In Preaching Articles: "Test of Faith"

Five Preaching Applications From The Movie Gravity

By Jacob Myers on Jan 14, 2023

In "Gravity" we find a poignant portrayal of what Christian discipleship might look like.

Tags: Faith, Preaching, Prayer, illustration, Gravity, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Powerful Preaching Flows From Good Questions

By David J. Lose on Sep 4, 2021

It's often the really challenging passages that yield the most interesting sermons.

Scripture: Romans 8:2-4

Tags: Faith, Preaching, Powerful, good questions, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

The Lord’s Prayer, A Missional Reading: Give Us Daily Bread

By Dr. Nijay Gupta on Apr 8, 2021

The “missional theology” movement has injected energy and life into the church. Who isn’t inspired when reading Emil Brunner’s famous words, “The church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning”? Missional theology has motivated many Christians and churches to seek out their purpose in God of bearing and embodying the good news of Jesus Christ.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 8:1-20, Exodus 16:1-36, John 6:1-71, Matthew 4:1-25

Tags: Humility, Lord's Prayer, Missional, walk by faith

One Question You Must Never Ask In Ministry

By Joe Mckeever on Sep 7, 2023

Disciples of Jesus Christ must never try to calculate the cost/benefit of some act of ministry.

Scripture: Colossians 3:23-24, Luke 18:8, Ecclesiastes 11:6

Tags: Faithfulness, Leadership General, questions, measuring success

The Call No One Wants To Get - Part 1

By Lance Witt on Sep 25, 2023

One of the spiritual questions every ministry leader must answer is, “Am I willing to serve in obscurity?”

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-40

Tags: Faith, obscurity, Cost of Discipleship, success in ministry

Lay Aside The Weight Of Discouragement

By SermonCentral .com on Apr 26, 2022

Discouragement is not as powerful as it feels. We can defeat it if we confront it.

Scripture: Romans 1:5, 1 Peter 4:11, Psalm 42:5, Numbers 13:27-28, Numbers 13:31, 1 Samuel 17:49, Acts 4:31, 1 Timothy 6:12, Hebrews 12:12-14  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: encouragement, Discouragement, Depression, Empowerment, strengthening faith  (view more)  (view less)

The Leader’s Crisis Of Belief

By Ron Edmondson on Sep 11, 2023

Every leader at some point faces a crisis of belief in their leadership – or what he or she is attempting to lead.

Tags: Faith, Trust, leadership, crisis response, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

What Pastors Are Trying To Do

By Joe Mckeever on Aug 16, 2022

The church member stares and wonders what’s going on and why you’re making so much noise until the day he/she meets Jesus.

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:6, 1 Timothy 5:17

Tags: Faithfulness, Transformation, Follow Jesus, preaching Christ

Why Do Christians Love The Law?

By Rev. Burk Parsons on Jun 22, 2022

Why would anyone love the law of God?

Scripture: Matthew 28:20, Romans 7:22, Matthew 5:17, Psalm 119:72

Tags: Righteousness, Theology, God's Law, obedience of faith

Are Small Churches Less Fruitful?

By SermonCentral .com on Sep 26, 2022

Does the size of a church always speak of its faithfulness?

Scripture: John 15:5, Matthew 7:20, Matthew 12:33-34, Luke 3:9-14, Luke 3:8, Matthew 13:23  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Ministry, Fruit, Faithfulness, Trusting God, Church Growth, Church size, Love One Another, ministry  (view more)  (view less)

Death And Life: Preaching Through Lent

By Patricia Tull on Mar 2, 2020

"Ultimately, for the faithful, all this talk about death in the lectionary offers liberation."

Scripture: Mark 11:1-11

Tags: Death, Preaching, Life, lent, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Why I Pace Before I Preach

By Walter Wangerin Jr. on May 1, 2020

On the night before I preach, I pace—back and forth in my room, mumbling sermonic thoughts, testing them, scorning a hundred thoughts, exulting in one or two that shine like coin, investing those.

Tags: Preaching, preparation, preaching

Don’t Pursue Feelings. Pursue Christ.

By Joe Thorn on Jul 12, 2022

One danger is emotionalism, in which we allow our feelings to interpret our circumstances and form our thoughts about God. This is putting feelings before faith. The other danger is a kind of stoicism, where faith is rooted in theology but void of affection. This tendency removes feelings from faith altogether. While it is true that our emotions should not lead our theology, it is vital to our faith that theology lead to a deep experience of our triune God.

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:7, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Psalm 34:18, Romans 8:15, Psalm 34:4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Emotions, Theology, Stoicism, Feelings, Doctrine to Doxology  (view more)  (view less)

How To Balance Exegesis And Application

By SermonCentral .com on Jul 16, 2020

D. A. Carson, Tim Keller, and John Piper discuss the importance of preaching in a way that connects to listeners, draws them into the Word, and brings them back to the present day to live out what they've learned.

Tags: Hope, Preaching, difficult, Prep, Faith Hope Love  (view more)  (view less)

John Piper's Journey From Pulpit To Poetry

By SermonCentral .com on May 24, 2023

"I was so moved that the desire to say it again another way kept urging me on. So I wrote this."

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14, Proverbs 31:10-31

Tags: Faith, Love, Jesus, Healing, Preaching, e, preaching  (view more)  (view less)