In Preaching Articles: "Modern World"

Check Your Church's Outreach Heartbeat

By Kevin Harney on Mar 17, 2025

If your church is struggling to invest in reaching your community and the world, ask yourself this question: Are we a church that is on fire with a passion for God?

Scripture: Revelation 2:1

Tags: Faith, Heart, Growth, Health

3 Essentials For Pastoral Preaching

By Rich Villodas on Jul 29, 2022

I think I’m starting to learn to preach not as a preacher but to preach as a pastor. There’s a world of difference between the two.

Tags: preaching, teaching, sermon prep, shepherding, Power in the Word, Applying Truth, Sermon Prep, Shepherding, Scripture, Teaching, Preaching, preaching the Word  (view more)  (view less)

Preaching God’s Word Is Timeless (Find The Timeless Truth)

By Joe Hoagland on Jul 25, 2022

The Bible is wholly relevant to the modern person’s life sometimes it just takes some work for us to figure that out. The idea of making a “timeless truth” central to your sermon is important in communicating God’s Word in a postmodern age.

Tags: teaching, Preaching Help, Teaching God's Word, Pastoral Ministry, effective preaching, communication, preaching, Scripture, Communication, Teaching, Preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Why Pandemics Are Dangerous For Jews

By Dr. Susan Michael on Oct 27, 2020

Throughout the Muslim world, rumors abound that the Jews developed the coronavirus to gain power, kill a large number of people, and make a fortune selling the antidote.

Tags: Pandemic, Danger, Jews

If The Church Is God's Idea, Who Are We To Dismantle It?

By Jeff K. Clarke on Feb 25, 2022

I wonder if we have allowed our contemporary definition, understanding, and experience of the church to be shaped more by the post-modern impulse of individualism and self-centeredness, than by Christ’s and Paul’s emphasis on the gathered community from every race, tribe, and tongue?

Tags: church community, Listening, unity and diversity, individualism

The Barnabas Factor: Five Traits That Build Leaders

By Larry Osborne on Jan 30, 2024

Barnabas quietly shaped world-changing leaders. Discover five traits that made him a master encourager and team builder, and how they can transform your ministry.

Scripture: Acts 4:36

Tags: Growth, Discipleship, leadership, pastor, encouragement, Barnabas, Leadership, Encouragement, Team Building, development, lead, team building, Mentor, Leadership General, Pastor  (view more)  (view less)

Has Mission Become Our Idol?

By Skye Jethani on Jul 29, 2024

Skye Jethani: "While a vision for serving God is needed, and the desperate condition of our world cannot be ignored, there is a higher calling that is going unanswered in many Christian communities."

Scripture: Psalm 62:1-6

Tags: Preaching, pastor, Fire, Pastor, evangelism, preaching, Evangelism, Missions  (view more)  (view less)

Does Your Preaching Prepare People For God's Kingdom?

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Jul 30, 2025

We often fall into the trap of preaching designed to merely provide tools to become more successful in this present world rather than becoming ambassadors of the coming Kingdom.

Tags: Confront, God's Kingdom, gospel, preaching, Gospel, Preaching, prepare  (view more)  (view less)

The Overlooked, Underrated, Desperately Needed Virtue Of Curiosity

By Brandon Cox on Oct 3, 2023

Curiosity is the art of knowing that we don’t know, and discovering more about God, about people, about ourselves, and about the amazing world around us.

Tags: intimacy with Christ, Love, Curiosity, Creativity

How To Avoid Settling For Good Enough Ministry

By SermonCentral .com on Apr 5, 2022

You can take a stand against “good enough ministry” in your church with a simple practice adopted from the business world: writing down how things should be done.

Tags: church organization, Excellence, details, church and business

Why Does Anti-Semitism Still Exist?

By Dr. Susan Michael on Mar 21, 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

It’s Getting Crazy For Pastors And Politics

By SermonCentral .com on Apr 9, 2024

I’m not a politician. I learned from one pastor, who said, “If I thought politics could save the world, I wouldn’t have become a pastor.”

Tags: Politics, unity, Religion, diversity, pastoral leadership, Unity, Diversity  (view more)  (view less)

Will The Real Jesus Stand Up? Part 2

By Lance Witt on Dec 29, 2023

"In the last thirty years within the church world, there has been a subtle shifting of the spotlight. Inadvertently, in many places, it has become all about the bride (the church) rather than the groom (Jesus)."

Scripture: Genesis 19:9, Revelation 19:9

Tags: Lamb marriage supper, Identity of Christ, The Real Jesus, bride of Christ, Deity of Christ, Jesus as Bridegroom  (view more)  (view less)

The Haunted Hayride Of Human Approval

By Marshall Segal on Jan 25, 2022

Perhaps the single most significant hindrance to Christian witness in the world today is our hunger for human approval. By nature, we think more about what people think of us than about what they think of Jesus.

Scripture: Acts 14:8-22, Philippians 3:8

Tags: Criticism, Approval, Approval by Men, praise from men, criticism  (view more)  (view less)

Why Kids Need Exegetical Bible Teaching For The Long Haul

By Cameron Cole on Nov 15, 2022

"Preparing kids to face the real world on their own is scary and daunting. There are only so many things we can do and there are no guarantees. Within the realm of things, we can control resides the teaching of God’s word."

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16

Tags: Youth Ministry, guard the truth, child training, Discipleship, teach, parenting, Equip, parenthood  (view more)  (view less)