In Preaching Articles: "God Speaks"

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

What Small Groups Do Best...and What They Don't

By Glenn Packiam on Jul 7, 2023

Small groups are a perfect example of how pastors may learn from researchers. At many church conferences, pastors speak confidently of their latest, greatest small group model, sure that it is the new breakthrough in discipleship.

Tags: Outreach, Learning, relationships, Church Small Groups

Francis Chan: 7 Questions To Ask Before You Preach

By Francis Chan on Feb 21, 2024

In a message at a Desiring God National Conference, Francis Chan highlighted seven questions that he asks himself in preparing to preach.

Scripture: James 5:10-20

Tags: Preaching, preparation, francis chan, teach with love, desiring god, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

4 Angles To Preach From Every Time

By Brandon Kelley on Dec 14, 2021

It is not enough to simply preach what the passage of Scripture says within your next sermon. It’s a good start, but don’t stop there. You’ll stop short of something truly beautiful, truly remarkable.

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: redemption, God the Father, preaching the Word, eternal perspective, preaching Christ  (view more)  (view less)

We Need A Theology Of Rest

By Lance Witt on Jul 27, 2023

You don’t have to be running at an insane pace to be running on empty. I think the primary issue here isn’t the size of your ministry or the pace of your ministry. The PRIMARY issue has to do with the health of your soul (your interior life).

Scripture: Proverbs 14:8, Exodus 33:14-15, Jeremiah 6:16

Tags: Wisdom, Rest, endurance with joy, spiritual leadership, entering God's rest  (view more)  (view less)

Why I Love The Psalms

By Dr. W. Robert Godfrey on Aug 10, 2022

The Psalms teach us how to express our emotions to God in all the circumstances of our lives.

Scripture: Psalm 23:1, Psalm 56:8

Tags: Psalms, Emotions, suffering, Intimacy With God, soul care, Psalms of David  (view more)  (view less)

Why Do I Urge All Pastors To Preach Expository Sermons?

By Brian Croft on Oct 18, 2023

There are all kinds of different sermons a preacher can preach, but the most helpful for a pastor to feed his people with week after week is expository sermons.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Love, Preaching, Expository, the word of god, Feeding The Flock, preaching, expository  (view more)  (view less)

4 Deep Changes Your Preaching Should Produce

By Peter Mead on Mar 6, 2019

God's work is transformational. Is our preaching doing God's work?

Tags: Preaching, Character, Transformation, conduct, deep change  (view more)  (view less)

5 Leaders Examine Plagiarism In Preaching

By Tim Keller on Jul 18, 2024

New Testament scholar D. A. Carson, senior pastor Sandy Willson, author and senior pastor Tim Keller, senior parachurch executive Matt Perman, and church research consultant Glenn Lucke speak to the issue of Plagiarism.

Tags: Communication, Preaching, Pastors, Plagiarism, DUTY CALLS, communication, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

4 Ingredients Jesus Used To Hold An Audience

By Peter Walters on Jan 17, 2022

As a preacher, I am always looking for ways to improve my speaking. I study other communicators, for example, if a comedian gets me hooked, I analyze why he was successful and I love to read books on communication.

Scripture: Job 1:1-10, Luke 6:46, Matthew 13:16, Luke 12:25, Matthew 6:28, Matthew 13:34, Luke 10:30, Matthew 13:33, Matthew 6:5, Matthew 7:1, Genesis 2:10-20, Genesis 1:4-10, Luke 13:4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, Following Jesus, jesus parables, Communication Speech, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Three Questions Every Small Group Ministry Must Answer

By James Emery White on Sep 22, 2022

"Regardless of the type of small group ministry you may have, there are three foundational questions that must be settled for maximum effectiveness and clear focus––yet seldom are. And they are foundational questions because they speak to the heart of your philosophy of ministry."

Tags: strategy, BIBLE STUDY, Small groups, Bible Study, Church Small Groups, Fellowship Group, Small Group Ministry, bible study  (view more)  (view less)

What If I Preach A Bad Sermon?

By Brian Croft on May 23, 2019

“God’s mercies are new every morning, and that includes our preaching ministry.”

Tags: Preaching

The Christian Virtue Of Love

By R. C. Sproul on Jul 22, 2022

From God’s perspective, love is the chief of all virtues. But what is love?

Scripture: Romans 5:5-8, 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, Matthew 5:48, 1 John 4:7-8

Tags: Love, Compassion, unity, Spiritual Gifts, Body of Christ, Selflessness, imitating Christ  (view more)  (view less)

The Problem With Both Talent And Charisma

By SermonCentral .com on Jan 11, 2022

Talent and charisma aren’t bad. They’re good. They’re gifts to be stewarded.

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:16

Tags: Daniel, Humility, Integrity, charisma, Patriarchs Joseph, Relationship to God, Pastoral Character  (view more)  (view less)

Jesus Didn’t Wake Up This Morning Depressed By The Size Of Your Church

By Karl Vaters on Apr 18, 2022

Jesus knows what happened and didn’t happen in church last Sunday.

Tags: Depression, Marriage Faithfulness, Church Attendance, God's perspective, e, church attendance  (view more)  (view less)