Author: Administrador

H.B. Charles Jr. is a gifted young expositor who often writes about preaching in his blog. In a recent post, he discussed several insights about introducing sermons, including these two items: “Practice variety. Don’t start every sermon the same way. Be creative. Use different doors to get into the house. Tell a story. Raise a … Continue reading “Introducing Sermons”

I was speaking with my friends Tommy and Chris about the challenge of reviving the dialogue between Christians and Jews—all Your people, Adonai, though each claims favoritism in Your sight. Tommy emphasized his ongoing efforts to enter into midrash—the quest for deeper understanding of Your spiritual/historical narrative—with rabbis and Christian pastors, only to be rebuked … Continue reading “Brighteousness”

In his December newsletter, pastor Stan Toler tells this story about a memorable Christmas for his family: “I’ll never forget ‘that’ Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve, the Toler family had gone to bed without a meal because there wasn’t any food in the house. Dad had taken my brother Terry and me to a place on … Continue reading “God Will Provide”

Getting Started:There are so many angry people in the world today. Are you one of them? Some people are angry at God for the way they were made. Others are angry about the way their lives have turned out. Some people are angry because their expectations have not been met. Others were raised to be … Continue reading “Living Transformed Lesson: Anger Transformed”

During 2012, I entered a planned sabbatical of six months, which our church grants each of our pastoral staff members every seventh year of ministry. Overextended, exhausted and shortchanging my wife and children, I placed myself under the tutelage of a variety of authors and mentors, many of whom focused on soul care, personal spiritual … Continue reading “The Perfect Pastor”

Still thinking about Christmas, I am drawn to this excerpt by N.T. Wright from his book For All God’s Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church: “For many, Christianity is just a beautiful dream. It’s a world in which everyday reality goes a bit blurred. It’s nostalgic, cozy and comforting. But real Christianity … Continue reading “Christmas and Evil”

As do many of you, I usually have the TV on in the background. On this day, politicians were arguing about who was going to jump off the cliff first. As a nation, we were trying to decide which one of the politicians we were going to push off the cliff first. Then the news … Continue reading “The Shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary”

When we come to know Jesus, our relationship with Him should change the way we live and work. Some believe the follower of Christ should remove him or herself from the ordinary or worldly things in an effort to be holy or set apart rather than setting apart the ordinary for the glory of God. Paul, … Continue reading “Changing the Way We Live and Work”

“Education doesn’t happen when a teacher teaches, but when a learner learns.” This was one of my homiletics professors’ favorite phrases, and it’s been burned into my mind. It’s simple yet profound—simple in that it should be obvious, profound in that it forces us to evaluate everything we say and do not against how we … Continue reading “Preaching with Video”

It’s the beginning of a new year, and for most people that means creating a series of resolutions about things they will attempt to do in the coming year: losing weight, reading the Bible more and so on. There’s a reason health clubs make as much as 30 to 50 percent or more of their … Continue reading “Back Page Pulpit: Resolved: To Make Better Non-Resolutions”