In Preaching Articles: "Love Of God"

Cut Off Your Hand, Tear Out Your Eye

By Ray Ortlund on Aug 3, 2022

Hard words are not harmful words—when they come from Jesus. The real Jesus loves us enough to accept us freely and confront us honestly.

Scripture: Colossians 2:23, Philippians 3:14, Hebrews 13:21, Matthew 5:6, Titus 2:11-12, Hebrews 12:4, 1 Corinthians 9:27, Matthew 5:29-30  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Righteousness, Theology, soul care, Hard Teaching

When A Private Apology Is Not Enough

By Joe Mckeever on Jul 15, 2022

"Nothing is so lovely and so welcome and so healing in a church as for a member to go before the congregation and admit to his/her destructive behavior and ask for forgiveness."

Tags: Humility, Reconciliation, repentance, restitution, Confession of Sin, church ministry, Apology, Making things right, Admitting Guilt, Repentance  (view more)  (view less)

Can You Preach What You Struggle With?

By Ron Edmondson on Apr 5, 2025

Pastors often preach on areas where they still struggle. Honesty, humility, and commitment to the whole counsel of God make such preaching both faithful and effective.

Scripture: Acts 20:27, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 1 Timothy 4:16, Hebrews 4:15-16, Romans 7:18-25  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Teaching, Preaching, preaching, teaching, Life Experience, Whole Counsel of God  (view more)  (view less)

4 Angles To Preach From Every Time

By Brandon Kelley on Dec 14, 2021

It is not enough to simply preach what the passage of Scripture says within your next sermon. It’s a good start, but don’t stop there. You’ll stop short of something truly beautiful, truly remarkable.

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: redemption, God the Father, preaching the Word, eternal perspective, preaching Christ  (view more)  (view less)

We Need A Theology Of Rest

By Lance Witt on Jul 27, 2023

You don’t have to be running at an insane pace to be running on empty. I think the primary issue here isn’t the size of your ministry or the pace of your ministry. The PRIMARY issue has to do with the health of your soul (your interior life).

Scripture: Proverbs 14:8, Exodus 33:14-15, Jeremiah 6:16

Tags: Wisdom, Rest, endurance with joy, spiritual leadership, entering God's rest  (view more)  (view less)

Slaves In Your Church’s Backyard

By David Batstone on Dec 14, 2022

Modern slavery hides in plain sight. These stories reveal how trafficking thrives worldwide and even locally, calling Christians to seek justice with persistent, sacrificial love.

Tags: Compassion, Culture, Slavery, Justice, traffic, injustice, Human Trafficking, abolition, culture, Modern Slavery, Abolition  (view more)  (view less)

Christmas: Not A Time For Inventing Twists On The Age-Old Story

By Joe Mckeever on Dec 14, 2024

Tell it with gusto and love. Tell the story of the birth of Jesus with all the excitement of someone hearing it for the first time. Tell the story without detouring into theories and guesses and myths and controversies.

Scripture: Luke 2:11

Tags: Christmas, Simplicity, storytelling, Christmas Advent

The Problem With Both Talent And Charisma

By SermonCentral .com on Jan 11, 2022

Talent and charisma aren’t bad. They’re good. They’re gifts to be stewarded.

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:16

Tags: Daniel, Humility, Integrity, charisma, Patriarchs Joseph, Relationship to God, Pastoral Character  (view more)  (view less)

Jesus Didn’t Wake Up This Morning Depressed By The Size Of Your Church

By Karl Vaters on Apr 18, 2022

Jesus knows what happened and didn’t happen in church last Sunday.

Tags: Depression, Marriage Faithfulness, Church Attendance, God's perspective, e, church attendance  (view more)  (view less)

How To Do Justice And Not Undermine Evangelism

By Don Carson on Feb 17, 2025

D. A. Carson explains how Christians can pursue justice without eclipsing evangelism, keeping the gospel central while demonstrating genuine love through word and deed.

Tags: Evangelism, evangelism, Christian mission, Christian Mission

Are You A "Do Something" Church?

By Miles Mcpherson on Jul 20, 2020

Many churches talk about impact but fail to act. Discover how counting real needs, walking toward the hurting, asking meaningful questions, and loving tangibly can transform a community.

Scripture: Mark 10:49-51, Luke 17:17-19, Luke 15:4, Luke 5:10-11, John 21:15-17  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Service, Servanthood

4 Deep Changes Your Preaching Should Produce

By Peter Mead on Sep 2, 2025

God's work is transformational. Is our preaching doing God's work?

Tags: Preaching, Character, Transformation, conduct, deep change, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

The Prayer I Have Prayed Most

By SermonCentral .com on Aug 24, 2022

I suppose, in my little prayer nook in my study, where I have a little prayer bench that I built in 1975, as I’ve bent over that bench thousands of times, the most common prayer has been, “Lead me not into temptation. Deliver me from evil (see Matthew 6:13). Keep me. Keep me. I feel so utterly unable to do the next thing. My kids are at the breakfast table. I have nothing. I’m supposed to model joyful fatherhood, and I’m so depressed I can hardly remember their names. Help me.”

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8, Psalm 16:1-5, Romans 11:36, Romans 8:16, Jude 1:20, Matthew 6:13  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Faith, Perseverance, Prayer, Depression, God's Strength, continue in faith, Power of the Spirit, By faith  (view more)  (view less)

Legalism And Preaching

By Peter Mead on Feb 4, 2021

Defining legalism carefully is vitally important. It is important for each follower of Christ. It is a serious business to discount a restriction as legalism when it actually is displeasing to the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Tags: obedience, Preaching, Legalism

What If I Preach A Bad Sermon?

By Brian Croft on Oct 23, 2025

“God’s mercies are new every morning, and that includes our preaching ministry.”

Tags: Preaching, preaching