Patrick SlymanIt was an innocent question, “Will you use sermon slides when you preach?” I was a first-year seminary student asking a recent graduate embarking on his first pastoral position. The curtness of his answer surprised me, “Not on...
Mary JahnkeThanksgiving Day gets overshadowed by other holidays in store aisles, porch decorations, and people’s priorities—but preaching about thankfulness will always hold a place in the pulpit. Here are 14 sermon illustrations on Thanksgiving to help you...
Lexham PressPreaching is one of the highest callings, but it can be one of the most challenging—which is why learning how to prepare a sermon outline is so critical. This one step will help ensure each message you preach is delivered succinctly and clearly so...
Logos StaffGrowing up, my dad had a Leatherman multi-tool. Any time he undertook a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of task, it was there to help him get it done. Logos does the same thing—it’s the multi-tool sermon planning toolkit millions use for sermon planning...
Peter Adam explores 20 features of expository preaching—and why he believes it most closely reflects God’s method of verbal revelation—in this excerpt adapted from Theology Is for Preaching: Biblical Foundations, Method, and Practice (just one...
Whether you are just starting to preach or have been preaching for years and are looking for ways to prove, you'll learn the nuts and bolts of writing a sermon in this article.
Is there a difference between preaching and teaching? This question is one of many that professor and preacher Jonathan T. Pennington addresses in his book Small Preaching: 25 Little Things You Can Do Now to Become a Better Preacher. Keep reading to...
Mark BarnesDuring my lifetime I reckon I’ve heard about 4,000 sermons. Often I have been challenged, uplifted, provoked, transformed. Sadly, other times, I have been bored.
Matthew BoffeyIf a young preacher stepped into your office asking for your best books on preaching, what would you suggest? Here are a few ideas.
Jeffrey KranzMore people go to church on Easter than any other day of the year, and churches around the world are already preparing for more visitors—whether online or in person. There are plenty of ways to ensure your Easter service is great, but what about the...
In this article, you'll learn how to write a topical sermon, including picking the topic, using the right tools, polishing your message, and more.
Pastors have a monumental calling. Acts 20:28 instructs, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” Whether you’re...
Mark WardSome time ago my wife and I visited a church we’d never been to before and heard a message about Old Testament promises, specifically from one paragraph in Joshua 1. Take particular note of the promises because the preacher did: This Book of the Law...
Tim Perry explores the Christian understanding of death, dying, and the afterlife in what one author/theologian calls "a mini-masterpiece."
An old saying goes, “A day hemmed in prayer is less likely to come unraveled.” And even though that’s true, Christians still need encouragement to pray. Here are nine sermon illustrations on prayer to help provide it. 1. How God listens From 300...
Guest AuthorGrant Fishbook started preaching full time in 2003, but every few years, he’d discover that he wasn’t connecting with the modern audience. At first, he thought maybe he was the problem—maybe he wasn’t doing something right, or maybe he...
There seem to be countless sermon illustrations on faith—but some are better than others. Find six memorable ones below! Sermon illustration on enduring faith From Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations & Quotes: Faith honors...
This post is lightly adapted from “Preach to the outer edges” by Patricia Batten in Preaching Points: 55 Tips for Improving Your Pulpit Ministry, edited by Scott M. Gibson (Lexham Press, 2016).
In the practice of preaching, is there an effective method for how to start a sermon that will grab (and help keep) your listener’s attention? In his book Small Preaching: 25 Little Things You Can Do Now to Become a Better Preacher, available now...
It’s probably not a stretch to say that suicide has impacted every church. Nor is it a stretch to say that many church attendees—even the ones who show up every week—have never heard a sermon on suicide. And yet, it’s become the eleventh leading...
Below is an excerpt from Finding Our Voice by Matthew D. Kim and Daniel L. Wong that addresses the forms of discrimination Asian Americans commonly face and how to begin to address that pain pastorally. *** “What are you?” “Where are you from?”...
"There are just enough gaps in the story to make it a dangerous one, as the interpreter is tempted to retell it with commentary on Jonah’s psychology."
Donald C. McIntyreSee also Part 1 and Part 2. A Case Study in Matthew 2:1–12 There are forty-seven verbal forms in this pericope; all but 10 verbal forms are perfective aspect. Of those ten forms that are not perfective, one is stative, two are future, and the...
See also Part 1 Verbal Aspect has the Ability to Show Points of Emphasis and De-emphasis In Porter’s analysis of Philippian 2:5-11 the two verbal forms which are not in the perfective aspect are the imperative φρονεῖτε, “Have this mind,” and...
Verbal Aspect is Critical to an Accurate Apprehension of the Text Verbal aspect theory arose to prominence in 1989 and 1990 with the simultaneous work of Stanley Porter and Buist Fanning, who both sought to show how linguistics could further effect...
Jennifer GrishamPut on your festal robes—the newest version of Logos Bible Software has arrived! Logos 9 is here with all-new features and resources to take the busywork out of your ministry. Watch the trailer to see what’s new! There’s a lot we think you’ll love...
When it comes to preparing a sermon, you need a solid outline. Not only does a sermon outline help you pick your main points, having an organized outline helps keep your listeners’ attention and helps them see what’s most important. But how do you...
Textual criticism is a hot topic among biblical scholars. The views on the discipline’s profitability span the extremes of being of crucial importance for serious scholarship and the opposing view of being hostile towards the revered doctrines of...
Even if you find it easy to preach a sermon, read why Bryan Chapell says the 3 “deadly be’s” can help your preaching center more on Christ.
It’s the start of Pastor Appreciation Month—one that’s especially deserved after all the extra-long hours and adjustments COVID-19 has brought. Thank you, pastors! As you continue feeding your flock, may these three simple tips help you lighten...