It's been almost seven years now since my wife and I faced the big decision: what to name our new baby.
Our first son - soon to be 11 years old - was a fairly easy one. Every eldest male in my family (going back at least five generations) has had the first name "James." (I hap
How does one approach the final sermons in a church before resignation? After having to deal with this challenge a few times, let me make a few observations.
It is not necessary, on a Sunday morning, to become a comedian for Christ. Yet neither is there a scriptural reference that claims blessed are the bored.
I thought I was the first to discover this technique of dealing with controversial issues from the pulpit. But it turns out this little find of mine has been unearthed many times in the past.
Somewhere in the process of sermonizing the preacher must turn up the heat on the passage and himself and discover the timeless, universal truth that remains
Whatever may be our theological system, this is the end of the doctrinal encyclopedia that generally gets scant utterance in the typical evangelical pulpit.
Rick is the co-author of The Externally Focused Church and 60 Simple Things Every Pastor Should Know, and his newest book is Living a Life on Loan. He was recently interviewed by Preaching editor Michael Duduit.
The underlying question of my discussion is whether or not the message of the Old Testament prophets in its present form as Scripture is as "preachable" as the New Testament gospel and, if so, how one should identify this message as such within the prophetic writings.