In Preaching Articles: "Intimacy With God"

Will The Real Jesus Stand Up? Part 1

By Lance Witt on Dec 27, 2023

"It may be that the great sin of the church in our generation is the trivializing of God. The Jesus Christ, in whom the fullness of deity dwells, is not to be boxed in, airbrushed, made over, tamed, explained or explained away. I am deeply convinced that the way you live will be a direct consequence of how you see God."

Scripture: Hebrews 12:28-29, Colossians 1:15-17, Jeremiah 23:23

Tags: Identity of Christ, False View of God, God of the Bible, Jesus is Lord, Deity of Christ, christian testimony, authority of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Sorry, Pastors – The Growth Of The Church Is Not Up To Us

By Karl Vaters on Jun 4, 2024

"Preaching the Word, training disciples and ministering to the community may or may not increase the number of people who sit in front of me from Sunday to Sunday. But it will produce a healthy church."

Tags: pastoral leadership, call to discipleship, church leadership, Church Growth, Surrender, Healthy Church, God's Church, God in control  (view more)  (view less)

Leave Your Secret Sin Behind Today

By Jon Bloom on Dec 5, 2022

God can turn a day of reckoning into a day of amnesty. But he’s calling today. Come out of the dungeon.

Scripture: Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 23:19, Hebrews 3:13, Jeremiah 17:9

Tags: Character, personal holiness, judgment, Repentance, Judgment, repentance, God's Grace, God's mercy, Confession of Sin, hardened heart  (view more)  (view less)

Pastors, We Don’t Expect A Ted Talk—we Need A God-And-You Talk

By SermonCentral .com on Sep 27, 2021

When we come to your church, we don't expect a $7,500 sermon. Given current offering stats, most people aren't even expecting a $75 one.

Scripture: John 3:1-25, Matthew 6:25-34

Tags: Expectation, TED talk, preaching, Preaching, Heartfelt  (view more)  (view less)

Digging Deep: How Do You Define The Ministry Of The Word?

By Peter Mead on Jul 3, 2025

"The ministry of the word is stewarding and heralding God's word in such a way that people encounter God through his word."

Scripture: Psalm 37:4-5

Tags: Ministry, Preaching, God's Word, blackaby, ministry, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Present The Unchanging Message, But Use Ever-Changing Methods

By Todd Wagner on Feb 12, 2024

God's "piano" has 66 keys, but it can be used to play all types of music.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:22-25

Tags: Message, Gospel, Unchanging, Method, God's Image, gospel  (view more)  (view less)

Three Pillars Of A Strong, Dynamic Ministry

By SermonCentral .com on Feb 9, 2023

Brandon Cox: "When it comes to leading a strong ministry and building a healthy church, it takes more than solid theology or smart strategy."

Tags: strategy, strength, Power of God, Pillar, ministry, Ministry  (view more)  (view less)

6 Reasons Pastors And Leaders Need Adequate Sleep

By Charles Stone on Jun 19, 2023

For many years scientists and philosophers have pondered why we need sleep besides to not be sleepy. Of course we all intuitively know how important sleep is to our bodies, relationships, and walk with God. But as neuroscientists are learning more about the brain, they are discovering many positive brain benefits from sleep. This list below includes some of those benefits.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5:12

Tags: sleep, Walk with God, decison making, paying attention

The First Step To Sparking Innovation In A Stuck Church

By SermonCentral .com on Mar 29, 2021

Church leaders need to spark the creativity of innovative believers by figuring out how to say yes to their passion.

Tags: Teamwork, Lay Leadership, ideas, work for God's glory

Promote Jesus: Not Personality, Professionalism, Or Brand

By Joe Hoagland on Jan 17, 2022

The church can learn a lot from worldly business and marketing trends but many times churches and church leaders end up promoting the wrong thing.

Tags: Jesus, focus on GOD, Pastoral Character, church marketing

The Three Most Common Sentences Of Dying Churches

By SermonCentral .com on Jan 30, 2022

If churches could speak, what would their words be on their deathbeds?

Tags: God's Power, pastoral care, stagnant, Dying Church

Fully Known, Fully Loved

By Peter Mead on Feb 23, 2022

If we are not careful we can paint our own self-at-the-centre approach in the colors of Christianity and assume all is well.

Scripture: Romans 5:8, Luke 19:10

Tags: known by God, Fully Known, Fully loved, narcissism

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

By Dr. Andreas Kostenberger on Dec 5, 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

How To Get Your Prayer To Work

By H.b. Charles, Jr. on Mar 24, 2022

When we work, we work. But when we pray, God works!

Scripture: Matthew 6:10, Psalm 119:105, Mark 11:24, Hebrews 11:6, 1 John 5:14-15, Colossians 3:17, John 14:13, Matthew 6:5-6  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Faith, God's Glory, Jesus Name, confidence in prayer

What Time Is It?

By Ray Hollenbach on Apr 1, 2022

Jesus modeled agreement with the Father by doing God’s will in perilous times.

Scripture: Mark 1:14-15

Tags: action, fullness of time, faith with action, The Kingdom of God