In Preaching Articles: "Up Your Game"

What To Do When You Bombed Sunday's Sermon

By SermonCentral .com on Jan 2, 2021

It’s not hard to get up and say something inspirational. It is hard to get up and rightly divide God’s Word, build a bridge from an ancient culture to our own, and then to call people to an appropriate response to God’s revealed truth consistently week after week.

Tags: Preaching, failure, sermon, Sermon, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Preaching Can Be Bad News, Too

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Sep 2, 2021

The fact of the matter is that the Kingdom of God is near. It is not good news to those who do not wish to give up all for the kingdom.

Tags: Preaching, Good News, Kingdom of God, bad news, kingdom of God, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Jokes In A Sermon: Six Checkpoints For Every Preacher

By Nicholas Mcdonald on Aug 19, 2021

It may seem like the perfect way to lighten up a sermon, but perhaps you should run it through this helpful checklist.

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:3-4, Luke 8:22-25

Tags: Preaching, Good News, Appropriate, joke, joking, insensitive, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Do We Preach A Grace That's Too Small?

By Ray Hollenbach on Nov 30, 2024

We've lined up the chairs in neat little rows and called it grace. We never noticed: it has broken free.

Scripture: Numbers 4:1-4

Tags: Grace, Preaching, King, Tyrant, too small, grace, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

How Did John The Baptist Prepare For Christmas?

By Jimmy Gentry on Dec 23, 2022

How would John the Baptizer respond if he were to show up during Advent in any given city in America today?

Scripture: Matthew 1:15-25

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Your Mother's Day Sermon, Pastor

By Joe Mckeever on Apr 30, 2020

Why is it so difficult for pastors of all ages to preach Mother’s Day sermons? Pastor-to-pastors Joe McKeever gives some assistance.

Scripture: Luke 1:26-56

Tags: Holidays, Preaching, pastor, mothers, mother's day  (view more)  (view less)

Preaching Tip: Encourage Your Audience

By Peter Mead on Mar 25, 2020

Everyone needs encouragement. And yet, strangely, it's often absent from a significant amount of preaching.

Scripture: Proverbs 29:25, Romans 15:4-5

Tags: Preaching, encouragement, Church Growth

Check Your Church's Outreach Heartbeat

By Kevin Harney on Mar 17, 2025

If your church is struggling to invest in reaching your community and the world, ask yourself this question: Are we a church that is on fire with a passion for God?

Scripture: Revelation 2:1

Tags: Faith, Heart, Growth, Health

8 Starts To Avoid In Your Preaching

By Rachel Blom on Jan 4, 2023

Thinking of starting off your sermon in one of these ways? You might want to try a different approach.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Catalyze Giving Through Your Preaching

By Casey Graham on Feb 6, 2020

As you preach on the subject of money, you've got to engage people who are motivated by different reasons. Here's a list of the top five reasons people give.

Scripture: Ruth 1:8-16

Tags: Preaching, preaching

The Art Of Creating Change In Your Church

By John Bisagno on Aug 7, 2024

Are you making ministry changes according to the latest "church growth" fads or the prompting of the Holy Spirit?

Tags:

Pastors, Articulate Your Vision (Again)

By SermonCentral .com on May 21, 2020

In this two-minute video John Piper reminds us that vision often leaks and it's our role to articulate it in fresh new ways.

Tags: vision, leadership, Leadership General, Leadership

5 Ways To Shorten Your Sermon

By Peter Mead on Aug 20, 2024

It's important to think about what to include in your sermon, but it's probably just as important to carefully decide what to exclude. Learn how (and where) to trim your sermon down with these tips from Peter Mead.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:1-58, Matthew 28:18-20

Tags: Communication, Preaching, Edit, Time, communication, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

4 Remedies For Discouragement In Your Preaching

By Erik Raymond on Apr 3, 2025

Take heart! There's one big reason our preaching is not in vain, and three more after that!

Scripture: 1 Samuel 12:23

Tags: Trust, Hope, Preaching, Discouragement, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

How To Preserve Your Creative Energy

By Peter Mead on Jul 21, 2020

Most of us have a limited tank of energy when it comes to creative flair. Don’t waste it.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:6-8

Tags: Preaching