In Preaching Articles: "active faith"

The Prayer I Have Prayed Most

By SermonCentral .com on Aug 24, 2022

I suppose, in my little prayer nook in my study, where I have a little prayer bench that I built in 1975, as I’ve bent over that bench thousands of times, the most common prayer has been, “Lead me not into temptation. Deliver me from evil (see Matthew 6:13). Keep me. Keep me. I feel so utterly unable to do the next thing. My kids are at the breakfast table. I have nothing. I’m supposed to model joyful fatherhood, and I’m so depressed I can hardly remember their names. Help me.”

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8, Psalm 16:1-5, Romans 11:36, Romans 8:16, Jude 1:20, Matthew 6:13  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Faith, Perseverance, Prayer, Depression, God's Strength, continue in faith, Power of the Spirit, By faith  (view more)  (view less)

The Patented Preacher

By Warren Wiersbe on Apr 21, 2020

Why is it that so many preachers do not enjoy preaching? Why do some busy themselves in minor matters when they should be studying and meditating? Why do others creep out of the pulpit after delivering their sermon, overwhelmed with a sense of failure and guilt?

Scripture: John 12:35-50, Genesis 22:1-14

Tags: Faith, family, Preaching, Adversity, Live, Faith in Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Leading From Fear: So Many Churches Do It

By Joe Mckeever on Dec 23, 2021

It’s so easy for a preacher to exhibit fear and not faith when standing before the church and calling the congregation to faithfulness and righteousness.

Scripture: Mark 4:40, Luke 14:7-14

Tags: Faith, leadership, Faith and Fear, church leadership, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

The One Time Jesus Prayed For You (Part 1)

By Lance Witt on Apr 3, 2024

Unity is not passive, it is active. And if we are going to experience it, we have to work for it.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:3, John 17:21-23

Tags: Prejudice, selfish ambition

Doubt Busters

By Lance Witt on Jun 28, 2024

"One of the things I love about the Bible is how honest it is. The pages of Scripture don’t gloss over the flaws and sins and weaknesses of people. Even the great heroes of the faith are not airbrushed or photo-shopped to make them look superhuman."

Scripture: Psalm 77:4-14, Isaiah 40:26

Tags: Faith, doubt, Remember, Trust, God's Character, God's faithfulness, doubt and fear, Crisis Of Faith  (view more)  (view less)

6 Ways Pastors Can Help People Deal With Doubts

By Ray Hollenbach on Jun 12, 2020

It seems like doubt is a popular subject these days, but doubt comes with a price. Here are six ideas that could help any pastor when asked to speak about the subject of doubt.

Scripture: John 20:24-31

Tags: Faith, doubt, Belief

Pastor Grinch

By Lance Witt on Jun 20, 2024

As pastors, how do we celebrate Christmas without getting lost in the shuffle of busy church activities?

Scripture: Luke 2:17-19

Tags: Christmas, Advent, Holidays, Christmas Advent, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, Serving Others, church ministry  (view more)  (view less)

What You’ll Never Hear About Preaching In Seminary

By Mark A. Howell on Sep 24, 2024

Perhaps you've heard these suggestions before. The real issue is whether they are active in your ministry week to week.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Seeing Is Not Always Believing

By R. C. Sproul on Nov 29, 2022

One comment that Christian pastors sometimes hear from people they are counseling is that it would be easier for them to have a strong faith if they could see God doing the same kinds of miracles today as are recorded in the Bible.

Scripture: Joshua 7:6-9, John 11:45-53

Tags: Faith, doubt, Joshua, Believe, miracles, Courage, Seeing, faith and obedience  (view more)  (view less)

Does Your Preaching Wield A Sword Or An Anvil?

By Peter Mead on Sep 16, 2024

God's word is a living and active sword. Peter Mead suggests that too often preachers try to drop an anvil on their listeners.

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12, Jeremiah 23:29

Tags: Preaching, living word, words, Sword, Impact, Heavy, anvil, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Check Your Church's Outreach Heartbeat

By Kevin Harney on Mar 17, 2025

If your church is struggling to invest in reaching your community and the world, ask yourself this question: Are we a church that is on fire with a passion for God?

Scripture: Revelation 2:1

Tags: Faith, Heart, Growth, Health

The Most Difficult Aspect Of Praying

By Joe Mckeever on Jun 8, 2024

"If we cannot walk by faith and believe by faith–a redundancy, of course–we will stop praying."

Scripture: Psalm 23:3, Luke 18:1, 2 Corinthians 5:7

Tags: Faith, Prayer, God's Will, Confidence, Trust God, God in control, God hears prayer  (view more)  (view less)

Learn How To Be Brought Low

By Scott Hubbard on Oct 15, 2022

"You don’t need to be anyone special to know what it means to be brought low."

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:10, Isaiah 53:3, Philippians 1:3-5, Philippians 4:12

Tags: Faith, Humility, Hope, Grief, Sorrow, mature faith, Enduring Hardship, School of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Sex In The Sermon

By Melissa Kruger on Oct 10, 2024

It may be a sensitive area, but faithful preaching of all areas of Scripture produces faithful followers in all areas of life.

Tags: Church, Preaching, Sex, preaching, church  (view more)  (view less)

Are You Training Lay Preachers? You Should!

By Chris Surber on Jan 24, 2024

When we neglect to develop and maintain active lay ministry in the life of the local church, our churches miss out in at least five ways.

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17

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