Awake O Thou That Sleepest!

I love gospel lecture films. The cameras play the audience, who are eager, smiling in rapt attention, waiting for the glorious gospel truths that are funny and sad, tearful but joyous beyond belief.Each of my "...

Little Things Make Difference to Laity

During the past 30 years, I've been a member of ten churches in the United States and five foreign countries. Sharp theological debates may appear at times to separate the denominational hierarchy, but on the c...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Putting First Things First

"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." (I Corinthians 1:17)No one could accuse Paul of having his priorities confused. Writing to his young brother in the faith Timothy (I Timothy ...