You just finished studying your sermon passage. You’re ready to make the transition from hermeneutics to homiletics. But you’re stuck. You’re not quite sure how to proceed with your sermon. One solution may be to determine what kind of sermon you want to preach. What do you want to accomplish with this sermon? John Stott [...]
The Difference Between Being an Effective Preacher and an Effective Pastor
June 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Anatomy of an Ineffective Sermon
June 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you try to write an effective sermon in as little time as possible, you’ll end up with an ineffective sermon. Darryl Dash has an article on “Six Keys to Poor Preaching.” Each key is a shortcut. You can’t write an effective sermon if you’re going for a personal best time. But here are six ways [...]
No Trailing Off! How to Conclude Your Sermons With Power
June 7, 2011 By 1 Comment
You can tell a bad sermon conclusion by the audible punctuation it ends with. Audible punctuation has to do with the tone, confidence, and intensity of the sentence you say. It doesn’t necessarily match the punctuation in your sermon notes. Powerless endings to your sermon Audible punctuation is more important in your conclusion than any [...]
Keep Your Audience Engaged: What Movies Can Teach Pastors About Effective Transitions
May 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Ever hear anything along the lines of, “Since people have shorter attention spans these days, preachers should give shorter sermons.” Really? Don’t people watch, like, 30 hours of TV a week? Aren’t most movies around two hours long? This reveals that the entertainment world is really good at keeping the attention of their audience. And [...]
3 Types of Effective Sermon Illustrations and How to Use Them
May 18, 2011 By 2 Comments
Because I believed the #1 myth regarding illustrations, I was one of those preachers who never bothered with them. I was heavy on explanation, light on application, and neglected illustrations. What is the myth? That illustrations are for explaining your passage. I figured if I did a good enough job teaching the meaning of the text, [...]
Preach a Sermon Your Audience Can Actually Follow
May 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Introductions: 3 Things That Will Get Your Sermon Off to an Effective Start
May 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
90 seconds is all you get. You get 90 seconds to convince your listeners that the next 35 minutes will be worth their undivided attention. Jokes will keep their attention as long as you’re funny. Stories will keep their attention as long as you’re interesting. But sooner or later (hopefully not later), you have to [...]
A New Series Starts Tomorrow: The Anatomy of An Effective Sermon
May 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Have you ever walked up to the pulpit with (what you thought was) an awesome sermon, only to preach it to disinterested gazes? Have you ever walked up to the pulpit with (what you thought was) a lame sermon, only hear several responses of, “That really blessed me, pastor!” Don’t our people know an effective [...]
5 Ways to Create Interest When You Do Exegesis in Sermons
April 22, 2011 By 1 Comment
In your preaching, how many times have you tried to communicate an amazing exegetical insight, only to watch the eyes of your audience steadily glaze over? You thought you had them, but you lost them. We have all been there, more often than we’ll admit. The solution is not more illustrations and less exegesis, at [...]
Salient Sound Bites From Al Mohler at The Gospel Coalition
April 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Al Mohler kicked off the offical Gospel Coalition Conference with a message titled, “Studying the Scriptures and Finding Jesus,” from John 5:31-47. His point was that Christians must read the Old Testament, and see the redemption of Christ that is written into it. Here are some quotes I wrote down during the message. I don’t [...]
4 Ways to Overcome the Monday Preaching Hangover
April 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Ever experience the Monday “preaching hangover”? Ever not experience it? Brian Croft, over at Practical Shepherding, has a great post answering the question: how do you overcome the Monday morning preaching hangover? He gives four ways: 1. Pray and read Scripture. 2. Know your limitations. 3. Exercise. 4. Assign yourself achievable tasks. Read the rest. Share
The Difference Between the Law and the Gospel: Which Do You Preach More?
April 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I’m pursuing ordination with the goal of finishing in early October. So far, my greatest joy in the process has been working through the four volumes of Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics. He brilliantly summarizes the difference between the law and the gospel in the paragraph below. As you read, ask yourself if one comes out in [...]
7 Tips to Be a More Interesting Preacher
April 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I was going through some old files this morning, and stumbled across “Keeping It Interesting as a Young Preacher,” by Philip Jensen. He gives seven tips. 1. When you preach, be as good as you can. 2. Fledgling preachers tend to be boring (but err on the side of being too heavy, rather than too [...]
7 Reasons to Weave Eschatology into the Fabric of Your Preaching
March 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment
When you hear the word “eschatology” do you think about number codes, multi-headed dragons, and colored horses? I hope not. More than plotting out the events of the end of the world. Eschatology is about history’s trajectory toward the end of the world as a result of Christ’s already/not yet destruction of the old age (accomplished [...]
Why You Must Preach Against Sin
March 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
What keeps your people from the salvation available in Jesus? What blocks out the joy of sanctification? What tethers our hope to this world, preventing us from being so heavenly minded that we can do some earthly good? The answer is sin. Specific sins. Sins that don’t feel like sin, having been dutifully neutralized by [...]
5 Characteristics of Constantly Improving Preachers
March 27, 2011 By 5 Comments
What tricks have you tried to make your preaching better? Writing more interesting introductions? Stating your your main point more memorably? Is it actually working? Ironically, I have found that the more I try to preach better, the worse I do. But the more I just try to preach, the better I do. In other words, [...]
How To Set Up Your Files for Efficient and Effective Sermon Prep
March 24, 2011 By 3 Comments
This is the fourth article in a series on How to Get Organized. Don’t forget to read articles one, two, and three! When it comes to filing, there are two kinds of pastors in the world. Black hole filers keep everything, but the stuff will never see light again. Anti-filers don’t file anything because they [...]
Get Rid of Inefficient Sermon Prep with Preaching Templates, Part 2
March 19, 2011 By 4 Comments
One reason we prepare sermons inefficiently is because we get stuck. Either our mind somehow wanders off, or we lose momentum between steps. That’s why preaching templates help. Its headings focus your attention on the task at hand, gliding you from step to step. The exegesis template focused on figuring out the text. This one guides us [...]
Get Rid of Inefficient Sermon Prep with Preaching Templates, Part 1
March 19, 2011 By 1 Comment
Could you say that you have your sermon preparation process nailed down? Ever since my first preaching class, I’ve searched for the method that “works for me” like a pimply faced teenager goes through acne medication regimens. I’ve seen blemishes disappear here and there over the years, but I have finally found something that really works. [...]
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