In Preaching Articles: "Listening"

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)

Does Your Preaching Wield A Sword Or An Anvil?

By Peter Mead on Sep 16, 2024

God's word is a living and active sword. Peter Mead suggests that too often preachers try to drop an anvil on their listeners.

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12, Jeremiah 23:29

Tags: Preaching, living word, words, Sword, Impact, Heavy, anvil, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Facing These Questions Can Improve Any Preacher

By Charles Stone on Jun 7, 2021

The time we invest in sermons and the time people invest in listening to them should make us pause to evaluate our efforts.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:17-20

Tags: biblical preaching, preaching, Preaching, invest, Improve, questions  (view more)  (view less)

Your Congregation Needs An Arc Of Hope, Not A String Of Pearls

By Nathan Aaseng on Nov 5, 2021

In our information-saturated age, your listeners have all the gems of wisdom they need, far more than they can process.

Tags: Parable, Hope, Preaching, string of pearls, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

4 Steps From Good To Great Preaching

By Kenton C. Anderson on Feb 18, 2025

For those of us who try to preach “good sermons” every week, it's useful to understand what it takes to connect with our listeners.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Preaching, preaching

4 Problems With Passionate Preaching

By Peter Mead on Apr 28, 2020

Just because we feel strongly about our message doesn't mean we should strong-arm our listeners.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:16

Tags: Communication, Discernment, Preaching, passion, Passion of Christ, communication, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Preaching The Messy Way

By Chris Surber on Apr 24, 2025

The greater the distance between you and your listeners, the easier it is to preach at them. Sharing life with them leads you to preaching the messy way.

Scripture: John 6:66-71

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Why Exhortation Alone Doesn’t Change Lives In Preaching

By Bob Hostetler on Jul 22, 2021

Many sermons emphasize exhortation, but lasting transformation requires more. Effective preaching connects with listeners, inspires the heart, and provides practical application.

Tags: Preaching, identification, inspiration, application, exhortation, preaching, Application  (view more)  (view less)

4 Ingredients For Making Sermons Stick

By Ed Stetzer on Jan 25, 2020

One constant that remains essential in every church is preaching. Ed Stetzer talks about how to help your listeners apply what you preach.

Tags: Preaching, Church Practices, preaching

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Two Popular Preaching Styles

By Brady Boyd on Apr 25, 2020

Brady Boyd: "I think both approaches have merit for the local church and it’s the job of the pastor to listen to what God is saying and obey."

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Not Every Exhortation Is Necessary

By Peter Mead on May 9, 2024

It is important to discern when an exhortation needs to be given, and when the listener is already aware of their need for growth and working hard by faith to become more like Christ.

Tags: teaching, exhortation, Preaching Help, effective preaching, Effective Teaching, Know your audience, preaching, Teaching, Preaching  (view more)  (view less)

8 Ways To Hook Your Congregation Into Your Message

By SermonCentral .com on May 12, 2020

Your sermon text is central, but it doesn’t always need to come first. Strong hooks help listeners connect their lives to Scripture before exposition begins.

Scripture: Numbers 1:1-2:1, Ecclesiastes 5:7-6:7, Nehemiah 8:8, Luke 24:27, Ecclesiastes 12:10  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Bird, Preaching, Anxiety, Field, flowers, preaching, anxiety  (view more)  (view less)

Do You Preach Around The Text, Or Do You Preach The Text?

By Dr. Scott M. Gibson on Dec 16, 2024

After listening to sermons all these years, I have concluded preachers either talk before the text or talk around the text but rarely talk about the text.

Scripture: Hosea 4:1-6, Psalm 30:1

Tags: Preaching, preaching

You Can Preach About Pentecost Then, But What About Pentecost Now?

By David J. Lose on May 23, 2023

Few holidays present themselves as ripe for nostalgia as Pentecost. Weren't these the glory days of the church--spirit-filled preaching, attentive listening, 3,000 converted in a single day?

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18, John 2:1-12

Tags: Preaching, preaching

The Greatest Gift You Give Your Team- Part 1

By Lance Witt on Jul 11, 2024

This week work at paying attention to your soul. Listen to your emotions. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what is going on beneath the surface of all your “doing”.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 7:1, John 16:32, John 16:32

Tags: Approval, personal holiness, Growth in Christ, pastoral leadership, God's Approval, Guarding your heart, motives, soul care  (view more)  (view less)