Engaging preaching is the kind of preaching that stays true to the Scriptural text, connects the passage to the person and work of Jesus and speaks to the heart of the audience with sincerity and authenticity. The "base" of every sermon, then, must be attention to the passage itself, gleaning from the passage its meaning.…
Better than Boring: How to Deliver Engaging Christ-Centered Sermons. Part 1: What is Boring Preaching?
I have a confession to make: I used to fall asleep during sermons. I know, I know, that's terrible. Especially since now I give sermons. But I was in middle school. Does that make it better? Ok, so, maybe being a middle school boy doesn't justify falling asleep during a message from God's word. But…
An Effective Template for Preaching Christ-Centered Sermons
The "gospel-centered" movement has swept through many churches. This is a good thing. It's even impacted preaching as many pastors now strive to preach Christ in every message. The bankruptcy of merely preaching a message on how to be a "good" person has been exposed. But when you actually read the Bible, you are confronted with…
Three Types of Bad Preaching (And Their Remedies)
What if there was a way to identify bad preaching? Having grown up in church, I have probably listened to over 1,000 sermons in my lifetime. In all my time listening to (and now delivering) sermons, I have heard three types of bad preaching. You can read the rest of the article at Rookie Preacher.
How To Deliver a Gripping Sermon
Many preaching books focus on the content of preaching. They will provide a detailed method of understanding the Bible and then turning your study into an outline to preach. But what happens when you actually get up to speak? How do you keep people awake? In their preaching book, Saving Eutuchys, Gary Millar and Phil Campbell cover…
Don’t Do an Altar Call; Call for a Response Instead
Altar calls have had a controversial place in the history of the American church. Some churches may do them practically every week, while other churches do not believe that altar calls are biblical. Even those who would resist doing a stereotypical altar calls, or "hand raise" ("...every head bowed, every eye closed..."), still believe in calling…
Raising Lazarus 