In Preaching Articles: "Cultural Discernment"

3 Things Our Culture Is Doing To Bible Reading And Discipleship

By Mary C. Wiley on Jun 24, 2024

"We live in a microwave meals, listen-to-podcasts-in-double-time world. We want more with less; work smarter not harder. However, the move forward or get left behind mentality of today is not a good transferrable principle for discipleship. Mostly because discipleship is all about people, and people can’t be boiled down to a series of tasks. People are messy and their needs aren’t linear."

Tags: Discipleship, spiritual growth, church community, TEACH THE BIBLE, call to discipleship, training disciples, guard the truth, Study the Bible  (view more)  (view less)

6 Traits Of A Biblically Faithful Preacher

By Ben Mandrell on Apr 15, 2025

God has called preachers to be faithful rather than successful. How can we be sure we are staying true to the call?

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Timothy 2:15-3:17

Tags: Faith, Study, Preaching, Culture, Relevance, Biblical, preaching, culture  (view more)  (view less)

5 Ways To Make Your Preaching More Practical And Relevant

By Rick Ezell on Jan 31, 2025

Use these methods to practically reach people suffering from real hurts, problems, doubts, fears, and anxieties gnawing at their faith.

Scripture: Acts 17:16-34, Romans 10:4

Tags: Preaching, Culture, Self, Relevance, audience, application, preaching, culture  (view more)  (view less)

We Can Whine About The New Generation Or Worship With Them – But We Can’t Do Both

By Karl Vaters on Apr 26, 2024

We can either whine about how the new generation chooses to worship, or we can worship and minister with them. But we can’t do both.

Scripture: John 7:24

Tags: Perspective, Culture, church culture, Christian Priorities, future generations, church priorities, Generations, e, perspective, culture  (view more)  (view less)

Faith That Changed The Culture How Luther Inspired Music, Charity, And Abolition

By Michael Reeves on Oct 18, 2022

Through the Reformation, a tidal wave of social and cultural improvement was unleashed.

Tags: Music, Culture, Slavery, God's Grace, Christian Joy, Reformation, Church History, Freedom in Christ, justified by faith, give generously, Philanthropy, culture  (view more)  (view less)

In The Spirit Of Screwtape--20 Ways To Poison The Little Monsters

By Jared Moore on Aug 1, 2025

News Flash: Sixty years later Jared Moore has discovered another Screwtape-type letter.

Scripture: Genesis 45:14-21

Tags: Preaching, Culture, CS Lewis, screwtape letters, heretic, preaching, culture  (view more)  (view less)

Onramps To Connect Listeners To Your Sermons And Scripture

By Ed Stetzer on Feb 23, 2022

This article is the last of six in a series on preaching in light of cultural shifts and biblical illiteracy.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16

Tags: Teaching, Preaching, Culture, sermon prep, sermon, Sermon Prep, Sermon, preaching, teaching, culture, culture shifts, Sermon prep  (view more)  (view less)

5 Ways Christian Leaders Can Approach The Rapidly Changing Moral Culture

By Carey Nieuwhof on Mar 15, 2021

So as a church leader – as views on sexuality, family, parenting, drugs, finance and other values change – how do you respond? What do you do when the world for which you trained—maybe even the world where your approach was once effective—is disappearing before your eyes?

Tags: Morality, strategy, Unchurched, Cultural Change, e  (view more)  (view less)

Top 10 Tips For Handling Church Critics

By Charles Stone on Aug 9, 2024

Charles Stone encourages pastors to use discernment when receiving criticism with these ten tips.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

5 Harsh Realities Of Preaching In A Barren Land

By Leslie Holmes on Sep 23, 2019

"We are indeed pilgrims in a strange place, especially as preachers."

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Matthew 13:57, Psalm 23:3, 1 Corinthians 15:19-22, Matthew 5:11-12, Ezekiel 33:6  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, barren, Integrity, Culture, Health  (view more)  (view less)

Slaves In Your Church’s Backyard

By David Batstone on Dec 14, 2022

Modern slavery hides in plain sight. These stories reveal how trafficking thrives worldwide and even locally, calling Christians to seek justice with persistent, sacrificial love.

Tags: Compassion, Culture, Slavery, Justice, traffic, injustice, Human Trafficking, abolition, culture, Modern Slavery, Abolition  (view more)  (view less)

Insights From Keller On Contextualizing

By Ed Stetzer on Jan 19, 2022

This article is the second of six in a series on preaching in light of cultural shifts and biblical illiteracy.

Tags: Preaching, Culture, Context, insight, sermon prep, Sermon Prep, preaching, culture, context, Sermon prep  (view more)  (view less)

Wayne Cordeiro: When You Want To Call It Quits

By Wayne Cordeiro on Mar 8, 2025

Wayne Cordeiro offers tips for discerning when it's time to quit and when quitting is not God's best for you or your ministry.

Scripture: Luke 5:10-15, Luke 5:10, John 20:1

Tags: quit, retire, preaching, Preaching

Seven Signs A Sermon Is (Almost) Over

By Jon Acuff on Oct 28, 2020

Jon Acuff has heard quite a few sermons in his day. Here's a handy guide for discerning when the end is near.

Tags: Preaching, pastor, End, Pastor

Grappling With The Fears Of Technological Change

By Tim Challies on Apr 16, 2023

Technologies are good in that they allow us to carry out our God-given mandate (Gen. 4). But every technology also brings risk; it brings change. Innovations subtly shift our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Tags: Fear, Communication, Technology, Cultural Change, communication  (view more)  (view less)