Preaching Ash Wednesday: 8 suggestions for preaching repentance and (avoidable) death
On this Ash Wednesday, not only is there our usual grief and fear about death, there is also anger and resentment. Not to mention shame and guilt from those who may realize too late they’ve contributed to the demise of others. We must acknowledge our unusual circumstances this year and invite people to grieve, confess, and make amends.
For the Love of Preaching: Sermon Prep Pandemic-Style (3rd in a 4-Week Series)
While we’re building the kingdom of God, however, most of us in the West “drink the kool-aid” of the productivity-equals-success/respect/love poison our society ladles out for us during our construction breaks. Even though the drink tastes bitter, and we say the Church is in the world and not of it, and we say we hate the stuff, we preachers keep going back and holding out our cups for refills.
While we drink, we look with dismay at that partially constructed kingdom and see all the work left to be done. So we double our efforts, squeezing more tasks into the cracks of time, adding a patch here, pouring cement there, but seemingly to no avail. Because the work is never done and the task lists only seem to grow larger. And that’s in a non-pandemic year.
For the Love of Preaching: Scripture is More than a Tool (1st in a 4-Week Series)
Now that 2020 is actually over, are you feeling full of renewed energy, ready to preach in 2021? No? Me neither. To counteract our preaching “blues,” I’ve created a four-week series to help us all rediscover and relish the craft of preaching again. Each week will offer a reflection and experiences, exercises, or tools for you to engage and apply. I hope you’ll join us this week in rediscovering scripture as the font and source of our being rather than just a means to an end (a sermon).
For the Love of Preaching: We *Get* to Preach (2nd in a 4-week Series)
There may never have been a more difficult time in our lifetimes to minister in God’s name when many listeners actively seek fault, agendas, or flat-out disagree with sharing Christ’s love with all. That makes for a stressful ministry environment. All the more reason to remind yourself of the extraordinary blessing it is that we get to do this work.
Recovering from 2020: Your Free, At-Home Christmas Retreat
“This retreat will not completely fill your tank, assuage your exhaustion, or provide a clear path of hope for the future. But it will, I pray, provide a theological and spiritual framework to what you have endured, witnessed, and felt this past year. By God's grace we will minister in 2021 with an open heart, confident that God will continue to provide all we need to preach, minister, and lead. This, too, shall pass. And in the meantime, people need Good News.”
Three Christmas Sermon Themes for a Pandemic Christmas
It probably feels hard to keep the “merry” in “Merry Christmas” this year. We will miss so many of the usual Christmas traditions. While it is right to grieve, it is also right to find unexpected blessings in our stripped-down celebrations of the Incarnation this year. We can focus more clearly on the “why:” why did God choose to live among us?
Ten Christmas Preaching Do's and Don'ts for 2020
It’s been quite a year. And yet, Jesus came for a time such as this. Consider these ten dos and don’ts as you prepare to preach this Christmas.
BsP's Preacher's Christmas Gift List (2020 edition)
The Backstory Preaching Annual Preacher’s Christmas Gift List has a theme: getting through the rest of the pandemic while preparing for the resumption of activities after (God willing) we have an effective, widely-distributed vaccine. Check out this year's favorites!
"I do not cease to give thanks for you."
This has been an unbelievable year. Surreal. Tragic. Bring-us-to-our-knees stressful. Yet you have preached, led, and ministered throughout. So I give thanks for you for a multitude of reasons…
Advent Sermon Inspiration: Quotes and Reflections
We’ve prepared this selection of quotes for your use as you prepare your Advent sermons. May you find wisdom and inspiration to nourish your own spirit as you prepare to receive God’s word for your listeners.