In Preaching Articles: "Devotional Life"

6 Tools For Overcoming Preacher’s Block (You'll Love #3)

By SermonCentral .com on Sep 9, 2025

I've been preaching for 30 years. At some point I have to run out of things to say, right? Actually, at hundreds of points I have run out of things to say!

Tags: Preaching, Devotional Life, preacher's block, body clock, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Spiritual Disciplines And The Sinkhole Syndrome

By Donald Whitney on Jan 21, 2022

As the pressures of life increase and more deadlines loom, it becomes harder to maintain time for the devotional life. And herein is where the erosion begins.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:12, John 17:17, Luke 4:16, Matthew 14:23

Tags: Follow Jesus, Spiritual Maturity, Spiritual Discipline, Spiritual Failures, sermon spiritual  (view more)  (view less)

Last-Minute Messages: How To Craft A Short Devotional With No Notice

By Rob O'lynn on Sep 6, 2021

"Hey, Pastor, could you say a few words..." Use this strategy to deliver short, meaningful talks with little or no prep time.

Scripture: Luke 19:1-19

Tags: Preaching, picture, passage, point

Preaching For Life-Change

By Rick Long on Mar 30, 2025

MacArthur warns against shallow preaching, but Scripture allows diverse methods. Faithful preaching aims at transformed lives, not uniform styles.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Romans 8:29, James 1:22, Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Church Discipleship

A Life Well Lived

By Lance Witt on Sep 18, 2023

No matter what has happened in the past or what your ministry situation is today, you can have a rich, meaningful life.

Scripture: Matthew 25:21

Tags: vision, gratitude, Legacy, Godly Legacy

Extend The Life Of Your Sermons

By SermonCentral .com on Jun 17, 2020

Most sermons vanish after the Lord's Day, but simple strategies can turn them into long-term discipleship tools. Make them accessible, searchable, shareable, and reusable.

Scripture: Isaiah 55:11, Colossians 3:16, 2 Timothy 4:2, Acts 17:11, Psalm 119:105  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching Strategy

Preaching To Promote Life Together

By Chris Surber on May 19, 2025

Preach with a focus to cultivate life together and nurture incarnate community rather than simple gatherings of people.

Tags:

Brokenness In A Pastor’s Life

By Charles Stone on Jun 28, 2023

As I enter the sixth decade of my life and reflect over the brokenness I’ve faced as a pastor, I’m beginning to see its great value. It still hurts and I’d prefer not to face it. Yet, I’m experiencing the fruit of brokenness: inner peace, joy, and a purpose that supersedes ‘ministry success.’

Scripture: John 12:24

Tags: Healing, Rejection, brokenness, success in ministry

The Work Life Balance Myth

By Shawn Lovejoy on May 26, 2022

Family and work can’t be balanced. The good news is that it’s not supposed to be.

Scripture: Proverbs 24:27

Tags: family, leadership, priorities, Balanced Life, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Change Your Sermon By Changing Your Spices

By Erik Raymond on May 18, 2023

Are you constantly mining the same sources for your sermon illustrations?

Scripture: Psalm 38:1-10, Colossians 4:1-5

Tags: Read, Preaching, Devotional, Spices, Classic, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

8 Preachable Marks Of A Transformed Life

By Philip Nation on Jan 8, 2025

Spiritual transformation is God’s work in believers, shaping them into Christ’s image. These eight biblical marks help pastors guide their people toward genuine gospel change.

Scripture: Galatians 4:19, Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Church, Discipleship, Preaching, pastor, Transformation, transformed life, Pastor, preaching, church, Transformed Life  (view more)  (view less)

Letter To A (Real Life) Hurting Pastor

By Chris Surber on Apr 25, 2025

Author Chris Surber suggests six avenues to handle the hurt and disappointment so common in pastoral ministry.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Breathing New Life Into Your Preaching

By Lance Witt on Mar 24, 2023

Fresh is always better. Taking a breath of clean, fresh air is way better than inhaling polluted air. Eating fresh bread is way better than choking down a piece of dry, stale bread. And likewise, sermons that are fresh are way better than warmed over messages.

Scripture: Luke 10:31

Tags: Preaching, New life, preaching

1,000 Sermons Will Change Your Life

By Trevin Wax on Mar 25, 2020

Pastors, don’t underestimate the cumulative effect of your preaching. You are not dumping information into brains. You are forming the habits of your people, teaching them how to read and understand and apply the Bible for themselves.

Tags: New life, church leadership, Church Leadership

A Simple Exercise That Will Infuse Life Into Your Staff

By Charles Stone on Jul 24, 2023

Recently our church staff held our annual in-house evaluation retreat when we reviewed the prior year’s goals and plans. God had given us a good year and we wanted not only to discuss how we could improve, but rejoice in His blessings.

Scripture: Psalm 9:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Thankfulness, gratitude, Leadership General, church leadership