In Preaching Articles: "Faith And Trust"

How God Saved My Sermon

By Steve Fuller on Sep 5, 2024

Even careful sermon preparation can fall apart. This reflection shows how prayer, humility, and trust in God’s promises bring clarity when anxiety sets in.

Scripture: James 4:1-2, James 1:5, Psalm 127:1, 1 Corinthians 15:10, 2 Timothy 2:7  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, dependence on God, preaching, Dependence on God

Don’t Pursue Feelings. Pursue Christ.

By Joe Thorn on Jul 12, 2022

One danger is emotionalism, in which we allow our feelings to interpret our circumstances and form our thoughts about God. This is putting feelings before faith. The other danger is a kind of stoicism, where faith is rooted in theology but void of affection. This tendency removes feelings from faith altogether. While it is true that our emotions should not lead our theology, it is vital to our faith that theology lead to a deep experience of our triune God.

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:7, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Psalm 34:18, Romans 8:15, Psalm 34:4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Emotions, Theology, Stoicism, Feelings, Doctrine to Doxology  (view more)  (view less)

8 Starts To Avoid In Your Preaching

By Rachel Blom on Jan 4, 2023

The first moments of a sermon shape whether people will stay engaged. These eight common but ineffective sermon starts reveal what preachers should avoid to maintain attention and build trust with listeners.

Tags: Homiletics

When People Leave: 4 Lessons In Rejection From Jesus

By Greg Surratt on Jul 8, 2021

Watching people leave hurts, even for pastors. Jesus’ response in John 6 shows how to process that pain with security in the Father’s love, trusted friends, and confidence in God’s sovereignty.

Scripture: John 6:25-71, John 11:35, Romans 8:28, Matthew 3:17, Hebrews 13:17  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Jesus, leadership, Preaching, Rejection, Leadership, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

9 Powerful Ways To Introduce Your Sermon

By H.b. Charles, Jr. on May 10, 2025

Every athlete wants to start strong; why should your work be any different?

Scripture: John 2:1-11, Matthew 5:1-12, Matthew 5:44-45, Luke 12:32-33, Psalm 23:4, Luke 2:13-14, Habakkuk 2:1-4, Mark 11:15-17, John 4:1-15, Luke 7:11-17, Acts 17:22-33  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Love, Emotions, Preaching, Introduction, Faithful, effective, Gate, post, Commit, preaching, love  (view more)  (view less)

When (And Why) To Shake Off The Dust And Move On

By Ben Sternke on Aug 15, 2020

We can too easily normalize fruitlessness in the name of faithfulness. There's a big difference.

Tags: Discipleship, Missions, Church Growth, church planting, Evangelism The Lost  (view more)  (view less)

What's The Big Idea Behind Your Sermon?

By Peter Mead on Dec 30, 2025

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

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Honor Your Grandchildren’s Father And Mother

By Nancy Wilson on Jul 6, 2024

As grandmothers, we are to do more than simply cheer for our children and grandchildren and buy them Christmas jammies (though we should certainly do those things and more). Our foremost duty is to fear the Lord and obey him every day of our life.

Scripture: Psalm 103:7, 2 Timothy 1:5

Tags: family, parenting, Grandparents, GRANDCHILDREN, Prayer for Others, Family Relationships, future generations, Faithful Prayer  (view more)  (view less)

The Radical Experiment: One Year To A Church Turned Upside Down

By David Platt on Jan 14, 2025

David Platt dares pastors and their congregations to take a leap of faith and test the claims contained in the gospel.

Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38

Tags: Faith, Outreach, Gospel, Missions, Prayer, radical, Evangelism Urgency, Gospel obedience, gospel, Gospel Obedience  (view more)  (view less)

Good Sermons Start With Listening

By Mary Hinkle Shore on Jan 17, 2024

Faithful sermons are born not from noise or haste, but from careful listening to Scripture, people, and language itself.

Scripture: John 12:20-33, James 1:19, Luke 24:27, Nehemiah 8:8, Colossians 4:6  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, Listen, BIBLICAL TEACHING, preaching, Biblical Teaching  (view more)  (view less)

3 Ways To Defeat Leadership Discouragement

By Charles Stone on Dec 11, 2023

Discouragement comes with the territory for ministry leaders. Unmet goals, putting out fires, staff issues, displeasing people, and general tiredness all contribute to discouragement. When it weighs us down, how can we dig out? The life of the prophet Elijah gives us hope.

Tags: Perseverance, leadership, Discouragement, Depression, Elijah's faith, Pastoral Ministry, Elijah's Depression, Fighting for Joy, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Absorbing Correction: A Mark Of A Mature Man

By Brandon Cox on Dec 13, 2023

"If you want to grow up on the inside, then you have to get more comfortable with correction."

Scripture: Job 5:17-18

Tags: Marriage, leadership, Rebuke, CORRECTION, Humility and Pride, Growing in Faith, Taking Feedback, Receiving Correction, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

The Most Significant Thing A Pastor Will Ever Do

By Joe Mckeever on Jul 9, 2024

The most valuable ministry thing you have done just may be the time you stopped to encourage a homeless man and bought him lunch.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 1 Corinthians 4:3-4

Tags: Faithfulness, priorities, Servanthood, Christian Love, Godly Leaders, pastoral leadership, servant leadership, church leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Unashamed Allegiance: My Tribute To R.c. Sproul

By John Piper on Nov 18, 2022

I love R.C. Sproul. I am sure I owe him more than I can even recall. My reverence for the holiness of God and the truth of his word would not be the same without his influence. I will miss him (for a short while).

Tags: treasure, Faithfulness, Tribute, Preacher, Godly example, Christ in Scripture, Teacher, Godly Life, preacher, teacher  (view more)  (view less)

Crafting Strong Sermons Requires Polish

By Terry Linhart on Nov 9, 2024

Some sermon checkpoints to buff a nice luster on your work and to ensure you're responsible and faithful in the process.

Tags: Preaching, practice, Organize, revise, preaching  (view more)  (view less)