In Preaching Articles: "Real People"

Do You Preach To Real People Or Straw Men?

By Chris Surber on Nov 8, 2024

Preaching in the abstract means missing real lives and real people. Here are four ways to connect to real people.

Tags: preaching, Holy Spirit, Preaching, Sensitive, real people, straw men  (view more)  (view less)

Os Guinness: Evil Is Real

By SermonCentral .com on Nov 11, 2023

Os Guinness is willing to face what most people would prefer to ignore, and he encourages us to do the same.

Tags: Evil, Preaching, os guinness, preaching

Does Your Preaching Draw A Line From The Bible To Real Life?

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Feb 3, 2023

Every sermon should ask the people for some sort of response, a response in real life.

Tags: Preaching, Homiletics, real life, preaching, bible, Bible  (view more)  (view less)

Letter To A (Real Life) Hurting Pastor

By Chris Surber on Apr 26, 2025

Author Chris Surber suggests six avenues to handle the hurt and disappointment so common in pastoral ministry.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Will The Real Jesus Stand Up? Part 1

By Lance Witt on Dec 28, 2023

"It may be that the great sin of the church in our generation is the trivializing of God. The Jesus Christ, in whom the fullness of deity dwells, is not to be boxed in, airbrushed, made over, tamed, explained or explained away. I am deeply convinced that the way you live will be a direct consequence of how you see God."

Scripture: Hebrews 12:28-29, Colossians 1:15-17, Jeremiah 23:23

Tags: Jesus is Lord, Deity of Christ, christian testimony, authority of Christ, Identity of Christ, False View of God, God of the Bible  (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: bride of Christ, Deity of Christ, Jesus as Bridegroom, Lamb marriage supper, Identity of Christ, The Real Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Make Your Sermon Unforgettable—three Keys

By Tim Coressel on Oct 8, 2019

From the moment you "close in prayer," that message you labored over for hours will begin to fade in the minds of your audience.

Scripture: Isaiah 11:6-9

Tags: Preaching, passion, Real, unforgettable sermon

Theology? Philosophy? What Do They Have To Do With Real Preaching?

By Mike Miller on Nov 25, 2024

Our theology of preaching is what we believe the Bible says about preaching. Our philosophy is how we put our beliefs into practice.

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:1-20, Jonah 3:1-10

Tags: Preaching, Theology, philosophy, preaching

Lord, Search My Heart

By SermonCentral .com on Jun 4, 2022

Micah 6:8 exposes me: I can love abstract ideas of justice and kindness, and neglect their concrete expression. It admonishes me: I cannot “do justice” or “love kindness” without loving real people. It humbles me, which is just what the Doctor ordered, if I’m really ready to walk with him.

Scripture: Psalm 139:23, Micah 6:8

Tags: Humility, reflection, repentance, Conviction, Repentance  (view more)  (view less)

Real Love Encourages Others To Do The Right, Most God-Glorifying Thing

By SermonCentral .com on Jun 8, 2022

Ephesians 4:15 tells us to speak the truth in love, not to withhold the truth in love. Real love doesn’t quit or give up; it will offer help and point to Jesus Christ as the only true source of healing and forgiveness.

Scripture: John 1:14, Ephesians 4:15

Tags: Abortion, friendship, Real Love, speak truth in love

10 Ways To Preach About Lust—and Get To The Real Issues

By Jared Moore on Nov 23, 2024

There's only one way to solve this: Get to the root of the problem. Jared Moore shows us how.

Tags: Intimacy, sexual immorality, sexual desire, Marriage, Lust  (view more)  (view less)

You Exegete Your Text, But Do You Exegete Your People?

By Leslie Holmes on Mar 9, 2019

"Bob Easley may not have gone beyond sixth grade, but he taught this quasi-educated preacher that there's a lot more to be learned about preaching than I ever got inside a book."

Scripture: Job 1:1-10

Tags: people, Preaching, Text, exegete

When People Compare Pastors

By Charles Stone on Mar 27, 2021

Many pastors secretly struggle with measuring up to very successful pastors and churches. It’s tough, but it comes with ministry. People compare pastors. In this post I suggest a few ways to deal with this “measure up mentality.” I begin with one pastor’s experience.

Scripture: Psalm 62:5

Tags: Discouragement, Approval, Comparison, High expectations

Five Ways To Turn Off Younger Listeners

By Adam Ramsey on Nov 7, 2024

If you're still in your first 5 years as a preacher, don’t give up! God has this wonderful way of drawing straight lines with crooked sticks.

Tags: God's Love, Laughter, Young people, good advice, young people, preaching, Preaching  (view more)  (view less)

How To Preach To Old(Er) People

By Rachel Wrenn on May 24, 2019

"Mildred" loves the Lord, shows up early for service--and falls asleep nearly every week. What to do?

Tags: Preaching