The #1 Thing You Gotta Know About Good Sermons (you can't get there if you don't know where you're headed)
"That was a good sermon."
"Wow! That sermon hit home!"
"I'm going to think about this one."
"That was your best sermon ever."
You've probably heard all of these comments.
But can you articulate what made the sermon good?
On Preaching and Patriotism: A Work in Progress
July 4th is the USA’s Independence Day, and this year it lands on a Sunday. You might not be a U.S. resident, but you probably face the same questions in whichever country you call home. People around the world blur the lines between national observances and Christian holidays, making preaching on or around those days tricky. Below is an approach to preaching and patriotism to help you preach the gospel so people can hear it.
The Books I’m Taking on Vacation: Summer Reading Suggestions for Preachers
As I prepare to go on vacation in July, not only am I making my reservations and making lists of the various types of clothes I’ll need, I’m also collecting books! I collect and read a wide variety of topics because all of it informs my preaching. Some books help me grow as a person. Some help me revel and delight in God’s creation and humans’ imaginations. Some help me better organize my life. And all good writing, regardless of genre, helps me grow in my craft. Here’s what’s on my summer reading list.
You Should Experience This Preaching Blog
Adults (and kids—have you noticed?) don’t like to be told what to do. When we’re told we should do something, it make us feel defensive and shamed, like we don’t know what we’re doing, like we’re expected to do better or be better than we are. Moreover, shoulds can feel like yet more things to add to an already overburdened day. making us feel defeated and exhausted before we even try—even if we know engaging those activities is likely to do the opposite! How do we avoid this dynamic in our sermons?
Sermon Ghostwriters Now? There Really Is a Better Way.
“His probing questions were about trust: Were the words of my mouth really the result of the meditations of my heart—or someone else’s?”
How to Tell the Story—a Simple Structure for Holy Week, Easter, and Every Sermon
A year ago I wanted to help you prepare for Easter with a series about this simple, save-you-time, quick-to-craft, sermon structure to discern and organize your message. But COVID-19 disrupted everything. I then turned my attention toward preaching into the crisis—and was never able to return to this helpful content. So now, I’m resurrecting the post to show you how to employ this simple story-structure process for Easter (or any sermon).
3 Easter Sermon Examples—Based on a 4-Part Framework—to Inspire Your Preaching
As you craft your Holy Week and Easter sermons, consider this 4-part, general scaffold to discern a message for any sermon—with examples of three Easter-tide sermons to illustrate the concept and inspire your own Easter preaching.
How to Craft a Prophetic Sermon that Bridges the Divide
When emotions and political tensions run high, preaching prophetically becomes ever-more fraught. Using the example of a fellow preacher’s sermon, consider these three components of sermons that offer challenging messages in a way that bridges the divide.
On Preaching Politics and the Way of Christian Love: The Example of Bishop Curry
Preachers find themselves in a conundrum: listeners perceive sermon messages that address the ills of our current culture—like racism, climate change, or wearing masks—as subjects unbecoming to the pulpit. I want to offer an example of a recent sermon that effectively navigates this challenge. Read on to see how preachers can cast a vision for God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, particularly as it relates to our present struggles.
Preaching & Comedy? "Thou Shalt Achieve World Peace Through Humor" (A Guest Post)
“Comedians have long known a secret that world and religious leaders struggle to understand to this day: humor is the key to world peace.”