Archives

September 2017

September 05, 2017
If you pastor long enough, you will eventually be asked to preach the funeral for...
September 02, 2017
Every time I have an opportunity to officiate a wedding, I do my best to...

August 2017

August 29, 2017
It's never fun. In fact, it's painful. You preach an awful sermon. You lay the...
August 25, 2017
Recently I found myself watching an episode of ESPN's College Football Live. Yes, it was...
August 22, 2017
Everyone loves a good story, and every story in the Bible is good. I mean,...
August 18, 2017
This is one of my all-time favorite illustrations and probably my all-time favorite personal story....
August 15, 2017
I will never forget it. It was in the tiny, old sanctuary of the first...
August 11, 2017
This is one of my all-time favorite illustrations. It is a tremendous visual to use...
August 08, 2017
From time to time, you will be asked to fill the pulpit at another church....
August 04, 2017
It’s happens so fast. It happens when aren’t expecting it. It happens and you don’t...
August 01, 2017
It is amazing to me who approaches Jesus about fasting in Matthew 9. It's not...

July 2017

July 28, 2017
Recently, in light of Independence Day, I opened the sermon with an illustration using fireworks....
July 25, 2017
Should the preacher be able to say his entire sermon in one sentence?  Opinions vary. ...
July 21, 2017
I found this illustration in chapter 4 of Martin B. Copenhaver's  Jesus is the Question....
July 18, 2017
One of my biggest fears in preaching is standing before the people on a Sunday...
July 14, 2017
My approach to opening illustrations is to provide a smooth runway. I want there to...
July 11, 2017
Full disclosure: I am not the best person to help you figure out what to...
July 07, 2017
In order to challenge the congregation to build a relationship with the lost and searching...
July 05, 2017
Pastors, let's be honest. Church members, nor their loved ones, ever die at a convenient...

June 2017

June 30, 2017
Below is an opening illustration I used to communicate the difference of doing something just...
June 23, 2017
I hear many well-meaning, well-intentioned people say things like, "I don't have to share the gospel,...
June 21, 2017
Hopefully, you don't preach just to hear yourself talk. You want to influence those who...
June 16, 2017
In effort to explain the difference between doing things for God (in order to get...
June 14, 2017
Sure. You want to exegete and explain the text. Sure. You want the people in...
June 09, 2017
Recently, I preached through a series of messages entitled "Living Sent." One of the messages...
June 07, 2017
Every preacher is different. But every preacher should have a routine leading up to the...
June 02, 2017
Sheep and shepherds are word pictures used throughout both Old and New Testaments. If you...

May 2017

May 30, 2017
Recently I was struck by a word Jesus used several times throughout the Parable of...
May 21, 2017
God has called me to preach to church people—those church people who think they know...
May 14, 2017
I try to get my hands on anything Eugene Peterson writes. I love his style....
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