It All Hangs Together: Commentaries and Preaching
Why I’m Trying to Preach Shorter Sermons
How long should the sermon be? Are lengthy sermons better than shorter sermons? This article engages these questions.
Preaching with Notes: Yes or No?
Should you use preaching notes or not? This article offers reasons for using notes and for not using notes.
When Saturday's Overwhelming for a Preacher
As a pastor, how do you handle the pressure of completing a sermon on a Saturday? Here are eight things you can do in dealing with sermon preparation on a Saturday.
Ten Problems with Sermon Illustrations
Sermon illustrations are a good way of bringing the message home. However, not all sermon illustrations work. Here are ten problems with sermon illustrations.
The Preacher, Sermon Preparation, and the Holy Spirit
Does waiting until later in the week for sermon preparation reflect a greater reliance upon the Holy Spirit? This article engages with this notion, explaining that the Spirit is equally present and active at all times during the week.
Preparing the Preacher
How does one go about preparing for preaching? This article presents and discusses three aspects involved in preparing the pastor: spiritual, mental, and logistical preparation.
Seven Ways to Grab a Listener’s Attention: Designing More Effective Sermon Introductions
A sermon introduction is important for grabbing the attention of the listeners. This article offers seven different ways to design sermon introductions.
Every Sermon is the Opportunity of a Lifetime
Sermon preparation should take most of the pastor's time and work. How do you prepare helpful sermons? These five points may help you.
Thoughts about Christmas Sermons
How should you write your Christmas sermon? There are three things to consider when writing and preaching a Christmas sermon.
A Pastor’s Reflections: Manuscript, Notes, or No Notes?
What preaching method works best, preaching from a manuscript, notes, or no notes?
Should a Pastor Use Greek and Hebrew in His Sermon?
This article explains a way to do sermon preparation from the original Greek and Hebrew. It considers the strengths and struggles in this approach.
"Preaching Circles”
Sermons That Live – Preaching through Stories
The Bible uses stories (narrative) to reveal who God is, what God desires, how God acts, and how God wants humans to respond to him. Too often preachers ignore the narrative structure of the Bible. This article wants to encourage preaching that honours the narrative structure, content, and purpose of narrative texts.
Should You Use Illustrations from Movies?
This article lists several reasons why preachers should not use illustrations from movies in their preaching.
Preaching as an Act of Worship
Do you preach doxologically? This article shows how preaching itself needs to be an act of worship.
How Long Should a Sermon Be?
This article gives thought to the question of sermon length. It first raises some possible reasons that congregational members may feel a sermon is too long. Then it weighs in on how long a sermon should be, and indicates that the better question is how well the preacher helps his hearers to behold God's glory.
Five Ways to Pray for a Sermon
What does a prayer for a sermon look like? There are five things you can pray for as you prepare to preach.
On Being Persuasive
In preaching how do you persuade others who are listening? This article offers three aspects to consider for persuasive preaching.
Why I Preach through Books of the Bible
This article provides several benefits of preaching through whole books of the Bible (series preaching). Some of the reasons are: pastors are to preach the whole counsel of God, preaching through a book allows the minister and congregation to better absorb the purpose of God, and it gives a better understanding of a particular book and of biblical theology.
Top Ten Sermon Introduction Mistakes
How do you write a sermon introduction that will grab the attention of those listening to your preaching? Knowing how not to do it helps in knowing how to do it. By avoiding these ten mistakes you can work towards writing a sermon introduction that will draw attention.
Five Quick Reasons to Manuscript Your Sermons
Using a full manuscript can be beneficial for your preaching. This article gives five reasons why.
Five Laws for the First Sentence of Your Sermon
How can a pastor make the first sentence of his sermon be effective? This article offers five things that relate to this question.
Do You Make These Five Common Word Study Mistakes?
How do you make a good word study in sermon making? These can help to bring out the message of the text. This article, though, focuses on five common mistakes when pastors do word studies.
The Value of Sermon Introductions: How to Stop Giving Your Congregation Theological Whiplash
A sermon introduction serves the purpose of leading the congregation into the sermon. How do you write a good sermon introduction? This article suggests there are seven aspects you may want to consider.
The Five Elements of the Perfect Sermon Illustration
Illustrations are great tools for preaching. How do you tell a sermon illustration in a good way? This article presents five elements to communicating a good illustration.
Three Things Photographers Can Teach You about Developing an Eye for Sermon Illustrations
Illustrations are great tools for preaching. So how does a pastor acquire sermon illustrations? This article suggests three ways of developing an eye for illustrations.
How to Crank the Impact of Your Sermon Illustrations Up to Eleven
What is a good way of using sermon illustrations? There are three key factors one must know: what to illustrate, the purpose of it, and the place of it. This article uses these three key factors to show how to use illustrations in preaching.
Six Rules for Using Quotes in Sermons
Should you use quotations in sermons? Quotations in preaching can be a hindrance or a help. How should you use them? This article gives six rules to guide you.
No Trailing Off! How to Conclude Your Sermons with Power
What makes for an effective sermon? This article suggests that the sermon's conclusion is important for an effective sermon.
Keep Your Audience Engaged: What Movies Can Teach Pastors about Effective Transitions
What makes for an effective sermon? This article considers how to make use of effective transitions in preaching in order to keep your hearers engaged.
Three Types of Effective Sermon Illustrations and How to Use Them
Every pastor wants to preach an effective sermon. Yet what makes for an effective sermon? The use of illustrations can be of great help. This article explains three types of sermon illustrations you can use.
Preach a Sermon Your Audience Can Actually Follow
Every pastor wants to preach an effective sermon. He wants his preaching to be of help to his people. This article offers a pastor some ways to help people follow his preaching.
Introductions: Three Things That Will Get Your Sermon off to an Effective Start
Every pastor wants to preach an effective sermon. He wants his preaching to be of help to his people. What makes for an effective sermon? It is partly what you say in your introduction. This article offers some suggestions on how to draft an effective sermon introduction.
5 Ways to Create Interest When You Do Exegesis in Sermons
If you have a great exegetical insight, just how do you communicate it in preaching without losing your hearers' attention? This article suggests five ways.
Use Thematic Outlines to Grasp the Big Picture of a Book of the Bible
Understanding the message of a Bible book is a great help to preaching from that book. This article encourages the use of thematic outlines for that purpose.
How To Set Up Your Files for Efficient and Effective Sermon Prep
Did you know that keeping sermon preparation files can help you be organized and be effective in your sermon preparation? This article suggests four sermon preparation files you need, and discusses how you set them up and how to use them.
Get Rid of Inefficient Sermon Prep with Preaching Templates (Part 2)
This article shows how you can improve sermon preparation through the use of preaching templates, and gives an example of a sermon application template.
Get Rid of Inefficient Sermon Prep with Preaching Templates (Part 1)
This article shows how you can improve sermon preparation through the use of preaching templates.
How to Study Taped Sermons
You can greatly improve your preaching by listening to other preachers. How do you do about choosing good sermon audios that you can listen to? This article suggests it is by learning to analyze them in three areas.
Preaching with Personalized How-To
Moving from explanation to application in a sermon can be a challenge. This is where most preaching fails. This article discusses a number of ways one can personalize the message.
Illustrating God’s Truth
Illustrations in preaching help make a point clearer, show how to implement biblical requirements, and help make truth practical and memorable. But how does one make sure he uses illustrations for the right purpose? This article offers some principles one can follow.
Preaching and Writing
Does This Apply to You?
It should be the desire of every preacher to make proper application of the text. What application should do is show from the passage the meaning for the congregation today. How does one achieve such an application? This is what this article answers.
Translating the Outline
The preaching outline can say a lot about the sermon. How do you write a sermon outline? This article makes a distinction between lecture outline and preaching outline, then shows how to write a preaching outline.
Frame It!
What makes a good sermon? There are two aspects: it has limits and a focal point. The article expands on this.
The Role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelistic Preaching
This article considers the work of the Holy Spirit upon the preacher, in both his preparation and delivery of the sermon.
Plagiarism – What It Is and What It Is Not
This article discusses what does and does not qualify as plagiarism.
Preaching Also to the Affections, the Need of the Hour
This article encourages the right handling of God's truth, such that preaching also appeals to the affections of the hearers after the preacher himself has been affected by the Word.
How to Make a Sermon
Sermon making is a process that includes at least four phases: analysis, synthesis, administration (homiletical reflection), and evaluation. This article explains these four phases of sermon making.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Importance of Sermon Preparation
Preaching 101
So Help Me, God Preaching is too Important to Prepare Unaided
Building the Sermon
This article suggests that sermon preparation need not be an exclusive exercise. Preparing sermons requires some solitude, but exchanging ideas with other people face to face can also be a valuable part of sermon preparation.
Four Characteristics of Earnest Preaching
What makes preaching earnest? This article offers four characteristics: know the text, feel the truth, love the people, and keep the sermon simple.
The Posture of Preaching
This article considers the mental and spiritual posture or disposition of the preacher as he approaches preaching. What kind of steps should one take in order to preach in a manner commensurate with the glory of the message he is bringing?
The Power of Paul's Preaching
The work of preaching cannot be done without power. The author draws attention to the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. The power of Paul's preaching is seen by a careful consideration of both his message and his method.
The Use of Biblical Narrative in Expository Preaching
Kaiser explores how preaching from narrative texts in the Old Testament should be done. He makes use of Nehemiah 6:1-19 to illustrate his point.
How I Prepare for Preaching
This article outlines one minister's sermon preparation process.
Variety and Creativity in Preaching?
This article offers a critique of several contemporary preaching methods, and concludes with a piece by Charles Spurgeon, "Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats," in which he denounces innovation in preaching.
Expositional Preaching – Contextualization
Preaching must be directed at a specific context. Preachers should be able to connect with their congregation and listeners. Helm emphasizes that contextualization in preaching is something different than trying to be “relevant.” This chapter address the problems that emerge when contextualization of the latter sort takes over the preacher when he is preparing his message.