In Preaching Articles: showing 871-885 of 1,623

The Three Most Common Sentences Of Dying Churches

By SermonCentral on Jan 31, 2022

If churches could speak, what would their words be on their deathbeds?

Tags: God's Power, pastoral care, stagnant, Dying Church

5 Qualities To Seek In The Heart Of A Leader

By Ron Edmondson on Jan 29, 2022

Someone asked me recently what I primarily look for in the hiring of a staff position. I said, without reservation, first and foremost, I look for the heart.

Tags: leadership, Integrity, Innovation, pastoral leadership, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Without Accountability, Confession And Friendship, ‘we’re Going To End Up Out Of Ministry’

By Michael Duduit on Jan 28, 2022

My friend Clayton King, who has never served as a senior pastor (and had not expected to), suddenly found himself leading one of the nation’s largest congregations as interim pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina.

Scripture: James 5:16

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Isolation, Leadership General, pastoral leadership

The Light-Hearted Pastor Is An Oxymoron

By Joe Mckeever on Jan 27, 2022

To expect to carry the message without feeling the weight is asking a little much.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 1 Corinthians 2:3, 2 Corinthians 11:28

Tags: pressure, Human Weakness, bearing burdens, Pastoral Ministry

How To Recruit And Keep The Best Volunteers

By Josh Reich on Jan 26, 2022

The idea of recruiting volunteers is overwhelming and difficult at times. There never seems to be enough people, and the ones who are serving are often tired and feel like they are the only ones serving.

Tags: Communication, Lay Leadership, ministry vision, Recruiting, communication  (view more)  (view less)

The Haunted Hayride Of Human Approval

By Marshall Segal on Jan 25, 2022

Perhaps the single most significant hindrance to Christian witness in the world today is our hunger for human approval. By nature, we think more about what people think of us than about what they think of Jesus.

Scripture: Acts 14:8-22, Philippians 3:8

Tags: Criticism, Approval, Approval by Men, praise from men, criticism  (view more)  (view less)

Stop The Revolution. Join The Plodders.

By Kevin Deyoung on Jan 24, 2022

It’s sexy among young people—my generation—to talk about ditching institutional religion and starting a revolution of real Christ-followers living in real community without the confines of church.

Scripture: Ephesians 6:21, Romans 16:8

Tags: Church, Commitment, endurance, Faithfulness, church  (view more)  (view less)

Spiritual Disciplines And The Sinkhole Syndrome

By Donald Whitney on Jan 22, 2022

As the pressures of life increase and more deadlines loom, it becomes harder to maintain time for the devotional life. And herein is where the erosion begins.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:12, John 17:17, Luke 4:16, Matthew 14:23

Tags: Follow Jesus, Spiritual Maturity, Spiritual Discipline, Spiritual Failures, sermon spiritual  (view more)  (view less)

We Followed The Steps- Where's The Church Growth

By SermonCentral on Jan 21, 2022

There are no guaranteed steps to church growth. Because the church is people. And people don’t come with guarantees.

Tags: Church Growth, pastoral leadership, success in ministry, sexual faithfulness

Dealing Hope In The Darkest Of Nights

By Dave Furman on Jan 20, 2022

God delivered me from the darkness of despair through my friends and family as they shared their hope with me. I’m not talking about a shove-it-in-your-face kind of “sharing.” They didn’t try to explain all my problems away or attempt to explain all of God’s intentions for my suffering.

Scripture: Job 2:11-13

Tags: Jesus, Hope, friendship, Depression

Insights From Keller On Contextualizing

By Ed Stetzer on Jan 19, 2022

This article is the second of six in a series on preaching in light of cultural shifts and biblical illiteracy.

Tags: Preaching, Culture, Context, insight, sermon prep, Sermon Prep, preaching, culture, context, Sermon prep  (view more)  (view less)

Promote Jesus: Not Personality, Professionalism, Or Brand

By Joe Hoagland on Jan 18, 2022

The church can learn a lot from worldly business and marketing trends but many times churches and church leaders end up promoting the wrong thing.

Tags: Jesus, focus on GOD, Pastoral Character, church marketing

4 Ingredients Jesus Used To Hold An Audience

By Peter Walters on Jan 17, 2022

As a preacher, I am always looking for ways to improve my speaking. I study other communicators, for example, if a comedian gets me hooked, I analyze why he was successful and I love to read books on communication.

Scripture: Job 1:1-10, Luke 6:46, Matthew 13:16, Luke 12:25, Matthew 6:28, Matthew 13:34, Luke 10:30, Matthew 13:33, Matthew 6:5, Matthew 7:1, Genesis 2:10-20, Genesis 1:4-10, Luke 13:4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, Following Jesus, jesus parables, Communication Speech, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Lord, Keep Me Desperate

By SermonCentral on Jan 15, 2022

From Genesis to Revelation, we find a consistent element present in the lives of persevering saints of God. And it is captured in this brief sentence in Psalm 119:67: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”

Scripture: Luke 11:13, Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28, 2 Samuel 11:1-27, Jude 1:24, Psalm 119:67, 2 Corinthians 12:7, 1 Samuel 20:3, Psalm 7:1-2, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, 1 Samuel 26:10-11  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Thorns, Prosperity, suffering, affliction, God's mercy  (view more)  (view less)

Journey In The Dark

By Peter Mead on Jan 14, 2022

God delights to transform lives. There are many ways to depict this journey of transformation, but let’s focus on one example from the Old Testament.

Scripture: Psalm 131:1-3, Psalm 130:1-8

Tags: Psalms, Transformation, transformed life, Christian Maturity