In Preaching Articles: "The Real Jesus"

Keep Learning To Lead: Five Practical Lessons

By Gavin Ortlund on Apr 29, 2022

Leadership is hard. I rank it up there with pain, parenting, and preaching as one of those things in life that we never fully master, but only hope to keep learning over a lifetime.

Scripture: John 13:15-16, John 16:12

Tags: Teamwork, Leadership General, servant leadership, Jesus' leadership

The High Cost Of Free Porn

By Owen Strachan on Sep 17, 2022

Beyond severe psychological and social consequences, pornography hinders Jesus’s mission in the world.

Scripture: John 6:38, Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:37, Luke 15:1-7, Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:9-10, Romans 8:13, Revelation 12:10-12, Colossians 3:5  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Pornography, god's mission, Jesus' mission, Kingdom's Mission

5 Ways To Make Your Preaching More Practical And Relevant

By Rick Ezell on Jan 31, 2025

Use these methods to practically reach people suffering from real hurts, problems, doubts, fears, and anxieties gnawing at their faith.

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

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

The Ultimate Character Test Any Great Leader Passes

By Carey Nieuwhof on Nov 14, 2023

Moral failure takes out more leaders than it should. But real success is deeper than just avoiding the ditch.

Tags: Leadership, pastoral leadership, church leadership, First Things First, Leadership Failure, True Success, e, leadership, Character, Faithfulness, Home Life, Integrity, Popularity  (view more)  (view less)

How To Preach Healing Every Time You Preach

By Frederick J Gaiser on Apr 19, 2025

To preach Jesus is to preach healing. Jesus heals because in him is the kingdom of God.

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Are You Serving Slop In The Pulpit?

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Aug 25, 2021

Sherman Cox warns, "There's an inclination today to resort to tactics and tricks to manufacture a connection to the congregation that is neither real nor helpful."

Scripture: Romans 14:1-23

Tags: Preaching, pulpit, Insult, frown

A Preacher's Gut-Check: Seven Hard Questions About Your Sermon

By J.s. Park on Jun 20, 2025

After you have your three points, consulted all the commentaries and fit in your illustrations, then it's time to get real.

Scripture: John 14:1-6

Tags: Preaching, Good, questions, preaching

John Piper: 6 Reasons The Son Of God Came Into The World

By SermonCentral .com on Dec 24, 2020

John Piper takes six reasons for Christ's coming one at a time and lets the Bible witness to each one in its own words.

Tags: Jesus Christ, saved, e, Christmas, Believe, Salvation, Gift  (view more)  (view less)

A Modest Proposal: Less Sermon Prep In Favor Of More Time Making Disciples?

By Bill Couchenour on Sep 6, 2021

Is it possible to reach the U.S. for Jesus in less than a decade by cutting sermon prep time in half?

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-28

Tags: Jesus, Outreach, Preaching, Disciples, sermon prep, Sermon Prep  (view more)  (view less)

Five Marks Of A Servant Leader

By SermonCentral .com on May 16, 2022

What traits do we look for in a leader that suggest his fundamental orientation is Christlike servanthood?

Scripture: Philippians 1:25, Matthew 20:26-28, Psalm 15:4, Ephesians 6:6, John 7:18, 1 Timothy 3:1-13, 1 Corinthians 11:16, 1 Corinthians 5:2, 1 Corinthians 9:7, Luke 22:25-56, John 13:1-17, Matthew 16:23, Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 18:15-20  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: servant leadership, servanthood of Jesus, servant leader, glory of God

5 Preaching Gems For Maundy Thursday

By Ray Hollenbach on Oct 2, 2025

The Last Supper: More than history, more than a painting, it's the living example of how to go through stressful times.

Tags: preaching, Jesus, Easter, Preaching, Easter Maundy Thursday, the last supper  (view more)  (view less)

5 Thoughts About Spending Your Leadership Equity Wisely

By SermonCentral .com on Feb 6, 2021

When you walk into a leadership opportunity, you go with a little bit of equity by virtue of your position. Every decision you make, and every risk you lead your organization to take will require an investment of some of your leadership equity (the trust people place in you).

Tags: Trust, leadership, Preaching, parables, opportunity, jesus parables, Leadership, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

6 Ways To Grow In The Gospels

By William Boekestein on Apr 27, 2021

A number of years ago I was about to preach for the first time in a certain church. As I arranged my papers and books I noticed a sign near the top of the pulpit. It was a quotation from John 12:21: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

Scripture: Mark 9:7, Mark 15:1-15, Matthew 27:3, Mark 6:34, Acts 26:22-23, John 12:21, Matthew 14:20, Hebrews 12:2, John 11:15, Luke 24:44-45, Hebrews 1:1, Jeremiah 8:1-3  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Jesus, Biblical, preaching Christ, Preaching Gospels, Rakahanga gospel day  (view more)  (view less)

It's All About The Groom

By Lance Witt on Apr 12, 2024

In a healthy church Jesus is the most famous person. He gets the most airtime, he is the most talked about, and he is clearly center stage.

Scripture: Revelation 19:7, John 3:29, Song of Songs 8:1-4

Tags: Church Health, Pastoral Character, fixing eyes on Jesus, Christ Centered

7 Steps To Start Becoming A Church People Want To Commit To

By Karl Vaters on Apr 12, 2022

A growing number of people who do go to church don’t want to go, either. If we don’t give them something worth committing to, they’ll be gone soon.

Tags: Learning, inspiration, Leadership Listening, fixing eyes on Jesus, commitment to church  (view more)  (view less)