Author: Administrador

There’s a story about a church that had trouble getting Sunday morning, worship to take off into joyous celebration. Things were so bad at that church that the preacher and congregation could not have conspired to make Sunday services more boring than they already were.The typist of the congregation’s worship bulletin brought the gravity of … Continue reading “Preaching and Praise: From Monotony to Doxology!”

Some think that it was inevitable that we should have experienced a crisis in expository preaching, if not in all preaching, since that had been the pattern in most other theological disciplines in recent years. Indeed, ever since 1970 we have been warned about a crisis in almost every other theological discipline: e.g., there was … Continue reading “The Crisis in Expository Preaching Today”

The best preachers in this world remain anonymous. I am frequently asked: “Who are today’s best preachers?” My stock answer is “no one you have heard of.” I am convinced that the best preachers are some of those who craft sermons, week in and week out — sometimes two or three times per week — … Continue reading “Preaching At Home and Away”

James Finn Garner has made a fortune with his two books which recast traditional nursery rhymes in more “politically correct” language.I thought for awhile about trying my hand at doing the same thing with some favorite Bible stories — but it now appears I’m too late. A group of biblical scholars has released their own … Continue reading “More Enlightened Bible Stories?”

One good question is worth a dozen answers. Nowhere is this more true than in the craft of preaching. To make a point, to challenge the mind, to stir the will, to touch the soul; nothing works like a question.Jesus was the master of the question. “Whom do people say that I am?” He asked … Continue reading “Questions, Questions, Questions”

When the evangelist announced his text — Genesis 24:63-64 — I was intrigued at the uncommon prospect of hearing a revival sermon preached from the first book of the Bible. But as I listened to the Scripture, my curiosity changed to wonderment: “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and … Continue reading “The Problem with Allegory in Preaching”

In speaking of the Bible, Edgar Goodspeed once noted, “It has been truly said that any translation of the masterpiece must be a failure.” That insight did not, however, keep Goodspeed from trying, nor does it stop any number of our own day from attempting new and updated translations.Such activity demonstrates the continuing interest in … Continue reading “1995 Survey of Bibles and Bible Reference for Preaching”

After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. (Matt. 11:1)Give me the Bible and the Holy Ghost and I can go on preaching forever! (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)In exegeting a passage, we get at what the inspired writer said; with the help … Continue reading “Constructing the Narrative Sermon”

A few weeks ago I was called by a reporter from the Christian Science Monitor, who was doing a story on the length of sermons. Aren’t sermons getting shorter, he asked? And we spent nearly a half hour discussing the length of sermons.When the article actually appeared, I think he included one sentence from our … Continue reading “The Long and the Short of It”

O.S. Hawkins is pastor of the largest congregation in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Since 1993 he has been pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas — a congregation known not only as the flagship church of Southern Baptists but also known for its most famous member: Billy Graham. Hawkins came to Dallas … Continue reading “Preaching to Engage Culture: An Interview with O.S. Hawkins”