In Preaching Articles: "Life Lessons"

Breathing New Life Into Your Preaching

By Lance Witt on Mar 24, 2023

Fresh is always better. Taking a breath of clean, fresh air is way better than inhaling polluted air. Eating fresh bread is way better than choking down a piece of dry, stale bread. And likewise, sermons that are fresh are way better than warmed over messages.

Scripture: Luke 10:31

Tags: Preaching, New life, preaching

When People Leave: 4 Lessons In Rejection From Jesus

By Greg Surratt on Jul 7, 2021

Watching people leave hurts, even for pastors. Jesus’ response in John 6 shows how to process that pain with security in the Father’s love, trusted friends, and confidence in God’s sovereignty.

Scripture: John 6:25-71, John 11:35, Romans 8:28, Matthew 3:17, Hebrews 13:17  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Jesus, leadership, Preaching, Rejection, Leadership, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

1,000 Sermons Will Change Your Life

By Trevin Wax on Mar 25, 2020

Pastors, don’t underestimate the cumulative effect of your preaching. You are not dumping information into brains. You are forming the habits of your people, teaching them how to read and understand and apply the Bible for themselves.

Tags: New life, church leadership, Church Leadership

Balancing Grace And Truth In Christian Life And Ministry

By SermonCentral .com on Oct 15, 2021

Christians often emphasize either grace or truth, but Jesus embodied both. Healthy ministry, evangelism, and discipleship require holding grace and truth together.

Scripture: 2 Kings 2:8-9, Isaiah 40:1-15, Luke 18:1-8, John 1:14-17, Luke 12:5  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Grace, Gospel, Truth, Preaching, Balance, grace, gospel, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

A Simple Exercise That Will Infuse Life Into Your Staff

By Charles Stone on Jul 24, 2023

Recently our church staff held our annual in-house evaluation retreat when we reviewed the prior year’s goals and plans. God had given us a good year and we wanted not only to discuss how we could improve, but rejoice in His blessings.

Scripture: Psalm 9:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Thankfulness, gratitude, Leadership General, church leadership

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

Tags:

The Dangers Of Self-Righteousness: Lessons From Luke 18:9-14

By Josh Read on Oct 29, 2025

In today’s world, especially in the age of social media, it’s easy to curate a version of ourselves that looks impressive—sharing successes, opinions, and spiritual highlights while hiding our struggles. But Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:9–14 cuts straight through that façade. It reminds us that self-righteousness doesn’t bring us closer to God, it drives us further from Him.

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14, Romans 3:23-24, James 4:10

Tags: Mercy, Parable, Prayer, confession, repentance, justification, sanctification, Repentance, Justification, Confession, Sanctification  (view more)  (view less)

10 Ministry Principles I Wish I Knew When I Started

By Brady Boyd on Mar 3, 2025

Fifteen years of pastoral ministry reveal lessons a young minister rarely sees coming, from handling pressure and friendships to trust, rest, and long term faithfulness.

Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:17, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 5:2-4, Mark 6:31, Galatians 6:9  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Lesson, Ministry, leadership, Leadership, ministry, Ministry Wisdom  (view more)  (view less)

6 Preaching Methods Jesus Used That You Should, Too

By SermonCentral .com on Sep 12, 2025

If there is anyone we should emulate in our preaching, it's Jesus!

Tags: Jesus, Preaching, Repetition, Object Lesson, methods, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Why Pastors Should Preach More About Heaven

By Toni Ridgaway on May 4, 2023

Despite widespread curiosity about life after death, many churches rarely preach on heaven. Scripture calls pastors to teach clearly about the believer’s eternal hope.

Scripture: John 14:1-3, Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 3:1-2, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 21:1-4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Heaven, Truth, Preaching, eternal life, preaching, Eternal Life  (view more)  (view less)

Seven Relational Skills Of Great Church Leaders

By SermonCentral .com on Mar 11, 2021

Most pastors and church leaders have never received formal training in relational skills. Perhaps these seven observations of outstanding leaders will prove helpful to many of you.

Tags: leadership, Prayer Life, Family Relationships, prayer life, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Do Not Forsake True Solitude, Pastor

By Joe Hoagland on Aug 10, 2022

I am talking about purposely removing yourself from the busyness to focus on prayer for your congregation, reflection on your spiritual life and those around you, and meditation on the huge weight that is the pastoral ministry.

Scripture: Joshua 1:8

Tags: Prayer Life, Solitude, Silence, Leadership General, prayer life  (view more)  (view less)

Ten (Christmas) Sermon-Starters From The Life Of Mary

By Ray Hollenbach on Dec 24, 2025

Luke’s annunciation account is packed with phrases that carry more theological weight than we often notice. One line can carry an entire sermon.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14, Galatians 4:4, Matthew 1:23

Tags: Christmas, Jesus, Power, Incarnation

Why Every Sermon Should Be A Life-Changing Sermon

By Paul David Tripp on Oct 19, 2025

This will probably get me into trouble: I’m persuaded that there’s too much mediocrity in the church when it comes to pastors preparing and delivering their sermons.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

4 Weapons Of Mass Distraction In A Leader’s Life

By Charles Stone on Nov 12, 2023

Ask yourself which of these four weapons of mass distraction divert you the most from leading at your best.

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:8

Tags: leadership, focus, distractions, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, church ministry, Effective Leadership, Leading Others Well, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)