in the Lectio study today with a complicated and double-speak Gospel (John 17:6-19) and WOW! I received so much great insight and am headed in a direction I feel really good about. Thank you to all my colleagues! If you are wondering if this is worth it, wonder no more. It is.
—Donna G.
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The Gospel People Don't Want to Hear: Preaching Challenging Messages was written to aid preacher’s in understanding what’s at stake for their listeners so they can craft sermons their audience can receive, even if they challenge cherished beliefs.
I just have to say WOW. I'm so grateful that I made the investment and joined The Collective. These Thursday [workshops] are a game-changer for me.
—Andrea M.