Suggestions for Online Memorial Services Based on First-Hand Experience
Unimaginable just a few months ago, many preachers now find themselves in the position of holding online memorial services. As we wade into this unfamiliar territory, Sr. Miriam Elizabeth Bledsoe and Rev. Jim Said share their experience and suggestions based on the online service they held for Sr. Bledsoe’s mother, who passed in mid-March.
How to Craft an Online Memorial Service
In the absence of traditional funerals and memorial services, how can we help those in mourning grieve well? What kinds of meaningful rituals and ceremonies can we create in the absence of in-person gatherings?
Self-Guided Easter Retreat for Preachers
As you come down from the monumental work of offering not only Holy Week services, but Holy Week services in a format brand new to most, Backstory Preaching offers this self-guided, at-home retreat to renew your spirit. Download it free and allow God to minister to you as a beloved child of God who happens to lead other beloved children.
Preaching and the Cornavirus/COVID-19
None of us has lived through anything similar to this before. Certainly none of us has preached into circumstances like these. But Jesus lived with the same kind of daily uncertainty that we’re living in. So as preachers in this new reality, we can follow the model of Jesus, who’s gone before us in crisis.
Resurrecting the Easter Story
You can resurrect the impact of Easter by learning to tell its story more effectively. By helping us empathize with a character’s desires, you’ll pull us in. When you tease out what’s at stake and the conflict it creates, you’ll keep us engaged. Add sensory details, and we’ll live the story with you. Then show us the resolution and the transformation so we’ll see change—a new way of living—is possible.
Holy Week & Easter Preaching Inspiration
As you preach this Holy Week and Easter, may you find the words your listeners need in this season of this year. To that end, we’ve put together this collection of wisdom and inspiration to nourish and refresh your own spirit. May you be good news to preach good news.
This Christmas, Preach about Jesus's Wheelhouse
Aiding your listeners to enter 2020 with clarity about their wheelhouses might be the very best gift they receive this Christmas.
10 Inspiring Gifts for Preachers (2019 Edition)
When someone asks you what you want for Christmas, you can send them this list. It’s curated by preachers for preachers and offers suggestions from the relaxing and fun to the super practical. Enjoy!
Five Strategies for Crafting Your Sermon in a Short Week
When the week is short and time is limited, you may need to shift your routine to finish your sermon AND have time to enjoy the festivities. Read on for five strategies to write your sermon in a short week.
Advent Sermons: Quotes & Inspiration for You
Download your free collection of quotations and reflections to strengthen your personal devotions, journaling, and sermon writing as you prepare perpetually for the coming of Christ.
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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.
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