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.
Cultivating Patience (A Free, At-Home Retreat)
However much we wish the the thorn in our sides would just go away, wishing will not bring the desired effect. Moreover, acting out our impatience is only adding thorns to others' sides, increasing their suffering. We could all use more patience—right now. From whence is it to come?
This free, at-home retreat is intended to help
When a Good Sermon Isn't Enough: Overcoming 3 Obstacles to Experiencing the Gospel
As preachers, we all strive for:
- a compelling introduction
- a clear message
- great stories that help our listeners connect abstract concepts to lived experience
- and a message that leaves the building with them
Why?
Because these elements help move the listener toward an encounter with the Living Word.
But sometimes, good sermon practices aren't enough.
As preachers, we may also need to remove obstacles that cast a shadow on people's experience of grace, truth, and love.
God grant us serenity
The Serenity Prayer brings us into the present; reframes our worries, angst, and stress; right-sizes our power; and returns us to the grace of God that can help us in this moment.
I offer it this Election Day in the United States as a spiritual practice for preachers this week—and to spark inspiration for preaching this Sunday.
Fostering Dialogue across the Political Divide (A Guest Post)
How can we preach on “hot topics” in a way that invites dialogue rather than driving a wedge into the red-blue divides of our congregations?
How to Preach Holy Resilience Under Stress
Resilience is the ability to endure pressure or hardship and retain (or regain) your original form. As Christians, this means the ability to endure stress and continue exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—no matter the circumstances.
How do we create fertile soil for the Spirit’s mysterious work? The Scripture offers a wealth of resources for preaching into our present struggles to foster holy resilience.
Is your sermon doing its intended job? 3 steps to achieve your purpose
Is your sermon achieving its purpose, and how do you know? What can you do to craft more effective sermons of any genre? Apply these three steps to grow your preaching skill immediately.
Experience First, Express Second: Making Theology Understood in Preaching
Not until we see, hear, touch, and feel the emotions of an idea do they take up residence in our spirits and do their work of transformation. This is the power of movies and tv shows and books and Ted Talks. They help us experience abstract concepts so we feel and therefore understand their meaning. Strong sermons do the same. They assume unfamiliarity so no understanding is taken for granted. And then they bring a concept to life.
What's Offensive? Preaching in the Language of Dignity
It might feel like we can’t say anything without offending someone. You’re right. Language evolves and therefore so does what is deemed offensive. To preach the dignity of every human being, we need to keep up with the changes in language so that in our sermons and writings, we are honoring and seeing our neighbors. Because when a person’s experiences, preferences, and identity are dismissed, they are rendered invisible. And that is offensive.