In Preaching Articles: "Mysterious Ways"

Are You Training Lay Preachers? You Should!

By Chris Surber on Jan 23, 2024

When we neglect to develop and maintain active lay ministry in the life of the local church, our churches miss out in at least five ways.

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17

Tags:

Forget Seminaries: What Are You Doing To Train The Next Generation Of Preachers?

By Chris Surber on Aug 15, 2025

We have a lot of people genuinely called, sincerely gifted people who struggle to find their way past the gatekeepers in our churches and denominations.

Scripture: Colossians 3:1-5, Mark 5:24-34

Tags: Discipleship, Gift, Seminary, Next Generation

Should We Try To Please Our Listeners? How Much?

By Peter Mead on Sep 17, 2025

If listeners aren't satisfied, it could be a good sign, or it could be a bad sign. In the same way, happy listeners may mean something is wrong.

Tags: Preaching, Criticism, please, listener, Feedback, criticism, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Rick Warren's Advice For Stronger Sermon Points

By Rick Warren on Nov 7, 2019

What you learned in seminary isn't the only way to develop great sermons. Rick Warren offers practical advice based on years of experience.

Scripture: Hebrews 2:3, Jeremiah 31:31-34

Tags: Preaching, Strong, Assignment, Rick Warren, sermon points  (view more)  (view less)

The 4 Pillars Of Guest Preaching

By Pete Wilson on Jan 5, 2023

Guest speakers can bless churches or burden them. Here are practical ways to honor the pastor, respect the house, and communicate well without creating chaos.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:40, Hebrews 13:17, Philippians 2:3, 1 Peter 4:10-11, Colossians 3:23  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Communication, Teaching, leadership, Preaching, Leadership, communication, preaching, teaching  (view more)  (view less)

5 Questions A Pastor Should Ask Every Year

By Josh Reich on Jan 25, 2021

As leaders, we can sometimes stand in the way of change. Instead, let's take a hard look at our lives and ask these five questions to grow as leaders.

Tags: Preaching

3 Shifts Growing Churches Make To Welcome The Lost

By Brandon Kelley on Aug 10, 2023

Most churches genuinely want to welcome and reach those who are far from God. Sometimes the reason they don’t is because they get in their own way.

Tags: Genuine Faith, Evangelism The Lost, authentic ministry, relating to the lost

Why Was I So Hard On That Church I Visited?

By Karl Vaters on Jul 1, 2022

How might a newcomer view your church? What barriers may they face? What obstacles could be unintentionally in the way of them connecting and finding a place to belong?

Tags: leadership, Visitors, church ministry, Welcoming Others, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Why We Preach: The Call That Won’t Let Us Go

By Leslie Holmes on May 3, 2020

Seminary is long, ministry is hard, and preaching can feel thankless. Yet pastors continue because God’s call compels them in ways nothing else can.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:16, Hebrews 12:2, Romans 10:14-15, 2 Timothy 4:2, Acts 20:24  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, preaching

New Poll: What's The Average Length Of Sermon Prep?

By SermonCentral .com on Jun 15, 2021

LifeWay's Thom Rainer took a Twitter poll to see how much time most preachers give to sermon preparation. Where do you fall on the scale?

Tags: preparation, average, Prep, Time

Why So Long? A Missions Story

By Evy Yohner on May 20, 2022

These stories are like rare pearls, collecting from a way of “doing” missions no longer done, when intrepid men and women sacrificed everything to obey God’s voice.

Tags: international, god's mission, great commission, lessons from history

Keeping Your Preaching Fresh

By Lance Witt on Sep 23, 2022

“Everything worthwhile is uphill. Everything that is valuable, you have to work for. No one ever coasted their way to success. Most people have uphill hopes but have downhill habits.”

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:2

Tags: Teaching, Preaching, hard work, Preaching Help, Pastoral Ministry, Powerful Preaching, effective preaching, Never Stop Learning, preaching, teaching  (view more)  (view less)

25 Easter Follow-Up Sermon And Worship Ideas

By SermonCentral .com on Apr 9, 2023

One of the best ways to follow up with your Easter guests, as well as to encourage your church members, is by preaching about living out the new life we have in Christ.

Tags: Worship, Preaching, sermon series, after easter, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Preachers, Find Your Voice

By SermonCentral .com on Aug 19, 2021

In the days of the church, a major way in which God’s word is revealed to his people is through the regular, ordinary, week-in, week-out ministry of local church pastor-preachers.

Tags: New, Preaching, voice, Pastoral, preach, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

You Become What You Think About The Most

By Josh Reich on Mar 29, 2023

The best companies (churches) have the best leaders. The second-best companies (churches) have the second-best leaders. The third-best companies (churches), in these times of turbulence, are unfortunately on their way out of business.

Tags: Image, Preaching, preaching