In Preaching Articles: "Hard Work"

Crafting Strong Sermons Requires Polish

By Terry Linhart on Nov 8, 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)

Preach The Past: Discover Powerful Illustrations And Lessons From Church History

By Chris Surber on Sep 30, 2025

A working knowledge of Church history teaches us to be humble. Our footprints aren’t the first tracks on this road.

Scripture: Acts 2:13-40, Acts 25:1-17

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10 Ways To Plan An Amazing Sermon Series

By Herbert Cooper on Oct 8, 2020

Herbert Cooper, senior pastor of People's Church in Oklahoma City, shares strategic insights into making a sermon series work.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 28:14-20

Tags: Faith, Preaching, sight, walk, substance, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Ten Strategic Insights Into Shaping Your Next Sermon Series

By Herbert Cooper on Jan 27, 2023

Herbert Cooper, senior pastor of People's Church in Oklahoma City, shares strategic insights into making a sermon series work.

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How To Be Thankful As A Leader

By Josh Reich on Jul 9, 2023

Most of the time on blogs like mine or other leadership and ministry blogs you read about how tough ministry is, how difficult people can be and how hard it is to be a leader. All those things are true.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 103:1-5

Tags: Marriage, Thankfulness, gratitude, Pastors

10 Reasons I Don’t Use Negative 10-Point Lists In Preaching

By SermonCentral .com on Nov 26, 2019

A tongue-in-cheek commentary on a popular preaching style. Have you ever used it? How'd it work for you?

Tags: negative, criticism, preaching, Preaching, Criticism  (view more)  (view less)

9 Bad Habits That Limit A Church's Ministry Capacity

By SermonCentral .com on Mar 13, 2024

It’s not about church growth. Or working harder. It’s about doing smarter ministry with our church’s current resources.

Tags: Lay Leadership, hindrances to prayer, ministry vision, Capacity, capacity  (view more)  (view less)

Expect More From Young Men

By Joe Hamilton on Aug 18, 2022

We are eager to see young men exert energy because we all know what happens when you put testosterone together with capacity to work for the kingdom. And we also know what happens when you mix the same testosterone and capacity with idleness. The ancient saying proves true: “the devil finds work for idle hands.”

Tags: Youth, Singleness, Idleness, young adults, adolescence, immaturity, Young Men, Expectation, e  (view more)  (view less)

How To Preach A Stressful Sermon

By David J. Lose on Jun 28, 2021

What might our personal and congregational lives look like if we took Jesus' words more seriously at home, work, school and in our communities?

Scripture: Luke 18:31-34, Proverbs 17:1-5

Tags: stress, Preaching, Stress

Smaller Churches Can Do Discipleship—without Wearing Out The Pastor

By SermonCentral .com on Nov 11, 2021

After a few hit-and-miss attempts, our church has discovered a simple five-step process that can work for any small church.

Tags: Preaching, Process, Small Church, Limitations, preaching, Discipleship  (view more)  (view less)

10 Reasons Small Churches Tend To Stay Small

By Joe Mckeever on Sep 20, 2024

After working for years among hundreds of small congregations, Joe McKeever speaks to the subtle growth barriers that tend to go unnoticed or unaddressed in stagnant churches.

Scripture: John 13:35, Psalm 85:6, Luke 11:1-2

Tags: Church, Outreach, pastor, Church Growth, Health, Fail, Small Church, Church Practices, Pastor, church  (view more)  (view less)

Passion, Prayer, And Planning Ministry: Building The Nehemiah Way

By Todd Brown on Mar 10, 2022

Working with hundreds of churches over the last 35 years, I have observed three common elements of successful building programs and all three are characteristics displayed by quality leaders.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12:13

Tags: Nehemiah, Prayer, strategy, Church Building

8 Reasons Churches Should Partner With Secular Community Groups

By Karl Vaters on May 4, 2022

How can we reach our communities if they have no idea we love them? And how will they know we love them if we don’t work alongside them?

Tags: Service, Humility, Culture, community outreach, culture  (view more)  (view less)

What Are You Improving At Your Church Right Now?

By Karl Vaters on Oct 25, 2022

"Every church should constantly be improving. And not just in general terms. We should always be working on specific action plans to make our church better tomorrow than it is today."

Tags: pastoral leadership, church leadership, good leadership, Leadership, leadership, Church Growth, Healthy Church, effective, productivity  (view more)  (view less)

The Power Of Testimony

By Peter Mead on Nov 18, 2022

"Hearing how God has worked in a life can be very powerful. Having someone “give their testimony” can also backfire. Here are a few of the problems that can create the tension."

Tags: Leadership, Our Testimony, Sharing My Testimony, Personal Testimony, christian testimony, church leadership, Power Of Testimony, leadership, Church leaders  (view more)  (view less)