In Preaching Articles: "Listening To God"

Bigger Is Not Necessarily Better: 3 Reasons I'm Convinced God Most Often Builds His Church Small

By Chris Surber on Jul 1, 2025

God uses big churches for certain Kingdom jobs, and God uses little churches for specific assignments.

Scripture: Matthew 18:20-21

Tags: Ministry, Community, Kingdom, Small Church, big versus small, community, ministry  (view more)  (view less)

The Most Necessary Thing

By Thomas C. Brown on Jul 11, 2022

Greater is the value of personal intimacy with God than busyness for him. Service must follow surrender and solitude.

Scripture: Luke 10:42, John 17:3, Philippians 3:8-10

Tags: Leadership, God's Word, pastoral leadership, Intimacy With God, Pastoral Ministry, soul care, Guarding Your Soul, Scripture, leadership, devotion, priorities  (view more)  (view less)

12 Simple Ways To Be A Pastor Who Prays Like A Warrior

By Hal Seed on Nov 11, 2022

I believe every pastor ought to be a prayer warrior.

Scripture: Isaiah 56:7, 1 Samuel 3:10

Tags: God hears prayer, daily prayer, Prayer for Others, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, Holy Spirit's Power, Seek God's Face, Prayer  (view more)  (view less)

You Can't Please Everyone With Your Preaching

By Peter Mead on Feb 28, 2025

The challenge with criticism is to sort it through and preach for our audience of One, yet with a loving sensitivity to the many who sit and listen.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16

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

Avoid Crashing Your Sermon! Your Checklist For A Strong Sermon Closing

By Lane Sebring on Jan 27, 2020

If the closing of your message is disorganized and unclear, then your listeners will walk away feeling the same way about your message.

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-5, Genesis 1:26-27

Tags: Preaching, crash, Checklist, disorganized, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Using Illustrations For Maximum Impact: 4 Essential Notes

By Lane Sebring on Aug 24, 2019

A good illustration will reach out and grab your listeners and pull them into your content. It will make them care. But How?

Tags: Preaching

The Chief End Of Preaching

By Steven Lawson on Mar 3, 2022

No man’s preaching can rise any higher than his view of God.

Tags: Preaching, God's greatness, Pastoral Character, church leadership, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

The Bible Works!

By SermonCentral .com on Aug 8, 2025

Phil Strout: "Everyone has an opinion. And guess what? So does God, and he's communicated it to us."

Tags: Bible, Word of God, Opinion, communicate, phil strout, bible  (view more)  (view less)

Don't Get Caught In The Practical Preaching Trap

By Chris Surber on Nov 4, 2024

Life isn't a series of problems to be solved. It is a journey to be lived out.

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:1-18

Tags: Preaching, Practical, trap, glorify god, corporate worship, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

The Secret Key To Great Preaching

By Tony Merida on Jan 6, 2022

"The essential secret is not mastering certain techniques but being mastered by certain convictions."

Scripture: Job 23:1-17

Tags: Preaching, Master, Desire for God, Secret, effective preaching, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Every Sermon Needs A Strategy: What's Yours?

By Peter Mead on May 25, 2024

Peter Mead presents five big questions you should ask after you've studied the text.

Scripture: Zephaniah 1:12-18, Acts 8:26-40

Tags: Preaching, Relevance, God's Heart, main idea, reinforce, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

What Are We Doing When We Preach? What Are We Aiming For?

By Peter Mead on Aug 1, 2023

What are we doing when we preach? What are we aiming for?

Tags: Preaching, Intimacy With God, preaching Christ, intimacy with Christ, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

The First Step In Being A Great Pastor

By SermonCentral .com on Feb 12, 2022

The first step in being a great pastor is to walk with God.

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 16:11

Tags: Pastor, pastor, Basics of Christianity, Intimacy With God, intimacy with Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Five Marks Of A Servant Leader

By SermonCentral .com on May 16, 2022

What traits do we look for in a leader that suggest his fundamental orientation is Christlike servanthood?

Scripture: Philippians 1:25, Matthew 20:26-28, Psalm 15:4, Ephesians 6:6, John 7:18, 1 Timothy 3:1-13, 1 Corinthians 11:16, 1 Corinthians 5:2, 1 Corinthians 9:7, Luke 22:25-56, John 13:1-17, Matthew 16:23, Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 18:15-20  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: servant leadership, servanthood of Jesus, servant leader, glory of God

Preaching And Perspectives

By Peter Mead on May 17, 2022

When we preach, we present a perspective. When we preach, we provoke a perspective.

Tags: Preaching, Perspective, God speaks, preaching Christ, perspective, preaching  (view more)  (view less)