What Am I Doing Here Anyway?

"I get so frustrated. I stand before a handful of people Sunday after Sunday, telling them about spiritual things, when what they're really concerned about is what they'll be doing at work Monday morning, or th...

Chrysostom: Golden Mouth, Practical Message

How does a preacher speak to a society that is possessed by materialism and self-indulgence, riddled with political corruption and a resulting disrespect for the law? If that sounds like a situation faced by Am...

The Triple Brain Test of a Sermon

When you stand to preach, what happens? Are all your parishioners docile receivers waiting with open hearts? Is all resistance melted? Does all indifference and hostility evaporate when the congregation enters ...

A New Look at Narrative Preaching

Winston Jones wrote, "Storytelling is the most ancient of the arts, and the most universal."1Preaching is a demanding task. William Barclay insisted that preachers should be chained to their desks four mornings...

Phillips Brooks: ‘Truth Through Personality’

He was shy, spoke rapidly, had a stiff sermon delivery and terrible eye contact -- usually staring at the sounding board above his head, according to his biographers.Yet Phillips Brooks drew tremendous crowds a...

Invitation Is Climax of Preaching

The concept of the invitation is as old as God's recorded word. It is in the opening chapters of Genesis; it is in the closing verses of Revelation. All the way throughout the scripture God is appealing, seekin...

Stories Add Seasoning to Sermons

A good sermon needs a sprinkle of salt. The exemplum -- a story which sustains the argument and points to the moral -- is always the right seasoning.Any preacher who stands in the pulpit and categorizes command...