In Preaching Articles: "central point" showing 301-315 of 407

4 Reasons Pastors Should Attend Conferences

By SermonCentral on Apr 10, 2021

As I prepared to share this with friends, I had to ask myself, “Why should a pastor attend a conference like this?” I came up with four reasons why pastors should attend conferences, seminars, and/or workshops.

Tags: Perspective, passion, Conference, counseling, perspective  (view more)  (view less)

Small Does Not Equal Broken: 5 Steps To Greatness In A Small Church

By SermonCentral on Apr 19, 2021

Where are all the great small churches? Would you know one if you saw one? They exist. There’s no doubt about that. There are great small churches in every country, serving every ethnic group and in virtually every language. They worship in every imaginable liturgical style and they meet in every type of building – including no building at all.

Tags: Perseverance, Determination, Church size, Expectation, big versus small  (view more)  (view less)

At Least 10 Things Great Churches Are For

By SermonCentral on Apr 20, 2021

The church has often, intentionally or not, been branded as a community of people who are angry and therefore are against everything not church-y. This is especially true when we so vocally voice our protests and gang up to boycott every business that doesn’t look conservative-Christian-friendly enough. I’ve listened to too much lately. From all sides. Some opinions I agree with and others I don’t, but what I’ve concluded is ultimately this: If I’m going to be known or listened to, I want it to be because of what I’m FOR, not what I’m against.

Tags: Grace, Community, reputation, church culture, community, grace  (view more)  (view less)

Eight Indicators That Pastors Are Expected To Do Most Of The Ministry

By SermonCentral on Apr 21, 2021

Contrary to most of the indicators today, the Bible says the laity (saints) are to do the work of ministry. Most of the ministry should not be in the hands of pastors, but in the hands of the church members. Unfortunately, we often reverse the biblical truth. We expect ministry to be done by the pastors and staff. Here are eight indicators of that reality.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-12

Tags: Laity, Church Health, attacking the pastor, High expectations

No Normal Sundays

By SermonCentral on Apr 24, 2021

Take a careful inventory, and you will find that most weeks this is the single most important hour of the week — and yet we are so prone to squander such a rich opportunity, sometimes even neglect it.

Tags: Communication, Worship, Commitment, Sunday, communication  (view more)  (view less)

Why Growth Is Harder In A Small Church – And Change Is Essential

By SermonCentral on Apr 30, 2021

Big churches find it much easier to incorporate new people because the bigger the crowd, the smaller the impact each person has.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:19-20

Tags: Change, Visitors, Small Church, Christ in us

Ten Traits Of The Healthiest Churches Ten Years From Now

By SermonCentral on May 10, 2021

So, what if we could look into the future ten years from now, and see the characteristics of the healthiest churches in America? Would you be willing to make changes now? Take a look.

Tags: Healthy Church, diversity, Church Small Groups, mission

We Need A Clearer Vision Of Our Multi-Colored World

By SermonCentral on Dec 15, 2021

There is still plenty of racial tension remaining, fifty years after the signing of the Acts designed to put an end to it in America. As a matter of fact, ethnic tension exists almost universally around our planet. It’s not exclusively an American problem.

Tags: Sin, Divisions, racism, racial tensions

4 Steps To A Friendlier Church (The G.i.f.t. Plan)

By SermonCentral on Dec 16, 2021

Genuine friendships are becoming more rare – and thus, of greater perceived value – than any other aspect of modern church life.

Tags: relationships, Friendliness, Friendship New Friends, Equipping Disciples

Plan To Pray

By SermonCentral on Jun 28, 2023

I have been a pastor and spend a lot of time talking to pastors, and as I do I learn that one of the struggles many pastors have is prayer.

Tags: Prayer, Spiritual Discipline, Paul on prayer, Intentional Growth

Loving Muslims Begins With Honesty

By SermonCentral on Apr 24, 2020

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same deity? It has become one of the most pressing and controversial questions in the world in the last fifteen years.

Scripture: 1 John 5:12, John 8:19, John 5:42-43, John 5:23

Tags: Islam, World Religions, disagreement, loving people, Identity of Jesus, what Muslims believe  (view more)  (view less)

Check The Mirror, Pastor – After Five Years, Your Church Looks Like You

By SermonCentral on Dec 27, 2021

Show me a spiritually healthy church and I’ll show you a spiritually healthy pastor. Show me a spiritually unhealthy church and I’ll show you a spiritually unhealthy pastor.

Scripture: Hebrews 13:7

Tags: Humility, pastor, spiritual leadership, Pastoral Character, Pastor  (view more)  (view less)

Six Terrible Ways To Recruit Ministry Volunteers In Your Church

By SermonCentral on Dec 28, 2021

Sometimes I think church leaders take the most negative approaches in an attempt to encourage more people to get involved in ministry in the church.

Tags: Prayer, Spiritual Gifts, Lay Leadership, Recruiting

How To Stay Healthy While Pastoring An Unhealthy Church

By SermonCentral on Dec 31, 2021

Hurting churches hurt people. Including pastors who try to help them. Here are 9 principles to help you stay strong.

Tags: Sabbath, Boundaries, pastoral leadership, Broken Church

Will More Invitations Result In More Salvations?

By SermonCentral on Dec 29, 2021

For a long time I’ve wondered if there is a relationship between the number of salvations a church experiences, and the number of times it offers salvation invitations. We’ll never know for sure, but I’m conducting an experiment this year.

Tags: Outreach, challenge, preaching the gospel, gospel invitation, Gospel Challenge  (view more)  (view less)