For many congregations, the same preacher will be presenting the same sermon in all of the various venues. I actually think it is great fun to be a part of all of the service styles, but it is no easy task to shift gears from service to service and sometimes from setting to setting.
Wesley, like those in the early Christian church, believed that communion is a vitally important means of grace. If daily meals are important not only for our nourishment but also our fellowship with family, then regular communion is vital for our spiritual nourishment and our cohesiveness and love as the family of the church.
When we use illustrations that are beyond the scope, the everyday experience, of our hearers, there’s an higher chance they illustration will miss them altogether. They may even intellectually grasp the message, but they will not feel it, relate to, or see themselves in it.
Long ago when Methodism was still a movement, John Wesley gave his “helpers” a list of 12 rules to follow. These “helpers” were lay preachers who were just starting to travel around and preach in various places. Here’s a copy for you to refer to and draw encouragement from.
Variety is the spice of life. This maxim certainly applies to our preaching. Good variety can keep the preacher fresh and the congregation more engaged, so build an annual preaching calendar with a good mix of sermon series.
Preaching intergenerationally, to several different age levels, can seem overwhelming and difficult. Before you hire clowns, I would like to invite you to think differently about intergenerational preaching and suggest that you do not have to “dumb” down or change your preaching style to reach the different age groups in your congregations.
What are we doing to help people discover the source of happiness in the present and for eternity? The two are linked. The abundant life Jesus offers begins with faith and ordering our lives according to his leadership and plan. People are looking for happiness. We can show them how to find it.
Welcome to “Big Questions,” a recurring feature on the Preaching Collective, where we will look at the big questions that preachers face on a weekly basis. We’ll ask a panel of our practitioners and invite you to respond as well.
While wedding homilies are usually brief, the preacher has an opportunity to use those moments to turn everyone’s attention from the flowers and the puffy-sleeved bridesmaids’ dresses to the reality of marriage as a reflection of God’s love for God’s people.
Not too long ago I had to preach on divorce. By had I mean I had no other choice. If given the option, I would have avoided it altogether. I would have dug under it, flown over it, or march all the way around it.
Our entire world had been turned upside down. I had to figure out how to not merely preach about the disaster, but to preach through the disaster. Here are a few things I learned.
While renewing our minds is essential to transformation, our preaching and teaching may not stop with conveying information. Inspiring action is a must. Here are five insights from effective change leadership that also apply to effective preaching.
