Author: Administrador

Come on, preacher, preach.Don’t coddle me, don’t just stroke me beyond credibility, don’t insult me by thinking I’m stupid. Don’t try to pass off as the message from on high cheap, unprepared remarks. Don’t just condemn me and tear me down. Don’t try to impress me with your intellect. Preach.Proclaim person-to-person what my relationship with … Continue reading “Come on, preacher, stand up and preach”

Sermon writing and preaching have become for me, and perhaps other ministers, something more than just another function of church life. It has become, in fact, a whole process of self-examination, spiritual growth and development. It is easy for me to devote six to eight hours per week to sermon composition, re-writing, and delivery. Some … Continue reading “Sermon Writing and Preaching Is a Process of Individuation”

On a sunny March morning near Canada’s capital city I sauntered along a deserted railway line enjoying the journey immensely. I watched tree sparrows picking weed seeds, melt water trickling towards the river, cumulous clouds scudding across the sky. “The going is the goal,” I thought.Suddenly the sun disappeared and a cold north wind began … Continue reading “Finding Sermon Illustrations in Nature”

Evangelistic proclamation has for centuries assumed a major role in the communication of the church. But the contemporary moment has witnessed an attenuation of the evangelistic thrust in many pulpits. Some even feel its effectiveness is over for today’s world. Surely this cannot be so! Yet it is surely true that effective evangelistic preaching demands … Continue reading “Build a Foundation for Effective Evangelistic Preaching”

In one sense, any preaching that you and I do addresses one kind of human emotion or another. Such a statement raises the issue of just what your conception of human personality is. Much writing on homiletics depends on ingrained assumptions on the part of the preacher that the human person is neatly divided into … Continue reading “Preaching to Emotional Needs (Preaching and Pastoral Care–Part Three of Five)”

One of America’s greatest preachers spent most of his ministry not as a pastor but as a professor, then president, of a young Baptist seminary.John A. Broadus, born January 24, 1827 in Culpepper County, Virginia, had planned to enter the University of Virginia to study medicine. After hearing a sermon on the parable of the … Continue reading “John A. Broadus: Professor and Preacher”

In his book The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, Roland Bainton includes a priceless story from the early days of Zwingli’s ministry in Zurich. The year was 1519, and Zwingli’s ministry in the city had recently begun when he announced that, instead of restricting himself to the prescribed Biblical passages selected by the Church, he … Continue reading “Preaching and the Power of the Word”

What Being With Jesus Can Do For YouActs 4:1-22Some months ago the Marine Corps of the United States of America had an advertising campaign designed to increase the number of young men enlisting in their ranks. No doubt you remember seeing the attractive poster and media ads that said: “The Marines are looking for a … Continue reading “Twentieth-Century Sermons”

The issues and concerns of persons today are found in the pages of Scripture. No matter how distant we are from the experiences of New Testament Christians, those writings are still relevant to the issues which face the church, the individual follower of Jesus Christ, and the world.The General Epistles are a prime example of … Continue reading “Preaching From I and II Peter”

In recent years I have, on several occasions, heard people discuss where they were when they heard about President Kennedy’s assassination. One thing I haven’t heard discussed is who they first heard the news from. Isn’t it interesting that when a report is significant enough, we can so easily forget the person who brought it?On … Continue reading “Minstrel or Messenger”