Author: Administrador

By 1972 the same pastor had spoken about the same story to the same congregation for four Christmases. I suspect there were members of the congregation who felt like the layman who said, “If I hear the words ‘and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field’ one more time, I think … Continue reading “Preaching and the Christian Calendar: Advent”

That the Gospel should be preached in every sermon is an assertion, I am sure, that will meet with universal agreement among Christian clergy. No pastor, I am positive, would argue that the Gospel may on occasion be omitted from a sermon.We may debate among ourselves how we should preach the Gospel but never whether … Continue reading “The Tragic Omission: Leaving the Gospel Out of Our Preaching”

Why don’t we preach like Jesus? Why do so many preaching books fail to refer to our Master Model as the master preaching model?How could we forget Jesus the Preacher? Didn’t the people abandon cities and villages to listen to His sermons in the wilderness?Twenty percent of the New Testament consists of the direct words … Continue reading “Why Don’t We Preach Like Jesus?”

In the history of our civilization millions of stories have been told and retold. No doubt, there are many ways to tell an effective story. One of the most helpful ways to learn is to observe a process and then try it ourselves. Therefore, why not take a look at one approach to the construction … Continue reading “Granny’s Leaven: One Way to Write the Story Sermon”

After watching the college football bowl games and the early NFL playoff I had a strange dream. It was the annual Christian Super Preacher Convention Finals MCMLXXXVIII. A big TV network was there with a play-by-play man, color analyst, replays, slow-motion, everything. What a dream! I woke up with my tongue in cheek.(The obligatory scene … Continue reading “The Super Bowl of Preachers”

Millions of Christians throughout the centuries in all parts of the world have found the use of the Christian calendar to be a helpful tool in their worship of God and their development as disciples of Christ. Perhaps an equal number of Christians have been ignorant of the Christian calendar and its value for discipleship … Continue reading “Preaching and the Christian Calendar: Epiphany and Lent”

I have been preaching for over sixty years and have never missed an opportunity of hearing great preachers in Britain and in America. The two who have made the most lasting impression on me are W. E. Sangster, the subject of an earlier study, and James Stewart, both of whom I would have gone any … Continue reading “James S. Stewart: Passionate Intensity, Evangelical Fervor”

Evangelistic preaching is the proclamation of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit with the aim of making disciples.To be sure, all Christian preaching should expect a response in both faith and action, whether the sermon be a declaration of the facts of personal redemption or the teaching of some great moral truth. … Continue reading “Preparing and Delivering an Evangelistic Message”

Always watchful of the fate of the printed word, Benjamin Franklin surveyed the trends of the late eighteenth century and warned in 1786 that Americans were abandoning books for newspapers.Two hundred years later the book finds itself up against even stronger foes, including that most formidable opponent, television. Yet the printed page remains the most … Continue reading “1987 offered variety of books to stimulate, challenge preachers”

Young people coming of age in these days of self-service stations may have never heard those words familiar to drivers of an earlier day. You’d pull your automobile next to the pumps of your favorite service station, lean out of the window of your car and proclaim to the smiling young man in greasy overalls: … Continue reading “Fill ‘er up!”