Sermon Preparation by Reflection I realize that people have their own methods for sermon preparation. Some will give you “7 Important Steps” (which are good steps by the way.) Others will share with you to remember the audience in your sermon preparation. Considering that most pastors spend much time preparing their sermons, it may be challenging to see how they source their sermons. I realize that you could preach somebody else’s sermon. Others have talked about this as the wrong... Read more
How to Respond to My Pro-Choice Friends How to Respond to My Pro-Choice Friends (Psalm 139:13-16), is the first in a series of sermons on “How to Engage with My Spiritual Friends.” This sermon will deal with how to respond to those who are pro-choice and pro-abortion. Over the next couple of months, I am going to share with you a series about how to respond to different groups of people, people who may be different than you and me.... Read more
How the Church Can Work Together Like a DREAM Rebuilding God’s People Part 2 Ezra 2:1-70 How the church can work together like a dream is the theme of the second chapter of Ezra. John Maxwell once said: “It takes teamwork to make the dream work.” This is true in any organization, and it is especially true in the church. Let’s repeat that phrase: “it takes teamwork to make the dream work.” I want to share with you how God... Read more
How God Stirs a Vision Among His People Rebuilding God’s People Part 1 Ezra 1:1-11 As this church begins a new calendar year, I usually give a sermon that casts a vision for the year. However, this time I decided to go through the book of Ezra. As I was studying to prepare for this series, two clear points came to me. First, the theme of the book is the same theme that this church is experiencing, rebuilding. Second, this... Read more
How to Relate to the Accuser Luke 4:1-13 Today is the first Sunday of Lent. Traditionally, Lent is a time when Christians around the world will deny themselves in order to grow spiritually. We are going to take the following Sundays in March and April to look at the ways that Jesus dealt with different people. Today, we will see how Jesus dealt with the Accuser, Satan. Later in this series, we will look at other people in the life... Read more
How to Move from Reluctance to Obedience to God’s Mission Jonah 1:1-2:10 How would you feel if you were told by God to minister to people you dislike? How would you respond? This is what Jonah was going through. Jonah had an extreme hatred for the Assyrians. God tells Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh. We don’t know exactly why, but it is possible that God knew Jonah had this problem of hating the people. Nineveh, the capital... Read more
HONOR God All Year Long Psalm 147:1-20 As we begin a new year, we should think as Christians how to HONOR God all year long. Here is a simple definition of honor: Respect given to a person for who they are. You respect the police officer because of the role they play to protect and serve the community. You respect a judge because they have the power to put you in jail or give you freedom. You respect the employer... Read more
9 Great Reasons to Get Logos 9 I want to share with you 9 Great Reasons to Get Logos 9. Full Disclosure: I was given a preview version of Logos 9. You can use my link to get a discount on any base package. 1. Images in Notes Finally, you can insert images in Notes. There is an option in Notes to upload and insert images. You can insert from three sources: “Your Media” includes media that you upload yourself.... Read more
Becoming a Healthier Pastor by Ronald W. Richardson is a book review about how the pastor can become healthier by dealing with their family of origin. Read more
Developing Christian Self-Control Galatians 5:22-23 Developing Christian Self-Control is the final sermon in the sermon series on Developing Christian character. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” (Galatians 5:22–23, CSB) Developing Christian Self-Control brings victory John Maxwell, in his book Developing The Leader Within You, says that “The first victory that successful people ever achieve or win, is the victory over themselves.” The... Read more
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