In Preaching Articles: "Personal Life"

Change Lives By Preaching From Heaven's Viewpoint

By SermonCentral .com on Sep 4, 2025

Randy Alcorn: "We encourage believers to look at life differently—like Elisha’s servant whose eyes were opened."

Scripture: Hebrews 11:20-30

Tags: Preaching, preaching

4 Steps To A Friendlier Church (The G.i.f.t. Plan)

By SermonCentral .com on Dec 16, 2021

Genuine friendships are becoming more rare – and thus, of greater perceived value – than any other aspect of modern church life.

Tags: relationships, Friendliness, Friendship New Friends, Equipping Disciples

10 Things Healthy Churches Do Well

By Joe Mckeever on Jan 24, 2025

Healthy churches face problems with wisdom, unity, and Christlike leadership. These ten traits show how congregations grow stronger even through crises.

Scripture: Acts 6:1-7

Tags: Church Growth, Healthy Church, Pastors, CHURCH LIFE, Church General, Accept, Christian community, church leadership, Biblical wisdom, Church Leadership, Biblical Wisdom, Congregational Health, Christian Community  (view more)  (view less)

The Role Of Preaching In Church Planting

By SermonCentral .com on Aug 4, 2020

"Contrary to some conventional wisdom, I would argue that in many cases, public preaching needs to happen early on in the life of a new church."

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:21

Tags: Preaching, church planting

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

Tags:

Pit Stops Required- Part 1

By Lance Witt on Sep 12, 2023

Many pastors and ministry leaders soar through life at breakneck speed. They give every outward appearance of being on course, cruising on autopilot.

Scripture: Proverbs 14:18

Tags: Prudence, Time of Reflection, New Year's Reflection, avoiding burnout

Pastoring From A Place Of Gratitude

By Lance Witt on May 29, 2024

Does gratitude flavor your life? Are the words that flow from your lips and the thoughts that race through your mind marked by gratitude?

Scripture: Psalm 118:24, Colossians 2:7

Tags: leadership, Thankfulness, gratitude, Grumbling, Ingratitude, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, Evaluate attitude, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Are You Training Lay Preachers? You Should!

By Chris Surber on Jan 24, 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:

Do You Remember Why You Became A Pastor?

By Chuck Warnock on Jun 11, 2025

There are times in our life when the clarity fades, discouragement clouds our memory and we wonder, "Why did I ever want to be a pastor?"

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27

Tags:

Great Preaching Lives In The Tension: Here's How

By Brandon Kelley on Jan 5, 2021

A sermon speaks from the grand narrative of Scripture to the grand narrative of your life. These two stories have identifiable tension points: use them!

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Great Leadership Often Starts With A Broken Heart

By Brandon Cox on Oct 2, 2023

Usually, knowing what breaks your heart is knowing what you should do with your life, and how you should be leading others.

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:4

Tags: broken, Brokenhearted, authentic ministry, Call to ministry

Doing Ministry Without Losing Your Soul Part 3

By Lance Witt on May 22, 2024

When pastoring is your job, it adds complexity to simply loving Jesus. To live and lead from a healthy soul, we must learn the art of separating our own personal pursuit of loving Jesus from our “ministry” of leading in the church.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Tags: time with God, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, soul care, avoiding burnout, Putting Christ First, Sincerity with God, church leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Why Illustrations Matter In Preaching: Learning From Jesus’ Use Of Parables

By Leslie Holmes on Jan 15, 2024

Parables and illustrations bring preaching to life. These seven tests help pastors use stories wisely to clarify truth, reduce resistance, and make sermons memorable.

Scripture: Matthew 13:34, Nehemiah 8:8, 2 Timothy 4:2, Psalm 78:2, Luke 8:10  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Expository Preaching, expository preaching

When Pastors Misplace Their Identity: 10 Probing Questions

By Charles Stone on Sep 19, 2022

“No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do.” ––Paul Tripp

Scripture: 1 Samuel 28:1

Tags: Ministry, identity, Identity in Christ, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, church leadership, Right Priorities, self assement, ministry  (view more)  (view less)

Why Some People Aren’t Happy With Your Preaching

By Peter Mead on Feb 28, 2025

Many pastors are blindsided when members quietly express frustration with their preaching. The reasons vary widely, ranging from communication issues to personality friction to the discomfort of genuine conviction. Preachers can respond well, shepherd wisely, and preach faithfully for the glory of Christ.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12, James 3:1, Galatians 1:10, 2 Timothy 4:2, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Communication, Preaching, Criticism, church leadership, criticism, Sermon Preparation, communication, preaching, sermon preparation, Church Leadership  (view more)  (view less)