Sermons on Preaching Essentials:

Answer Three: Sound Preaching Series

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Apr 9, 2015

The Corinthian church was deeply divided. Two of the issues dividing it were a dispute over what kind of preacher should fill their pulpit, and which former minister had contributed the most to their church. This same problem exists today.

To recap, a letter was written from the Corinthians to Paul and telling him about how divided their church was becoming. Paul answers that letter and we have it recorded as the book of 1 Corinthians. Paul offers them 11 answers to their division problem. The first answer was the cross. If the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 13: Preach A Springboard Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Mar 19, 2018

How to springboard without slipping

(The Textual Topic or Topical Text) Lesson Goal Preach a sermon that appropriately uses a single text as a springboard to discuss a broader topic. Lesson Intro As with the biblical topic sermon, some topics are not covered completely within one text. Lesson Plan We will discuss how to use a ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 27: Preach Logically Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 3, 2018

Let's learn to apply logic to our sermons

Lesson Goal I hope to teach how to preach logical sermons. Lesson Intro How do we recognize deception? How do we avoid self-deception? How often have we heard fellow Christians say things that seem rather half-baked and irrational? How often have people in the scientific or educational community ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 28: Preach A Jewel Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 4, 2018

Learn to to preach an exciting African-American style one-point sermon

Lesson Goal Learn how to preach a one point sermon. Lesson Intro The African-American church has had a unique and interesting development in the history of American Christianity. A unique style of one-point sermon developed which can have great impact in any culture. The jewel sermon is one ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:2-12

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 29: Preach A Ladder Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 5, 2018

Learn to preach a logical sequence of connected points, a German-style chain, pyramid or ladder

Lesson Goal This lesson is designed to teach a logical sequence of connected points. Lesson Intro Central Europeans are often very detailed-minded and diligent. A style of rhetoric that is popular among Germans is connecting ideas together in a chain. This is similar to building ideas on top of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:5-6

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 31: Preach A Contrast Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 9, 2018

Teach people to think by contrasting two or more sides of a theological argument.

Lesson Goal Preach a sermon that contrasts different sides. Lesson Intro When we spoke of a false dichotomy, we realized that some stories have more than two sides. However, some stories have only two options, or sides and that is not a false dichotomy, but a genuine one. Let's contrast two or ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 32: Preach A Q And A Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 10, 2018

A question and answer style sermon

Lesson Goal I hope to teach how to preach a question and answer style sermon. Lesson Intro Have you ever been interviewed or been asked a lot of questions that you had difficulty answering. Christians are encouraged to give an answer for the hope that lies within them, but so much of the time, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 26:4-5

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 33: Preach An Adventure Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 11, 2018

Preach a sermon that builds to an adventurous climax

Lesson Goal To create an adventurous kind of sermon that is like a fox hunt or a game of chase which builds towards a climax at the end. Lesson Intro In our neighborhood the old fashioned game of tag was called chasey. It was a chase, a mission and an adventure all wrapped up on one. As I grew ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 35: Preach A Hegelian Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 13, 2018

Solve a seeming contradiction, the Hegelian thesis, antithesis and synthesis

Lesson Goal I hope to encourage preaching a sermon solving a contradiction. Lesson Intro Non-Christian skeptics love to point out apparent contradictions in the Bible, the Church, Christian history or even Christian propositions like morality. Sometimes the point is valid, sometimes not. For ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 26:4-5

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 36: Preach An Analogy Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 15, 2018

Preaching analogies is very biblical

Lesson Goal I hope to encourage the preaching of sermons using an analogy. Lesson Intro Jesus is our prime model of good preaching. He used analogy continually. Many of his parables are analogies. Yet, his analogies are not limited to his parables. Jesus is the door, the bread, the light, the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 38: Preach A Rebuttal Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 17, 2018

Preach a sermon that disproves something

Lesson Goal Learn how to preach a sermon that disproves something. Lesson Intro In Matthew 12:1-14, Jesus presents a number of rebuttals to the Pharisees. What is a rebuttal? It is a counterargument to disprove the evidence supplied by another party. It is a process for establishing truth by ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 39: Preach A Refrain Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 20, 2018

Preaching a sermon that repeats a motto as a learning tool

Lesson Goal Learn how to preach a sermon that repeats a motto. Lesson Intro Psalm 136 is a song with a repeating refrain, "for his steadfast love endures for ever." We can also preach a sermon with a repeating refrain. We already saw how the jewel or diamond sermon is one point tied together by ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Peter Preaches To The Household Of Cornelius

Contributed by Mark A. Barber on Apr 24, 2018

The opening of the Gospel to the Gentiles is a great day for humankind.

Peter Preaches to the Household of Cornelius Acts 10:34-43 The bringing of the gospel message is one of the watershed events in all of history. Up to this point, the gospel was preached to the Jewish nation. Luke later describes the Jewish-Christian witnesses he brought to Cornelius’ house as the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 10:34-41

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Lesson 45: Preach Praise Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Apr 30, 2018

How to preach a doxology sermon, a sermon praising God

Lesson Goal In this lesson I hope to present some elements of a doxology sermon which gives praise to God. Lesson Intro Augustine wrote about three kinds of sermon, the subdued sermon for teaching, the elegant sermon for praise and the majestic sermon for exhortation. We have already covered the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Lesson 47: Preach With Humor Series

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on May 5, 2018

Preach with joyous, godly humor

Lesson Goal In this lesson I hope to teach how to preach a humorous sermon. Lesson Intro The top pay for professional comedians is probably in the multiple millions. That's far more than we pay the average preacher laboring in the word of God. Why? Why is it that the hollow, immoral message of ...read more

Denomination: Baptist