Articles

"Don't jump out from behind the same tree every week," once said a wise preacher. His point is simple. In the same way that variety is the spice of life; variety is the spice of a compelling sermon introduction. Therefore, like a gourmet chef, who uses a diversity of spices to enhance...

Recently I started reading through the Bible again. Like most Christians, I undertake this spiritual practice from time to time. Starting in Genesis and plowing through to the last "amen" in Revelation gives me a fresh perspective on the vastness of God's salvation plan and the...

Suppose for a moment that someone asked you to rank the most important things you do as a minister. No doubt, nine out of ten pastors would list preaching funerals among their top three most important pastoral tasks. A funerals, or in some cases a memorial service, is the place where...

Using self-disclosive stories appears to be more popular than ever among preachers. Various reasons are offered for employing autobiography in sermons. However, it is important that preachers discern their motives for using these personal accounts. When used...

War, terrorist attack, financial collapse, flood, famine, earthquake, hurricane, disease, and pestilence are all words that conjure up images of immense suffering on a national scale. The suffering is evident in the loss of lives, property, and any sense of social stability and ...

Ever since the Iconoclastic controversy arose in the 8th century, Christian preachers have been worried about using images in church. Now I will be the first to admit that the icons St. John of Damascus defended in On the Divine Images are far removed from the kind of images produced by...

Half a century ago Andrew Blackwood lamented that "expository preachers and sermons, rightly or wrongly, have been known for tameness, sameness, and lameness."1 More recently, Christian columnist Terry Mattingly observed: "In most congregations, the word 'sermon' means...

"All things necessary for our faith and life are either expressly set down in Scripture or may be deduced by good and necessary consequence from Scripture..." - The Westminster Confession...

"Images are a way to explore realities that cannot be fully investigated or explored by objective study or measurement." - Donald E. Messer, Contemporary Images of Christian Ministry