In Preaching Articles: "Upside Down"

Preaching For Life-Change

By Rick Long on Mar 31, 2025

Does preaching for life-change always produce a watered down message?

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Pastor, Does Your Preaching Have Prophetic Imagination?

By SermonCentral .com on Mar 15, 2024

As ministers of the Gospel, let's stop dumbing down the Gospel in the way we speak.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Too Many Listeners Hear Blah, Blah While We Try To Present Wow, Wow!

By Peter Mead on Nov 21, 2019

Part of the preacher's role is to slow people down and to help them make sense of what the text is actually saying.

Tags: Preaching, Text, listeners, preacher's role, make sense, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

One Dozen Liberating Life Lessons That Give Pastors Rest For Their Souls

By Ray Hollenbach on Oct 28, 2019

We are loaded down with so many "shoulds," we find ourselves paralyzed by the inability to apply what we know.

Tags: Soul, Preaching, life lessons, Rest

A Risk Worth Taking

By Leigh Ann Carey Looyenga on Apr 10, 2024

Are you tired? Worn down by the pace of life and ministry? Do you feel like the abundant life may not be for ministry leaders?

Scripture: Genesis 2:1-2, Deuteronomy 5:6

Tags: Sunday, Sabbath, relationships, Rest, intimacy with Christ  (view more)  (view less)

A Word From A 2700 Year Old Pastor

By Lance Witt on Apr 16, 2021

Pastors listen to other pastors. We listen to other people in ministry who are down in the trenches doing the hard work of leading others.

Scripture: Jeremiah 6:16

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10 Pointers For Preaching On A Touchy Issue

By Peter Mead on Apr 12, 2021

Sometimes we have to preach something that is potentially controversial or that may not go down too well. Here are ten pointers to help when that is necessary.

Scripture: Acts 17:22-32

Tags: leadership, Preaching, Prayer, Self knowledge, Leadership, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Preaching: A Ten-Year Conversation

By Ray Hollenbach on Apr 30, 2025

After we step down from the pulpit, we are still involved in the lives of our people. In fact, their lives become an indicator of how effective our preaching really is.

Scripture: Jeremiah 2:13

Tags: Preaching, preaching

How To Avoid Settling For Good Enough Ministry

By SermonCentral .com on Apr 5, 2022

You can take a stand against “good enough ministry” in your church with a simple practice adopted from the business world: writing down how things should be done.

Tags: Excellence, details, church and business, church organization

How To Move Away From Watercolor Preaching

By Ray Hollenbach on Aug 31, 2019

Take ten minutes and write down the details from your preaching passage. Then ask yourself, “How can I help my listeners move from watercolor to the sharp clarity of oil?”

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The Migrant In The Mirror

By Patrick Johnstone on Mar 25, 2021

The headlines may have calmed down for a while, but the tragedy remains. Millions of people are on the move worldwide, many of them displaced people fleeing war, violence, religious persecution, economic poverty, or political chaos.

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The Reverse Altar Call

By Greg Stier on Aug 2, 2023

Sometimes the words “altar call” trigger images of sawdust trails and endless verses of “Just as I am” with preachers prodding, pushing and persuading sinners to come forward down the aisle in front of God and everyone.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:2

Tags: Evangelism, strategy, Evangelism How To, Evangelism The Lost, evangelism  (view more)  (view less)

Preaching When Times Are Tight

By David R. Stokes on Mar 30, 2020

The fact is, when current reality begins to let us down, when times turn tough, even tight, this is a moment for us to shift the focus away from this to that, from now to then, from here to there.

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1

Tags: Preaching, Search

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)

How Should The Church Respond When Tragedy Strikes Your Community?

By Jonathan J. Watson on Jan 8, 2024

With wars, terrorism, natural disasters, and persecution it can be easy for the church to batten down the hatches. But what has Jesus called us to do during this times? During times of tragedy, the Church's witness can be stronger than ever.

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