Author: Administrador

At 107 years old, the small frail woman still enjoyed life. Her humor and insight had sharpened with age. When her pastor, Robert Oldham, visited during her final months, she cheered him and herself by recalling the words of the country song “This Old House”: “Ain’t gonna need this house no longer.”At her funeral, the … Continue reading “When Laughter Is Okay at a Funeral”

The Feast Of FreedomText: Jeremiah 52:31-34Let me dramatize for you what it means for me to take communion.Picture for a moment the sumptuous beauty of the dining hall in Babylon. Sense the array of kings. Let the moving images of the colorful pageantry, the perilous protocol, the dazzling splendor loop through the gate of your … Continue reading “The Cup of Wonder: Communion Meditations”

The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Suffering Servant was a person “of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Jesus himself lived out this way of life of the Messiah. He is the Chief Shepherd. You and I as preaching pastors are the under-shepherds of the flock of God. Therefore, a spiritual preparation for preaching to … Continue reading “Preaching And Grief (Fourth in a Five-Part Series)”

It was a study in contrasts as the frail-looking preacher stood before the congregation. Weak, thin and suffering from failing eyesight, he held his manuscript close to his face and spoke calmly, seemingly without emotion. Yet the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” caused a virtual eruption within the congregation; Edwards at … Continue reading “Jonathan Edwards: Powerful mind and message”

Returning from church one Sunday evening, the elder, in response to his wife’s question about the sermon, replied, “Well, Jean, I have just three comments. He read it. He read it badly. And it wasn’t worth reading.”Even if the sermon had been worth reading, the layman’s judgment too often is: when a minister reads his … Continue reading “To Read or Not to Read — That’s the Question”

Before becoming president of the seminary, I helped organize an informal meeting for pastors of large metropolitan churches. Three days each year, we gathered to share experiences and ideas, in what became for us one of the most valuable meetings on the calendar.At the first meeting in Callaway Gardens, Georgia, each preacher told how he … Continue reading “The Personal Computer and Preaching”

The word “crisis” in English means a time when a particular situation must either go on, be reversed, or be changed in a new direction. It is a “decisive moment” or a “turning point” in the course of human existence. Decisions must be made.These times can be predicted to some extent, as in the cases … Continue reading “Preaching to Meet Crisis Needs (Fifth in a 5-Part Series)”

Alexander Whyte was the greatest preacher of his day in Scotland. Few preachers have done so much to heighten the ideals of the pulpit, and the instruction and inspiration to be derived from his life-story are many-sided. With all his tenderness and humility, his freedom from egoism and self-concern, Whyte stands in the direct line … Continue reading “Alexander Whyte: Scottish Prophet”

Bit by byte, the computer is replacing legal pads and ball-point pens for more and more preachers.In the olden days (B.C. — Before Commodore), we’d sit down at the desk with a cup of coffee at our side, six legal pads spread before us, and 3,684 books, commentaries and illustration cards arrayed in splendor just … Continue reading “Preaching with a computer? Something just doesn’t compute!”

On a recent visit to the American Bible Society headquarters in New York City, I saw a significant item from church history on display there. It was a copy of the famous “Chained Bible.”In 1539, the Great Bible was published as the first Authorized English Bible (that is, authorized to be used in public worship). … Continue reading “Unchaining the Word”