Disaster after Disaster: How to Preach So Listeners Don’t Tune Out
When natural disasters, political crises, and social injustices occur week after week, compassion fatigue can set in. What are we to do in the face of overwhelming need? Preachers can help their listeners avoid becoming numb, irritated or unresponsive, though. Read on to find out how.
Preaching the Arc of Holy week to Easter (A guest post)
Why do we observe Holy Week? It is so much work. Can’t we just skip the death and go from Palm Sunday to the happiness of the Resurrection?
No.
This week is the center not only of our faith but our very lives. It embeds in us the fundamental events of our people. It opens a window into what lies beneath and behind the foundation itself.
Lenten Preaching: Why Change is So Hard
We preachers often wonder whether our words have any effect. The people we preach to and the world around us pretty much look the same week after week. It doesn’t often look like the Good News has caught fire in people’s hearts. It doesn’t look like the reign of God is being built. For all our efforts to preach the Good News, how come it looks like nothing much is changing?
Preachers’ Annual Gift LIst, 2024
Each year I channel my inner Santa Claus to pull together a list of ten fun gifts for preachers. If church members or your family don’t yet know what to get for you, point them to this list!
Backstory Preaching receives no compensation if items are purchased. I suggest them only because they look jolly!
Ho, ho, ho!
More Than "Meek & Mild": Preaching the real Mary
When Mary gazes gently at us from statues, paintings, and icons, what do we see? How do we understand her? Perhaps there's more to Mary than her "meek and mild" representations suggest.
Advent-Christmas Sermons: 5 Steps to Preach the Sermons Your Listeners Need
Whether you’re preaching once or at every service the rest of December, exegeting your congregation and determining the preaching “voice” that will best serve them can make your sermon prep more efficient and relevant. Consider this 5-step process to craft Advent-Christmas sermons that bring good news to your listeners’ contexts.
Ditch Fear. Seed hope.
Due to the sheer repetition of circling our gaze between nails, soldiers, and oppressor, our fear mushrooms until we believe that death is stronger than God. Jesus himself is always there to remind us of the truth, but there is another figure we can look to as a guide in restoring our faith in God alone: Mary Magdalene.
Pentecost Quote Collection for Your Preaching and Reflections
We tune our awareness to God our Creator. We speak often about Jesus our Redeemer. But we give short shrift to the Spirit our Sanctifier, even though she offers what we most long for on a given day. Perhaps these quotations will help us pay more attention to the gifts the Spirit offers each day so we reflect her fruit.