In Preaching Articles: "Up Your Game"

11 Steps To Connect Your Volunteers To Your Vision

By John Gilman Ii on Feb 18, 2021

How can a group of people who are committed to seeing something great happen and are willing to put in the time and energy it takes, only to see their vision fail?

Tags:

Has Your Emotional Brain Hijacked Your Leadership?

By Charles Stone on Nov 30, 2023

Great ministry leaders keep their emotions in check. Unfortunately, when we don’t keep them in check, our emotional brain can hijack clear thinking and good leadership.

Scripture: Romans 10:10

Tags: Emotions, leadership, Brain, memory, Decision making, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, church ministry, Leadership, brain  (view more)  (view less)

Your Great Preaching Is Not Going To Build Your Church!

By Joe Mckeever on Sep 11, 2022

Get out of the office, pastor, and knock on some doors. Later, you can get your people to do it. But first, you do it. Do it by yourself, if you must. Or take someone with you. Do it by appointment or cold-turkey. But do it. That is as profound a way as I know to build a great church.

Tags: Church Growth, Church Attendance, Personal Evangelism, Growth Strategy, Building the Church, Out of the Office, Door to door, church attendance  (view more)  (view less)

The Fourth World: How Your Personality Shapes Your Preaching

By Peter Mead on Sep 20, 2020

Your preaching is shaped not only by the text and the congregation, but by your inner world. Personality profoundly influences preparation and delivery.

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

Tags: leadership, Preaching, Leadership, preaching

If You Overpack Your Sermon, Your Listeners Are In For A Bumpy Ride

By Chris Surber on Aug 29, 2025

Perhaps your sermon outline is actually a sermon series. Can you tell the difference?

Scripture: Acts 5:15-25

Tags: Preaching, Content, Logic, Research, central point, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Cut Off Your Hand, Tear Out Your Eye

By Ray Ortlund on Aug 2, 2022

Hard words are not harmful words—when they come from Jesus. The real Jesus loves us enough to accept us freely and confront us honestly.

Scripture: Colossians 2:23, Philippians 3:14, Hebrews 13:21, Matthew 5:6, Titus 2:11-12, Hebrews 12:4, 1 Corinthians 9:27, Matthew 5:29-30  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Righteousness, Theology, soul care, Hard Teaching

Understanding Your Capacity

By Steve Smith on Mar 16, 2022

If we do not understand our own limits in this life, we will never be content, satisfied or happy!

Tags: recovery, Rest, soul care, avoiding burnout, Capacity, capacity  (view more)  (view less)

Your Weakness Is Not Meaningless

By SermonCentral .com on Apr 15, 2020

God has given you so many limitations because he loves you.

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:4, John 15:13, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:19, Ephesians 3:19, Luke 7:47, 1 John 4:7-8, Luke 10:27, 1 Corinthians 12:18, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Romans 12:4-5, John 3:16, John 13:34-35  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Human Weakness, Love One Another, Christ's Love for Us, Overcome limitations

12 Things Tedx Speakers Do That Preachers Don't

By Nicholas Mcdonald on Aug 30, 2021

"How in the world do each of these talks end up consistently blowing me away?"

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12:1

Tags: Preaching, Respect, structure, speaker

Your Preaching Can Help Your Congregation Embrace (Biblical) Change

By SermonCentral .com on Jul 21, 2025

The Scriptures command us to do more than repeat what's already been done, and to look for God to do what He's never done before.

Scripture: Revelation 13:1-18

Tags: Trust, Preaching, embrace, biblical change, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Build Your Sermon Series On The Wonder, Worry And Wishes Of Your Congregation

By Charles Arn on Mar 8, 2024

The most important thing has to do with your sermon topics. They should address people's life issues and questions about the faith.

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34, Job 21:7-34

Tags: Preaching, worry, Wonder, Relevance, Wish, Worry, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

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

By Leslie Holmes on Sep 2, 2025

"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, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

What Your Gospel Message Reveals About Your View Of The Gospel

By Ray Hollenbach on Sep 5, 2025

When we preach we plant seeds, but what will grow from the seeds we plant?

Tags: Ministry, Preaching, conflict, redemption, gospel message, ministry, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Connect With Your Listeners: 7 Strategies To Make Your Preaching Relevant

By Peter Mead on Jul 4, 2021

The Bible is relevant. We don't need to "make it relevant," but we do need to demonstrate how it is relevant.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Preaching

Prepare Your Heart To Lead Your Home: Advent Advice For Fathers

By Douglas Wilson on Dec 11, 2025

A father who wants to lead and disciple his family needs to remember that the one thing he must cultivate is heart loyalty. He must, of course, connect that loyalty to scriptural and worthy objects, but if he does not have heart loyalty, childrearing will simply be one grief replaced by another.

Scripture: Ephesians 6:4

Tags: Christmas, Advent, parenting, discipling, teach children, Discipline, Attitudes of thanks, child training  (view more)  (view less)