3 questions to guide sermon prep for special occasions or crisis circumstances (A Guest Post)
“As people of faith, we believe God is present and active and has a word to offer to us in all times and seasons of our individual and corporate lives.” In their book, For Every Matter under Heaven: Preaching on Special Occasions, Donna Givers-Johnston and Beverly Zink-Sawyer address specific preaching occasions that arise from calendars, celebrations, or circumstances—leading preachers through a process of preparing sermons that seek and then speak God’s word for the occasion. They introduce us to their approach in this guest post.
The Ten Biggest Mistakes Preachers Make in Stewardship Sermons
Our sermons about stewardship can feel heavy with the burden of making ends meet.
Given these stakes, it’s tempting to preach from scarcity rather than abundance, to exert pressure rather than issue an invitation, to emphasize monetary bottom lines rather than spiritual transformation.
There's another way to preach, however. Learn to recognize these ten mistakes preachers make in their stewardship sermons so you can craft sermons that invite your congregation to participate in God's abundance instead.
Preachers: "Rest from Your Labors" (A Free, At-Home Retreat)
You work hard: ministry, family, chores, errands…the list never ends. Take a rest from your labors with this free, at-home guided retreat. You’ll step back to appreciate your hard work so you’re connected with God in every busy day that lies ahead.
Asking for the preaching support you need (free download)
When parishioners gain some general knowledge about sermon crafting and understand a bit about our preaching training and bios, their appreciation for preaching can shift. They will realize that just because we make it look easy doesn’t mean it is easy. They’ll know, in fact, it takes a lot of effort.
To make it easier to initiate a conversation about what you need to preach well so you get the support you need, we’ve created this conversation starter to be shared with your parishioners or leadership team. Download your free copy for distribution today.
What the comical can do for your preaching (a guest post)
The humorous signifies discourse that aims to make us laugh. Period. The humorous links with the human body and its many foibles. By the comical, I refer to a use of humor that seeks something more than laughter; it aims a metanoia. Such, I believe, is what makes the comical worthy of the serious calling to which we have been called.
Four MISSED opportunities to take your sermon from good to great
This is the third of three posts in our blog series about getting unstuck during sermon prep. Today focuses on the opportunities we miss to take our sermons from good to great so that the message we so carefully discerned can truly land in the hearts of our listeners where the Spirit can do her best work.
Compelling preaching, efficient prep: Avoid these three common sermon prep traps
Sermon prep is hard. And time-consuming. But we may be making it harder and more time-consuming than it needs to be. Are you falling prey to these three common sermon prep traps? Read on to find out and get practical tools to streamline your prep and offer more compelling sermons.
Three ways you’re (unknowingly) sabotaging your sermon prep before you even start
Many of us get stuck at certain steps along the way, and there are many steps: from praying to discerning the message to proclamation to review (yes, sermon prep continues after the sermon!).
After working with thousands of preachers, I’ve found some common reasons we get stuck. I’ve also learned from preachers how to get unstuck.
This is the first in a series of three about getting stuck during sermon prep and how to get unstuck. Today, we’re looking at three sneaky saboteurs that derail our sermon prep before we even get started.
Racism and Segregated Sundays: What We Need to Talk About (A Guest Post)
"The most segregated hour of Christian America is 11 o’clock on Sunday morning.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. offered this tragic insight decades ago.
Not much has changed since.
How did we get here? Why do we stay here?
Flat-out racism is a cause, to be sure.
But racism is not the only cause.
This guest post by Backstory Preaching mentor, the Rev. Dr. Melinda Quivik, raises questions helpful to the conversation about how we address our segregated Sundays.
Preaching Change? Remind us who we are.
Perhaps there is no greater reason we fear changing our minds than this one: it causes us to question our character, the very definition we have of our “selves.” When we suggest during a sermon that change is needed, the listener hears that that they are not as good as they see themselves. Whether we intend it or not, they hear that we as the preacher—and by extension, God—see their character as lacking. How do we preach change without suggesting a character assassination?
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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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