In Preaching Articles: "Sermon Illustrations"

Preaching That Is Felt, Not Just Heard

By Peter Mead on Sep 23, 2020

Information alone does not transform. Learn how to move from a dense 10-minute outline to a sermon that breathes, paints images, and engages both mind and heart.

Scripture: Exodus 2:1-5, 1 Thessalonians 2:8, 2 Corinthians 4:2, Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Preaching, biblical theology, preaching, Biblical Theology

How Pastors Should Approach Preaching At Wedding

By SermonCentral .com on May 18, 2025

Wedding sermons do not need to follow a single formula. Faithful pastors can draw from many biblical truths that prepare couples for the realities of married life.

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33, Colossians 3:12-14, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Proverbs 3:3-4, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Wedding, Preaching, Offend, preaching, Biblical Counseling  (view more)  (view less)

Do You Preach Around The Text, Or Do You Preach The Text?

By Dr. Scott M. Gibson on Dec 15, 2024

After listening to sermons all these years, I have concluded preachers either talk before the text or talk around the text but rarely talk about the text.

Scripture: Hosea 4:1-6, Psalm 30:1

Tags: Preaching, preaching

5 Ways To Make Your Preaching More Practical And Relevant

By Rick Ezell on Jan 30, 2025

Practical preaching requires more than exegesis of Scripture. These five steps help you exegete your people—making sermons clearer, warmer, and more genuinely relevant.

Scripture: Acts 17:16-34, Romans 10:4

Tags: Preaching, Culture, Self, Relevance, audience, application, preaching, culture  (view more)  (view less)

Are You A Preacher Or A Motivational Speaker?

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Jan 6, 2023

Many sermons sound inspiring yet leave out the cross and the coming kingdom. When preaching mimics self-help, it loses the gospel’s power and eternal focus.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Luke 9:23, Galatians 6:14, Matthew 6:19-21

Tags: Pastoral Ministry

Do Your Listeners Feel The Text?

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Nov 26, 2020

Faithful preaching requires sound exegesis, but powerful sermons also help listeners experience the biblical story. Learn how engaging the senses can deepen your preaching.

Scripture: Luke 8:48, Luke 8:43, Nehemiah 8:8, 2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, audience, Engage, feel, exegesis, preaching, Exegesis  (view more)  (view less)

Why Some Preachers Get Better And Others Don't

By Hershael York on May 24, 2021

"I've seen guys whose initial sermon was depressingly awful turn it around so radically I almost couldn't recognize them as the same preacher."

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2

Tags: Preaching, Price, better, Improve

When Passion Fades: 5 Reasons Preaching Becomes Lifeless

By Peter Mead on Aug 9, 2024

Passionless preaching drains a congregation. These five causes, from frozen delivery to cold hearts, reveal why sermons fall flat and how pastors can revive authentic zeal.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:6, Romans 12:11, Psalm 34:8, Colossians 3:23, Revelation 2:4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, Spiritual Renewal, preaching

Keep The Momentum In Your Preaching

By Peter Mead on Feb 23, 2025

Does your sermon keep building momentum as you progress or does it stall out in the middle or end? Peter Mead offers encouragement for preachers to avoid the common pitfalls to message momentum.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:13

Tags: Communication, Preaching, momentum, Communication Speech, communication, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

You Are Not The Story!

By H.b. Charles, Jr. on May 2, 2022

People should not leave the sermon having learned more about the preacher than Christ. When we stand to preach the word, we should prayerfully whisper to ourselves, “You are not the story.”

Scripture: Colossians 1:28, John 12:20, 2 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Timothy 4:1-2

Tags: Pride, God's Story, self importance, Bible as a story

5 Mistakes Most Preachers Make

By Carey Nieuwhof on Aug 1, 2022

"So maybe you’re a preacher, or you listen to preachers (or stopped listening to preachers). Almost everyone has a perspective on what makes or doesn’t make for a great sermon."

Tags: Teaching, Preaching, Simplicity, effective, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, preaching Christ, Effective Teaching, preaching, teaching  (view more)  (view less)

The Danger Of The Unrelated Point In Preaching

By Sherman Haywood Cox on May 1, 2023

A sermon can contain many true statements yet still fail if those truths are disconnected from the text’s main point. Preachers must discipline themselves to maintain clarity and focus.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:2, 2 Timothy 2:15, Nehemiah 8:8, 1 Corinthians 14:33, Proverbs 4:25  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Power, Preaching, Homiletics, points, aside, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Pastors, We Don’t Expect A Ted Talk—we Need A God-And-You Talk

By SermonCentral .com on Sep 27, 2021

When we come to your church, we don't expect a $7,500 sermon. Given current offering stats, most people aren't even expecting a $75 one.

Scripture: John 3:1-25, Matthew 6:25-34

Tags: Preaching, Heartfelt, Expectation, TED talk, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

How To Plan An Effective Easter Service

By Josh Reich on Mar 23, 2023

The goal of every sermon is to get to the resurrection. Each and every week we do the same thing: “We are broken and can’t fix ourselves. Our only hope is found in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.”

Tags: Easter Sunday, Easter Story

4 Angles To Preach From Every Time

By Brandon Kelley on Dec 13, 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)