articles relating to the subject of homiletics
Bible in hand, I walk with palms sweaty and heart pounding to the front of the sanctuary. I look at their faces, some are bored, some expectant, but all hopeful for something bigger than themselves and better than their lives. There goes Ray, whose wife left him 5 years ago because of his addiction to […]
Most preachers I know would love to have a comprehensive guide for evaluating their sermons. Of course, many of them have an intuitive sense of whether or not the sermon was a “solid homerun” after they preach. There is, it seems, a better way. What if the preacher had a list of questions that would […]
Lenny Luchetti: We are a holiness denomination, which means that the holiness of the preacher matters. How can a preacher “be holy” in her homiletic convictions and practices? Steve Deneff: This is a great question, Lenny. I’ll have to think about it more – lots more – but here’s a quick response. In holiness […]
We asked four different preachers to candidly share their homiletic wisdom with us. Our questions focus on the call to preach, sermon preparation, theological convictions, and more. Steve Deneff serves as the Senior Pastor of College Wesleyan Church in Marion, IN. Steve has been preaching the Gospel for more than 30 years. Lynda Keefer serves […]
The Apostle Paul writes, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5). Special occasion sermons are one of the ways we preachers “make the most of every opportunity” to proclaim good news to “outsiders.” Weddings and funerals are worthy of the preachers time and energy because […]
The effects of not having a balanced diet can be harmful to the body. If my body does not get one or more of the nutrients from the basic food groups it will not grow and be prone to various health problems. The same is true with the church body. If the church you lead […]
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? […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]