People listen and learn differently depending upon how they are wired and function individually, so your preaching and teaching must take those styles into account in order to be effective.
As an author, innovator and pastor of one of the largest and fastest growing churches in America, Rick Warren has become one of the most significant influencers in the evangelical community and in the broader culture. He recently visited with Preaching Executive Editor Michael Duduit.
Time is important to us. When you were in school, you spent a lot of time trying to learn how to tell time. Now, a lot of you are at a disadvantage because you've grown up in the digital age and clocks tell you what time it is. Your watch will beep; a digital voice will call out the hour. You don't have to tell time. The time tells you.
The following is an article on experiences preaching on the morally problematic passages of the Old Testament in connection with Christian faith. The article describes those experiences and provides the proverbial moral of the story.
Great books often begin with great opening lines. Who doesn't remember the beginning of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"? What about the curiously blunt start to Moby Dick, "Call me Ishmael"? Authors know that if you waste a person's time at the beginning, chances are they won't stick around to the end. What's true with books is also true with sermons.
Several months ago, my clergy support group discussed stewardship. We eventually got to the topic of stewardship sermons. When we did, a member of the group said, "When it comes to preaching about money, most preachers are wimps!"