In Preaching Articles: "Behind The Text"

Where Sermons Hide: 5 Places You Can Find A Topic

By John Mcclure on Oct 21, 2021

"What will I preach on?" Whenever you ask this question, you're looking for inspiration.

Scripture: Matthew 14:1-12

Tags: Preaching, claim, topic, catalyst, behind the text, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Preach The Tone Of The Text To Bring The Truth Of The Text

By H.b. Charles, Jr. on Jan 9, 2026

A key way to guard from selling-out the truth during in the pulpit is to preach the tone of the text.

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1-3

Tags: Homiletics, preaching tips, Pastoral Ministry, biblical preaching, Preaching Tips, Biblical Preaching, Expository Sermons  (view more)  (view less)

Do You Preach Around The Text, Or Do You Preach The Text?

By Dr. Scott M. Gibson on Dec 15, 2024

After listening to sermons all these years, I have concluded preachers either talk before the text or talk around the text but rarely talk about the text.

Scripture: Hosea 4:1-6, Psalm 30:1

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Looking At The "Insignificant” Parts Of The Text

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Sep 24, 2020

Familiar passages can still preach with power when you slow down, notice “insignificant” details, and unearth what the text actually emphasizes without forcing novelty.

Scripture: John 3:1-21, John 1:4-5, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Preaching, storytelling, preaching, Storytelling

What's The Big Idea Behind Your Sermon?

By Peter Mead on Dec 29, 2025

Ideas change lives. People give themselves to ideas. And Christianity is a content-based faith

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Leave Your Secret Sin Behind Today

By Jon Bloom on Dec 5, 2022

God can turn a day of reckoning into a day of amnesty. But he’s calling today. Come out of the dungeon.

Scripture: Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 23:19, Hebrews 3:13, Jeremiah 17:9

Tags: Character, Judgment, repentance, God's Grace, God's mercy, Confession of Sin, hardened heart, personal holiness, judgment, Repentance  (view more)  (view less)

Do Your Listeners Feel The Text?

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Nov 26, 2020

Faithful preaching requires sound exegesis, but powerful sermons also help listeners experience the biblical story. Learn how engaging the senses can deepen your preaching.

Scripture: Luke 8:48, Luke 8:43, Nehemiah 8:8, 2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, audience, Engage, feel, exegesis, preaching, Exegesis  (view more)  (view less)

The Most Difficult Texts In The Bible To Preach

By Joe Mckeever on May 21, 2023

The problem, of course, is not with Scripture. The problem is with us.

Scripture: John 2:3-5, Luke 4:1-12, Matthew 18:21-35, Hebrews 6:4-20

Tags: Study, Preaching, prepare, Assistance, difficult text, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

What Is The Power Behind Every Great Preacher's Effort?

By Leslie Holmes on Jun 1, 2023

Without recognizing there is a supernatural power in all truly great preaching, we can produce an empty homiletical exercise.

Tags: Power, Preaching, supernatural, Homiletics, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Ash Wednesday: 4 Perfect Preaching Texts

By Mons Teig on Feb 21, 2020

Sin sucks the life out of us. The following texts invite us to a spiritual examination and forty days of healing therapy.

Scripture: Mark 8:11-22, Mark 8:31-38

Tags: audience, ash wednesday, ambassador, Jail, preaching, Preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Why Your Congregation Is Your Second Text

By Mike Glenn on Oct 26, 2020

Faithful preaching requires devotion not only to the biblical text but also to the lived realities of the congregation. The pastor stands between both.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:15, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 4:15, John 1:14, Mark 4:26-29  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, Congregation, role, second text, Pastoral Ministry, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Great, You've Got A Theme, But Do You Have A Sermon?

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Jun 5, 2023

Do you ALWAYS have to start with a text? Sherman Cox says "no."

Scripture: 1 John 5:3

Tags: Idea, Preaching, Text, preaching

Why We Need To Seriously Reconsider The Idea Behind The Altar Call

By Jeff K. Clarke on Sep 14, 2025

We are so desperate to have people make a decision that we rarely, if ever, tell them about the costs associated with making that decision.

Tags: Discipleship, Preaching, converts, altar call, costs, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Why Ranting Does Not Equal Preaching

By Tony Merida on Sep 18, 2024

Tony Merida: "May God raise up a new generation of faithful, responsible expositors of Scripture who keep their finger on the text as they teach and preach."

Scripture: James 3:1, Hebrews 13:17, Nehemiah 8:8, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Tags: Preaching, Text, Pastoral Ministry, preaching

You Exegete Your Text, But Do You Exegete Your People?

By Leslie Holmes on Sep 2, 2025

"Bob Easley may not have gone beyond sixth grade, but he taught this quasi-educated preacher that there's a lot more to be learned about preaching than I ever got inside a book."

Scripture: Job 1:1-10

Tags: people, Preaching, Text, exegete, preaching  (view more)  (view less)