In Preaching Articles: "Inviting People"

Don’t Try And Improve On God’s Methods

By Ray Ortlund on Apr 22, 2024

True awakening or revival is a glorious season in the life of the church when for His glory alone, God causes the ordinary means of His grace to make an extraordinary impact on many people.

Scripture: Acts 2:42, 1 Corinthians 11:27-30, Isaiah 1:15, Luke 19:9-10, John 3:8, Matthew 11:28-30, Acts 2:47  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Grace, Prayer, revival, Church revival, spiritual awakening, grace  (view more)  (view less)

Top 10 Healthy Ways To Handle The Church Critic

By Charles Stone on Aug 16, 2022

“Two things you can’t avoid in ministry are…people late to the service and … church critics.” In this short post, I suggest 10 ways to handle the church critic.

Tags: Criticism, patience, offense, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, church ministry, loving enemies, Disarming, criticism  (view more)  (view less)

What Is Saving Faith?

By R. C. Sproul on Aug 31, 2022

Faith is central to Christianity. The New Testament repeatedly calls people to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a definite body of content to be believed, which is part and parcel of our religious activity.

Scripture: James 2:14-17

Tags: Salvation, justification, Adoption, Reformation, saving faith, Preach Christ, God's righteousness, preaching the gospel, salvation by grace  (view more)  (view less)

Keeping Your Preaching Fresh

By Lance Witt on Sep 23, 2022

“Everything worthwhile is uphill. Everything that is valuable, you have to work for. No one ever coasted their way to success. Most people have uphill hopes but have downhill habits.”

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:2

Tags: Teaching, Preaching, hard work, Preaching Help, Pastoral Ministry, Powerful Preaching, effective preaching, Never Stop Learning, preaching, teaching  (view more)  (view less)

Why Does Anti-Semitism Still Exist?

By Dr. Susan Michael on Mar 20, 2024

Every time this irrational vitriol seems to be dying out, it reinvents itself with a different look and a different name. But the goal is always the same for anti-semitism: to rid the world of the Jewish people.

Tags: Anti Semitism

Is Your Preaching Too Intense?

By Lane Sebring on Aug 15, 2019

I know what some of you are thinking… Wait! Heaviness is good. Intensity is good. People need their toes stepped on! That’s just the Holy Spirit working on them!

Tags: Preaching, preaching

8 Starts To Avoid In Your Preaching

By Rachel Blom on Jan 3, 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

Pastor, Are You Chasing Stray Dogs?

By Chris Surber on Jan 26, 2023

"Here is a list of people who have left the church in the last few years. We would like you to call on them to see if you can win a few of them back."

Tags: Church, Preaching, members, Church Health, stray dog, preaching, church  (view more)  (view less)

Preachers, Find Your Voice

By SermonCentral .com on Aug 19, 2021

In the days of the church, a major way in which God’s word is revealed to his people is through the regular, ordinary, week-in, week-out ministry of local church pastor-preachers.

Tags: New, Preaching, voice, Pastoral, preach, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Why Preaching Is Impossible (And What You Can Do About It)

By Jacob Myers on Dec 30, 2025

When you make the long, lonely walk to the pulpit to proclaim the Word of God for the people of God, how often do you hear the Mission Impossible soundtrack playing in your mind?

Scripture: Mark 12:38-44, Colossians 4:1-11

Tags: Preaching, preaching

5 Words Of Wisdom To A Growing Church

By SermonCentral .com on Feb 10, 2022

It is GOD’s Kingdom, not ours, that is expanding. We may work hard and dream big, but every single spiritual change we see in the lives of people is completely and entirely a work of God.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15

Tags: Wisdom, Humility, Church Growth, relational leaders

You Are Not The Story!

By H.b. Charles, Jr. on May 2, 2022

People should not leave the sermon having learned more about the preacher than Christ. When we stand to preach the word, we should prayerfully whisper to ourselves, “You are not the story.”

Scripture: Colossians 1:28, John 12:20, 2 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Timothy 4:1-2

Tags: Pride, God's Story, self importance, Bible as a story

3 Ways To Boost Your Preaching Creativity

By Brandon Kelley on Jul 3, 2022

Do you want more people to walk away from the church gathering and actually remember the big idea from your sermon? Of course you do. Who wouldn’t?

Scripture: John 3:36, Matthew 15:21

Tags: Preaching, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, poor preaching, Effective Teaching, Sermon Help, Teaching Prep, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

3 Reasons Good Preaching Is As Important As Ever

By Joe Hoagland on Jul 27, 2022

People love to tell you that preaching is irrelevant in this day and age. But contrary to this kind of thinking, good preaching does remain important. In fact, preaching remains as important as it has ever been.

Tags: Communication, Preaching, Teaching God's Word, Pastoral Ministry, faithful preaching, Value of Preaching, Modern Age, Busy Culture, Shepherd the Flock, communication, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

3 Big Problems With Running A Church Like A Business

By Karl Vaters on Oct 3, 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)