In Preaching Articles: "Church Life"

New Poll: What's The Average Length Of Sermon Prep?

By SermonCentral .com on Jun 16, 2021

LifeWay's Thom Rainer took a Twitter poll to see how much time most preachers give to sermon preparation. Where do you fall on the scale?

Tags: preparation, average, Prep, Time

How To Preach Repentance Like It's Good News

By Ray Hollenbach on Jan 4, 2020

"Repent" is the first word of the good news. Belief comes as we help our listeners rethink a way of life based upon what God has already done.

Tags: repent, repentance, Good News, grace

Preaching To The Unchurched: 5 Essentials

By Rick Warren on May 4, 2024

In terms of seeing radical life changes in individuals, nothing can take the place of Spirit-anointed preaching. The message is still the most important element of a worship service for the unchurched.

Tags: evangelism, preaching, Evangelism, Outreach, Preaching, pastoral leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Bigger Is Not Necessarily Better: 3 Reasons I'm Convinced God Most Often Builds His Church Small

By Chris Surber on Jul 1, 2025

God uses big churches for certain Kingdom jobs, and God uses little churches for specific assignments.

Scripture: Matthew 18:20-21

Tags: ministry, Ministry, Community, Kingdom, Small Church, big versus small, community  (view more)  (view less)

The Power Of Saying: I Don't Know

By SermonCentral .com on Aug 6, 2020

As a pastor people often look to you for answers to life's questions, but you don't have to pretend you know it all--in fact, you really shouldn't.

Tags: counsel, Communication, Preaching

Keep Learning To Lead: Five Practical Lessons

By Gavin Ortlund on Apr 29, 2022

Leadership is hard. I rank it up there with pain, parenting, and preaching as one of those things in life that we never fully master, but only hope to keep learning over a lifetime.

Scripture: John 13:15-16, John 16:12

Tags: Teamwork, Leadership General, servant leadership, Jesus' leadership

How To Preach Jesus Using The Psalms

By Jason Hood on Oct 8, 2024

Luther, Spurgeon, and Bonhoeffer saw Jesus as one of the chief subjects of the Psalms. Do you?

Scripture: Psalm 41:1-3, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 23:1-6

Tags: Meekness, church fathers, Prayer Adoration, preaching, Psalms, Praise, Preaching  (view more)  (view less)

It's All About The Groom

By Lance Witt on Apr 12, 2024

In a healthy church Jesus is the most famous person. He gets the most airtime, he is the most talked about, and he is clearly center stage.

Scripture: Revelation 19:7, John 3:29, Song of Songs 8:1-4

Tags: Church Health, Pastoral Character, fixing eyes on Jesus, Christ Centered

You Become What You Think About The Most

By Josh Reich on Mar 30, 2023

The best companies (churches) have the best leaders. The second-best companies (churches) have the second-best leaders. The third-best companies (churches), in these times of turbulence, are unfortunately on their way out of business.

Tags: Image, Preaching, preaching

8 Ideas To Make Your Christmas Eve Service Memorable

By Josh Reich on Dec 20, 2024

Christmas Eve is coming, and millions of people will walk into a church to experience something. But what will they get when they walk into your church or mine?

Tags: Simplicity, Gospel centered, church leadership, Christmas Service, Christmas, Advent, Christmas Eve, invite  (view more)  (view less)

Why I Love To Preach

By Joseph M. Stowell on Nov 25, 2021

Joseph Stowell says he loves preaching, but it's not like anything else he loves. Read this article and remember why you love to preach.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9, 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Hebrews 4:12

Tags: Church, Preaching, pastor, Palm Sunday, Homiletics, Disciplines General, Pastor, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Bold Preaching: The Surprising Connection Between Amos And Us

By Nathan Aaseng on Jul 25, 2019

This article challenges preachers to reflect on whether they resemble Amos or the court prophets, and urges courage in proclaiming hard truths from God’s Word.

Tags: Preaching, Prophetic Preaching, preaching, Church and Culture, Courage in Ministry, Preaching Challenges  (view more)  (view less)

Back To The Heart Of Worship

By SermonCentral .com on Sep 20, 2023

Jesus is greatly honored when we bring ourselves, with the Holy Spirit’s help, back to the heart of worship again and again.

Scripture: John 4:24, 1 Corinthians 10:12

Tags: fixing eyes on Jesus, Holy Spirit, Music, How to Worship, Church worship  (view more)  (view less)

Is Jesus An Impossible Mentor?

By Ray Hollenbach on Sep 30, 2020

Do you preach Jesus as a role model? It's impossible to be like Jesus, isn't it? He was God-come-to-earth and his life sets the bar impossibly high for any of us.

Scripture: Matthew 16:24

Tags: Preaching, Submission, Accountability, honour, Mentor, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

3 Ways To Stay Motivated While Preaching

By Lance Witt on Sep 19, 2019

Every pastor knows what it is to preach a sermon when your heart isn't in it and your life isn't living it. Here are three ways to stay motivated and preaching from a healthy heart.

Scripture: Proverbs 4:23

Tags: Eternity, Heart, sermon prep, preaching the gospel, Sermon Prep, Sermon prep  (view more)  (view less)