Author: Administrador

I preached my very first sermon at the ripe old age of 13. The Bible conveys that Timothy was a young preacher, but on that particular day, I made Timothy look ancient. At a summer retreat, the teachers of our youth group cruelly and puzzlingly decided to hold a preaching competition. My name was tossed … Continue reading “Learning from My Mistakes”

Don’t preach as would a writer; preach as a preacher! Preachers who fail to appreciate the vast difference between their oral craft and writing usually display very different understandings of their task—centered in the pulpit and congregation for one and in the desk and study for the other. Written words may indeed enjoy a more … Continue reading “Preaching Points: Aim for the Ear!”

It’s possible, say theatre people, for an audience to leave a performance humming the set. It means the scenery was better than the show or certainly more memorable. Actors know that where a story is told can influence how or whether the story is heard. It’s true whether your story comes from Shakespeare or Solomon. … Continue reading “Buildings Speak: How Your Church’s Architecture Impacts Preaching”

When uttered on a pseudo-reality show by a billionaire, “You’re fired” produces smirks and brisk discussions about which celebrity should have been dismissed. However, when addressed to a minister (or anyone else, for that matter), these two words evoke raw emotions. As do most people, a preacher who loses his job immediately enters the first … Continue reading “Preacher, You’re Fired! Surviving Forced Termination”

OriginsAimee Semple McPherson was born on Oct. 9, 1890, on a farm in Salford Ontario, Canada. Her father, James Kennedy, was a farmer and came from a Methodist background. Her mother, Mildred, known as “Millie,” came from a Salvation Army background. Although she was raised in a Christian home, she began to question the Bible … Continue reading “The Life and Ministry of Aimee Semple McPherson”

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one … Continue reading “Yada Haggadah”

Between Easter and Christmas, Mother’s Day may be the most likely day people will attend church, according to a recent study by LifeWay Research. In a national poll of 1,000 Protestant pastors, LifeWay Research asked what the three highest attendance Sundays were throughout the year. Mother’s Day (59 percent) ranked third behind the standard religious … Continue reading “Mother’s Day Is Opportunity for Outreach”

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely accuse you of all kinds of evil because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). Lord, I have to admit, I … Continue reading “The Offended”

James Emery White (host pastor for this year’s National Conference on Preaching in Charlotte) writes an excellent newsletter called Church & Culture. In this week’s edition, he says: “How many times have you heard the line, ‘I need to go where I’m fed.’ Or it’s corollaries, ‘I wasn’t being fed.’ ‘I just wasn’t growing there.’ … Continue reading “Not Being Fed?”

In an issue of the PreachingTodaySermons.com newsletter, Haddon Robinson writes: “While rules governing good writing also apply to the sermon manuscript, a sermon is not an essay on its hind legs because what you write serves only as a broad preparation for what you will actually say. Your manuscript is not your final product. Your sermon … Continue reading “Writing for Preaching Requires Different Approach”