Looking for something to read this weekend related to preaching? Here are some links and “main points” collected from recent blog posts and other online resources.
When Your Sermon Is Only a Single – Philip Nation
In our work of proclamation, we should expect the supernatural to occur in people’s lives. I want to see people radically transformed by the power of the gospel as often as possible. So, let’s go about our work with earnestness seeking the power of the gospel for the good of all people. Swing for the fences and allow God to do His work. Remember, sometimes you sow seeds, sometimes you water what you cannot see is already planted, and sometimes you get to do the harvesting. Whatever our role each week, savor the work of Christ done in you.
A Defense of Christ-Centered Exposition – Jonathan Akin
I am committed to the Christ-centered exposition of the entire Bible because textually the Bible argues for this kind of interpretation, and practically I don’t want to preach in a way that could produce moralism.
Speakers: Are You Captivating or Boring Your Audience? – Phil Cooke
No matter how great that message may be, if no one’s paying attention, you’ve failed.
Aim for the Ear – Hershael York
Don’t preach as would a writer; preach as a preacher! Preachers who fail to appreciate the vast difference between their oral craft and writing usually display very different understandings of their task—centered in the pulpit and congregation for one and in the desk and study for the other.
Practical Teaching or Expository Preaching – Ryan Roach
The Bible is God’s word to us. This is reason enough for us to drop the cool four week series on the trendy topic of the day. Preach the word [to your youth group], not gimmicks or pop culture.
Bibles Open – Peter Mead
Preach in such a way that listeners are motivated and stirred to keep their Bibles open all week. They want to read on, read around, read more. They discovered that the Bible was accessible, enjoyable and relevant to their lives. They can’t imagine not wanting to pursue the God you introduced on Sunday.
Preaching Seen – Peter Mead
Adequate preaching presents truths like a teleprompter. Great preaching makes the truth felt as it becomes clear, lucid and vivid on the screen in the listeners’ hearts.
Christ-Centered Reading, Teaching, and Preaching – Matt Capps
The key question in biblical hermeneutics is: How does this text testify to Christ?
If the reader, preacher, or teacher hasn’t addressed and answered this question in their pursuits, they are not approaching the Bible in an explicitly Christian way.
What Is a Good Teacher? – Trials, Testing, and Transformation
Some of the essential characteristics of a good teacher.
Do You Feel Called to Teach? John Piper Shared the Traits of a Good Teacher
You must be a good explainer.
You have to believe in the value of thinking.
You need an inner desire to solve intellectual problems.
You need to be an insightful “people-knower.”
You need discipline.
How to Find the Best Sermon Illustrations – ProPreacher
The best sermon illustrations are found on common ground between the speaker and the audience. When you speak about something you have experienced and your audience has also experienced the same thing, you connect with them on the deepest level.
Verse by Verse Exposition Is the Only Way to Go. . . . Er, Right? – Dan Phillips
It is both useful and Biblical to expound what the Bible teaches on various doctrinal and ethical, practical and theological matters. We must be careful at all points to be expounding Scripture, to do all we can to ensure that our folks go away able to say “The Bible teaches,” and not merely “Pastor X said.” But we can do it, and we should do it.
Brothers, We Are Not Pioneers – Josh Blount
Let us listen to the sermons of the men God is raising up in our generation. But let us also listen to gospel heralds from other times and places. Take advantage of the tremendous resource of the Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermon library. Read sermons from other centuries and remember that these words were once preached by real men to real congregations of struggling saints and sinners. Sit down for coffee with a preacher who has labored in the pulpit for decades and learn from him. It’s one thing to preach a good sermon at a conference; it’s another to preach many sermons, good and bad, over many years to the same congregation. Let us learn from those men what it takes to remain in the pulpit for a lifetime and value that feat more than the number of downloads a single sermon receives.
What to Do While Waiting for Your Shot to Preach – ProPreacher
What do you do when you have a desire to preach, but cannot seem to find an opportunity? What do you do while you are stuck waiting in the wings for your shot?
Shall We Preach the Gospel or Morality? Part One: Laðra Spella – Kevin Bauder
No good news can be offered until the bad news has been believed. The bad news arrives in the form of God’s law and its penalty—“the wages of sin is death.” As long as we hope to see people believe the gospel, we must reprove their want of conformity to, and transgression of, God’s law. We are given no permission to omit the horizontal precepts—God’s moral law is a unity. In other words, if we are committed to proclaiming the gospel, then we must proclaim right morals, and our proclamation of morality must be just as public and unashamed as the proclamation of the gospel itself.
Does Preaching Have a Future?: Technological and Sociological Trends in Preaching – Dwayne Milioni
14 statements about current trends and guesses as to the future of preaching.
These links and summaries are offered for your consideration and evaluation because they relate to preaching. Their inclusion does not necessarily imply my whole-hearted commendation. I can’t even recommend everything I write. As always, read with discernment.