In Preaching Articles:

4 Traits Of Speakers Who Connect With Their Audience

By Lane Sebring on Jul 11, 2023

Recently my church hosted a leadership conference to encourage and equip our lay leaders and staff. One of the speakers at the event, Nikki, impacted me with her engaging presentation.

Tags: Preaching, humor, Honesty, Communication Speech, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

10 Ways To Connect With Older Congregations

By Lane Sebring on Apr 22, 2023

Seasoned saints have heard a lot of preaching: can you still reach them in fresh ways?

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Preaching On Hot Topics? 9 Outstanding Helps

By Lane Sebring on Mar 18, 2023

You want to help your people see how biblical truth intersects with every aspect of their lives. But the more controversial the topic the more important it is to handle it with care.

Scripture: Genesis 2:16-25

Tags: Hot Topics, Preaching, religious objections, thorough, cultural perspective, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Preach What You Practice – Why Rehearsing Is Essential To Great Sermon Delivery

By Lane Sebring on Apr 15, 2022

I want to show you why I believe the often neglected step of rehearsing the sermon is essential to great sermon delivery.

Tags: Preaching, sermon prep, preaching skill, effective preaching, Sermon Prep, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Two Urgent Questions: Nail Them Down Before You Preach

By Lane Sebring on Nov 8, 2021

Sometimes the best sermon prep is the questions you ask yourself.

Tags: Preaching, Objective, urgent questions, desired response, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

How To Preach Your Church Toward Its True Identity

By Lane Sebring on Feb 19, 2020

Try this in your next sermon. You’ll see your people come alive and be inspired.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Avoid Crashing Your Sermon! Your Checklist For A Strong Sermon Closing

By Lane Sebring on Jan 27, 2020

If the closing of your message is disorganized and unclear, then your listeners will walk away feeling the same way about your message.

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-5, Genesis 1:26-27

Tags: Preaching, crash, Checklist, disorganized, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

16 Things You Can Do Right Now To Get Unstuck In Your Sermon Prep

By Lane Sebring on Jan 17, 2020

Sometimes the sermon comes together like a beautifully crafted work of art. But other times I struggle to make progress in my study.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

Check Your Sermon Today For Three Things You Must Have Tomorrow

By Lane Sebring on Dec 16, 2019

Even great content needs careful structure and presentation. Here's a three-point checklist that will improve any message.

Scripture: James 4:1-5, Colossians 4:5-6

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Your 7-Step Survival Guide To Preaching Multiple Services

By Lane Sebring on Dec 6, 2019

These practices will help you make sure you preach your best at every service, every Sunday.

Scripture: 2 Samuel 9:1-13

Tags: Preaching, helps

5 Ways--No, 6--To Lull Your Listeners To Sleep

By Lane Sebring on Nov 28, 2019

There's nothing like a good snoozer of a sermon. But what does it take to preach a sermon that makes your listeners fall sound asleep?

Tags: Preaching, boring, listeners, fall asleep, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

5 Ways To Overcome Nerves Before You Preach

By Lane Sebring on Nov 18, 2019

She took my hand, which was freezing cold, leaned over and whispered, "Are you nervous? Your hand is freezing." I nodded, "Yep."

Scripture: Mark 14:1-25, Mark 14:1-31, Psalm 51:10-13, Ezekiel 36:26-33, Ezekiel 36:24-26  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, Overcome, passion, energy, nerves, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Less Is More: Improve Tomorrow's Sermon By Making It Shorter

By Lane Sebring on Nov 7, 2019

Few public speakers can keep an audience's attention for an hour. Fewer should even try.

Scripture: Genesis 19:1-15, Psalm 107:1-15, Revelation 12:1-10

Tags: Preaching, better, short sermon, audience attention, sermon length  (view more)  (view less)

4 Things We Wish People Knew About Us As Pastors

By Lane Sebring on Nov 6, 2019

Being a pastor is unlike just about any other profession. Because of the holistic nature of the work, we tend to take on "pastor" as an identity and not just a career.

Scripture: John 12:32, John 12:29-36

Tags: Preaching, pastor, identity, Profession

4 Threats To Every Sermon You Preach

By Lane Sebring on Oct 26, 2019

The reason we have to work harder to gain and keep attention has to do with what competes for the attention of our people every time we preach.

Tags: Preaching, irrelevant, sermon, threats