In Preaching Articles: "Bad News"

Preaching Can Be Bad News, Too

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Sep 2, 2021

The fact of the matter is that the Kingdom of God is near. It is not good news to those who do not wish to give up all for the kingdom.

Tags: Preaching, Good News, Kingdom of God, bad news, kingdom of God, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

What If I Preach A Bad Sermon?

By Brian Croft on Oct 23, 2025

“God’s mercies are new every morning, and that includes our preaching ministry.”

Tags: Preaching, preaching

The Benefit Of A Church Crisis

By Josh Reich on Feb 16, 2021

Nobody likes a crisis. No one likes bad news or being disappointed or being uncomfortable. We like when things work, when things are easy, when things go our way. Yet if you are a leader, at some point you will walk through a crisis with your church.

Scripture: Acts 12:1-10

Tags: Preaching, crisis

New Year, New Adjective: "Christ-Exalting”

By John Piper on Dec 27, 2022

My aim here is to encourage you to make “Christ-exalting” the featured adjective in your prayers. Let me explain what I mean. Then I’ll give you three reasons why I think this would be a great New Year’s resolution.

Scripture: Philippians 1:20, 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Tags: Prayer, Resolution, Personal Growth, exalting christ, daily prayer, new years, Christ Centered, New Years Resolution  (view more)  (view less)

Good & Bad Cases Of Church Discipline

By Ray Hollenbach on Mar 11, 2025

A real church incident exposes why believers distrust discipline. Yet Scripture shows discipline is meant to heal, not harm, calling us to restore one another with Christ’s presence.

Tags: pastoral care, Pastoral Care

7 Ways To Do A Bad Word Study

By Nicholas Mcdonald on May 20, 2021

Sometimes it's hard to wade through the muck and know when you're being short-changed.

Tags: Study, Preaching, the word, Dictionary, fallacy  (view more)  (view less)

Three Types Of Bad Preaching (And Their Remedies)

By Chris Pascarella on Jun 9, 2022

What if there was a way to identify bad preaching? Having grown up in church, I have probably listened to over 1,000 sermons in my lifetime. In all my time listening to (and now delivering) sermons, I have heard three types of bad preaching:

Scripture: Luke 12:22

Tags: preaching tips, Preaching Help, Pastoral Ministry, effective preaching

Preaching When The News Intrudes

By Eric Reed on Jan 6, 2025

Pastors must navigate public tragedy with discernment, comforting emotions, anchoring people in Scripture, and knowing when to speak and when to wait for true clarity.

Tags: Church, Preaching, Culture, Difficulties, disaster, media, pastoral leadership, Trials, Sermon Preparation, preaching, church, culture, Biblical wisdom, sermon preparation, Pastoral Leadership, Crisis Preaching, Cultural Discernment, Biblical Wisdom  (view more)  (view less)

Is There Good News In Your Sermon?

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Aug 12, 2020

When preachers struggle to find a sermon celebration, the issue is often focus. Centering on God’s gospel activity reveals good news worth celebrating.

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10, Mark 6:1-13, Romans 8:1-11, Ephesians 2:4-10, 2 Corinthians 3:5  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, Good News, Homiletics, preaching

Are We On The Brink Of A New Reformation?

By Mike Breen on May 14, 2021

Does your preaching produce fruit or fruit trees? Mike Breen reveals the important distinction.

Tags: Tree, Fruit, Reformation, lead, Movement  (view more)  (view less)

12 Reasons Why Church Leaders Don’t Delegate

By Chuck Lawless on Feb 3, 2021

It's an all-too-familiar scene: a pastor who burns out while doing things that a member of his congregation could have helped with. Here are twelve of the worst reasons not to delegate.

Tags: Preaching, idolatry, energy, Bad leadership, delegated authority  (view more)  (view less)

Bad Theological Analogies, Brought To You By St. Patrick

By SermonCentral .com on Mar 16, 2021

The problem with using analogies to explain the Holy Trinity is that you always end up confessing some ancient heresy.

Scripture: John 5:1-16

Tags: Preaching, Theology, analogy, St Patrick

9 Bad Habits That Limit A Church's Ministry Capacity

By SermonCentral .com on Mar 14, 2024

It’s not about church growth. Or working harder. It’s about doing smarter ministry with our church’s current resources.

Tags: Lay Leadership, hindrances to prayer, ministry vision, Capacity, capacity  (view more)  (view less)

15 New-Year Quotes You Can Use In Your First Sermon Of The New Year

By SermonCentral .com on Dec 28, 2022

Let these great names--and great thoughts--animate tomorrow's sermon.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-15, Ezekiel 34:11-16

Tags: Preaching, New Year, Chesterton, Quotes, martin luther, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Preach Like It's Good News!

By Travis Hearn on Jan 21, 2023

When you're giving good news to someone, how do you give it?

Tags: fun, Fun, Preaching, Good News, available, Biblical, preaching  (view more)  (view less)