Author: Administrador

Apart from the impact it has on my credit card balances, I love to travel.For the preacher, travel offers an opportunity for exposure to new places, new people, new ideas. And great sermon illustrations.Laura and I recently returned from our first visit to England and Scotland. We had a delightful time — at least until … Continue reading “Thoughts from across the Atlantic”

“Then spoke he to them in parables saying …” — sound familiar? Parables are a common occurrence in the New Testament. But parables — lifestyle stories used to communicate divine truth in a dynamic way — are also prominent in the Old Testament.Swallowing a bit of my theological pride, I must admit that the idea … Continue reading “Old Testament Parables”

Two of the most insightful minds in the worlds of homiletics are Thomas G. Long, Patton Professor of Preaching and Worship at Princeton Theological Seminary, and John Killinger, Distinguished Professor of Theology and Culture at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.Long recently came to Samford to speak, and that provided the unique opportunity to visit with … Continue reading “A Preaching Interview with Thomas Long and John Killinger”

A welcome breath of cool, fresh air has come from our pulpits in recent years, thanks to the inductive method of preaching. Advocates of this approach, such as Fred Craddock, have stressed the need to involve the congregation in the preaching event by taking them on the sermon journey and allowing them to arrive at … Continue reading “What if Peter had Preached Deductively?”

The preacher in U.S. culture deals with a claim that is commonly accepted as the truth by the listeners.1 That is, we preach mostly to believers. There is a casual, indifferent readiness, even in our increasingly secularized society, to grant the main claims of the gospel — not to grant them importance, but to accept … Continue reading “Poetry in a Prose-Flattened World”

If you’ve ever tried to purchase a microphone for your church — for the pulpit, the choir, or for musical instruments — you probably know how many different types of microphones are on the market. Most have been designed for very specific uses, and explanations of the technology that’s been developed for each application can … Continue reading “Good Pulpit Sound Isn’t a Miracle – Just the Right Microphones”

Not long ago, a lady came to me after the service, with tears streaming down her face. “Oh, I just got so blessed today,” she said. “It was just wonderful!”“Well,” I said, “I’m glad you got blessed.”“I wish I could join this church,” she continued, “but my husband is sick and I have to stay … Continue reading “Preparing the Evangelistic Message”

A Madison Avenue advertising firm surveyed non-churched people a few years ago and asked them their impressions of church. “The problem with church,” respondents said, “is that the people are always sad, or they talk about death, or they ask for money.”In response, many churches today are upbeat, don’t say much about death, and rarely … Continue reading “Preaching on Money: When You’ve Gone to Meddlin’”

G. Campbell Morgan was born at Tetbury, England, on December 9, 1883. Shortly afterwards the family moved to Cardiff and attended Roath Road Wesleyan Methodist Church.Morgan preached his first sermon at the age of thirteen at Monmouth. It had four divisions, each made by biblical reference, a method he used all his life: (1) A … Continue reading “George Campbell Morgan: A Man of the Word”

It’s that time of year again: spring training.The long winter siesta is over for all those talented young athletes assembling in Florida and Arizona. Come August they’ll be pounding home runs and stealing bases, but for now they’re pretty happy to catch a ball without pulling or tearing something.Spring training is actually a great idea. … Continue reading “But does Bo know preaching?”