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In the last two days, I read three mini-ebooks by Laura Vanderkam. The books are from her series, What the Most Successful People Do. The books are good because they are short, practical, and include lots of personal stories and application. What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is about early morning routines and … Read more
Preaching is one of my primary tasks as a pastor. So, it’s something I must continually develop (see Developing the Preaching Gift and Honing My Craft). In Doing Church as a Team, Wayne Cordeiro writes, “When we stop learning, we just stop.” Cordeiro relates the story of Jigoro Kano, who … founded the art of … Read more
I recently started reading through Francis Asbury’s journal (see my previous post). I’m still only on page 50 of Volume 1 (of 3), but one thing that strikes me is how much Asbury writes about preaching, and how much he talks about his preaching in experiential terms. Here are a number of examples of how … Read more
Last March, Preaching Rocket conducted a free online event called Preach Better Sermons. Speakers included Andy Stanley, Jeff Foxworthy, Louie Giglio, Perry Noble, Jud Wilhite, Vanable Moody, Dr. Charles Stanley, and Dan Cathy. It was a great event. Afterward, I wrote 5 Takeaways from Preach Better Sermons. Preaching Rocket is replaying the 3-hour online event … Read more
One book I just started reading is Tell It Slant by Eugene Peterson (I’ve always loved Peterson; his book, The Contemplative Pastor, had a huge impact on me early on when I was in seminary, preparing for ministry). The subtitle of Tell It Slant is, “a conversation on the language of Jesus in his stories … Read more
In recent months, I’ve been using iAnnotate in my sermon prep. iAnnotate is an iPad app that reads and marks up PDFs. Before this app, I printed out the scriptures I planned to use in my sermon. As I read over the text, I’d mark it up with a highlighter, marking keywords and phrases, and … Read more
I recently came across some writings by Adam Clarke, posted on Craig Adams’ blog, which included the following statement on preaching … Get a thorough knowledge of your subject: understand your text in all its connection and bearings, and then go into the pulpit depending on the Spirit of God to give you power to … Read more
Jesus was once asked by his disciples, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11.1). It’s a great request, one we all should make. Another good request, particularly for preachers, is “Lord, teach us to preach!” That was a request I found myself making in prayer earlier today. I thought, I don’t simply want to communicate … Read more
Preaching is the most important ministry task of a pastor. Communities of faith are shaped through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Because preachers must present a new message every week, preaching is also challenging. As every writer knows, beginning each message with a “blank page” can be daunting! Everyone has their own system … Read more
I continue to revise my preaching-related prayer guide, which I started a couple of years ago (see 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0). It has remained pretty steady for a while, but I’ve been revising it again in the last couple of weeks. My purpose isn’t really to perfect it, but to reflect whatever I’m emphasizing … Read more