Finding sermon illustrations is one of the most difficult parts of a preacher’s job. Creativity takes time. It also often flows best when it is not under pressure. Yet most pastors barely finish one Sunday’s sermon before the anxiety about the next one sets in to their bones. So how do you find sermon illustrations? […]
SERMON: Put Away Your Sword DOWNLOAD: Sermon Audio (.mp3) | Sermon Outline (.pdf) BIO: Jon Wiest serves as the Lead Pastor of Radiant Church, which he planted less than two years ago. The church is located on the eastern side of Des Moines on the dividing line between the city and the suburbs. The church […]
I triple dog dare you to email 5-10 lay people asking them to list one characteristic of good preaching and one characteristic of bad preaching. Then, I quadruple dog dare you to share the results with the rest of us in the comments section of this post!
SERMON: What Does It Mean to Be Blessed? DOWNLOAD: Sermon Audio (.mp3) | Sermon Outline (.pdf) BIO: Professor Elaine Bernius has been teaching in the School of Theology and Ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University for the past 6 years. She teaches Old and New Testament Survey, which are some of her favorites to teach. Elaine […]
Perhaps I am overly opinionated on this topic, but I am convinced that those who preach with little or no reliance on their notes tend to connect better with listeners. There are preachers out there who read their poetic sermon manuscripts but manage to communicate as if they are talking to people not paper. However, […]
SERMON: The One (Part 2)- Is Jesus God? DOWNLOAD: Sermon Audio (.mp3) | Sermon Outline (.pdf) BIO: Joel Gorveatte serves as the Senior Pastor of the First Wesleyan Church of Tuscaloosa, AL. Joel preached this message to his congregation 10 days after the massive Tornado destroyed over 5000 buildings and claimed 43 lives in Tuscaloosa. […]
The one thing most of us would rather do than preach, is hear another great preacher. I mean a “Great” preacher. I’ve learned plenty from hearing the best preachers, especially in a live setting. For most of my life, when sitting under a great preacher, I’ve taken dual sets of notes, including content on one […]
Share the links to your favorite web resources for sermon preparation. What exegetical resources (dictionaries, word studies, commentaries), and homiletical resources (illustrations, current events, statistics, stories, videos, images) assist you in your development of the sermon? Please share your links, books, and other resources in the “Comment” box below.
A few weeks back, we explored how not to use humor. In this article, we will consider how to use humor in the sermon. No doubt, you have developed your own ways of employing homiletic humor, but here are a few ideas to supplement your methods. -Find humor in the biblical text. There are some […]
SERMON: An Introduction to Spiritual Warfare [audio:https://wessermons.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Chapel-03-18-11-2.mp3 |titles=021 Jim Lo sermon] DOWNLOAD: Sermon Audio (.mp3) | Sermon Outline (.pdf) BIO: Dr. Jim Lo has served as the Dean of the Chapel at Indiana Wesleyan University for the past three years. Before that he started and headed up the Intercultural Studies Major for eleven years. As […]