In Preaching Articles: "High expectations"

Christmas Is Too Big For One Day: Why We Celebrate Advent

By Dr. Andreas Kostenberger on Dec 6, 2024

Jesus’s birth did not come in a vacuum. His coming was the culmination of centuries, even millennia, of mounting expectation of the coming Messiah and Savior of humankind.

Scripture: Genesis 3:15, 1 Samuel 13:14, Luke 2:10-11

Tags: Advent, Christmas Advent, Waiting on God, Spiritual Preparation

7 Things Preachers Never Say – Pt.2

By Peter Mead on May 8, 2024

This series looks at seven things preachers never say. Last time we thought about the burden of expectation. How about this for another: The negative outcomes of both criticism and apathy.

Tags: Criticism, Apathy, Gossip, slander, Pastoral Ministry, church ministry, Negative Response, Backbiting, criticism  (view more)  (view less)

Is Jesus An Impossible Mentor?

By Ray Hollenbach on Sep 30, 2020

Do you preach Jesus as a role model? It's impossible to be like Jesus, isn't it? He was God-come-to-earth and his life sets the bar impossibly high for any of us.

Scripture: Matthew 16:24

Tags: Preaching, Submission, Accountability, honour, Mentor, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

3 Big Problems With Running A Church Like A Business

By Karl Vaters on Oct 4, 2022

"We’re always decrying the rise of the consumer culture within the church. But how should we expect people to act when pastors act like CEOs marketing Jesus as a product?"

Tags: Jesus is Lord, pastoral leadership, church and business, Pastoral Ministry, avoiding burnout, church ministry, Lord Of The Church, shallow church  (view more)  (view less)

Preaching Without A Net: Delivering Sermons Without Notes

By Bruce Salmon on Mar 3, 2025

It's a high wire act, one of which OSHA would not approve — preaching without notes. Only the most extraordinarily gifted speaker can pull it off, or so I used to think. Find out why.

Tags: Church, Preaching, manuscript, Fear and Worry, preaching, church  (view more)  (view less)

You Cannot Out-Dream God

By Marshall Segal on Jul 12, 2023

We tend to think our dreams were too big when we were young, say when we were six, and too small as we get older. But maybe our dreams never reach high enough.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Corinthians 10:33, Isaiah 43:7, Matthew 4:8, Psalm 49:16-17, Matthew 6:19-21, John 5:44, John 12:43, Matthew 6:1, Psalm 115:1, Deuteronomy 8:3, Psalm 16:11, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Ephesians 2:5, 1 Timothy 4:7, Matthew 19:29  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Dreams, Materialism, eternal perspective, Following God's will

Crafting A Culture Of Honor

By Lance Witt on Oct 22, 2020

In the middle of this election year, the amount of vicious attack and trash talking has reached a new high (or low). I think it is time that we as pastors take the lead in helping our congregations and communities know how to treat one another.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:32, 1 John 4:7-8, John 13:35, Romans 12:10

Tags: honor

The Gospel Of James: Open Letter To Martin Luther

By SermonCentral .com on May 7, 2022

Many of us today who think of ourselves squarely as your friends take exception to some of your views — some in greater measure than others — and I expect you, of all people, would be least surprised to hear of it and receive it.

Scripture: Galatians 2:14, Ezekiel 36:24-32, Jeremiah 31:33, Ephesians 1:13, Colossians 1:5, 1 Corinthians 3:12, 1 Corinthians 12:21, James 1:18-23, Philippians 1:27, 1 Peter 1:23-25  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: The Gospel, Reformation, Book of James, martin luther

Without Accountability, Confession And Friendship, ‘we’re Going To End Up Out Of Ministry’

By Michael Duduit on Jan 28, 2022

My friend Clayton King, who has never served as a senior pastor (and had not expected to), suddenly found himself leading one of the nation’s largest congregations as interim pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina.

Scripture: James 5:16

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Isolation, Leadership General, pastoral leadership

Who Is Lord Of The Church?

By John Macarthur on Jun 16, 2022

The church today is badly in need of reformation again. And Christ’s lordship over His church is still the central truth we must recover, which requires the unleashing of His Word among His people again. We cannot merely float along with the latest evangelical trends and expect things to get better.

Scripture: Acts 10:42

Tags: Church, Body of Christ, Christ the head, Lord Of The Church, church  (view more)  (view less)

5 Signs That You Need To Quit Something

By Charles Stone on Nov 29, 2023

Quitters never win and winners never quit was drilled into my mind at an early age. I believed it. I practiced it. I lived it. I only quit one thing in my life before age 18, my high school football team. I quit because I sat on the bench 99.976% of the time. Since, then, however, I’ve questioned the veracity of that phrase, as catchy as it may sound.

Tags: strategy, Overwhelmed, Busyness, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, giving up, quitting, Saying no  (view more)  (view less)