Preaching Tips
Experiential in EPIC –Preaching Tip for 3 September 2017
EPIC worship is Experiential, Participatory, Image Rich, and Connective (relational). When your sermon is experiential, people not only understand something “about” Jesus intellectually, but they engage in experiencing the presence of the living Jesus around them, among them, and within their own lives. The more experiential you can make your…
Bring in Current Culture –Preaching Tip for 27 August 2017
In order for people to relate to the scriptures, you have to relate the scriptures to their lives, their culture, what’s happening around them. For example, this week, we celebrate a rare Solar Eclipse. How can you use this phenomenon in your sermon? Or in your prayers? Or worship? How…
Let Your Metaphors Speak –Preaching Tip for 20 August 2017
Some metaphors lend themselves only to visual experience. Others can be multi-sensory. If you have a metaphor like water or sand, use water or sand in your service or sermon in some way. Allow people to touch, smell, hear, see, feel the metaphor. The more they “embody” the metaphor, the…
Don’t Forget Jesus! Preaching Tip for 13 August 2017
When you’re preparing your sermon, it doesn’t matter how good your metaphors are if you aren’t tuned into the Holy Spirit’s power. When preparing, don’t forget deep prayer, and to allow the Holy Spirit to direct your sermon. It’s the ultimate “app”!
What Jesus Knew –Preaching Tip for 6 August 2017
Whenever Jesus spoke, acted, or told a story, he drew heavily upon the metaphors of the Hebrew scriptures. In fact, everything Jesus said was in some way a “re-framing” of the Hebrew scriptures for new understanding of God and the shema. To understand Jesus, we need to understand the metaphors and…
It’s a metaphor! –Preaching Tip for 30 July 2017
One of the most prominent metaphors in scripture is water. From the “deep” in Genesis to the invitation to “Drink freely” in revelation, water is everywhere in scripture. How do you exegete this metaphor? You might start simply by making a list of all of the qualities, properties, descriptors, functions…
Don’t impose! –Preaching Tip for 23 July 2017
Be careful not to impose your 21st century ideas upon the 1st century scriptures. While you want to “re-frame” the scriptures so people can understand the meanings and metaphors in today’s world, you can’t place meanings over the original to create meanings that weren’t there. For example, when Paul talks…
Does Your Story Tell THE STORY? –Preaching Tip for 16 July 2017
Stories with good, solid metaphors always make a sermon better, stickier, and dimensional. However, if your story, whether it contains a joke, or great image, or just a wonderful lesson, doesn’t connect to scripture, well, it just isn’t worth telling! Make sure your 21st century stories (or those from days…
Sound Advice –Preaching Tip for 9 July 2017
When you preach, whether you use a lapel mic or a hand mic, or some other kind of sound assistance, make sure to test it before you begin worship. The worst thing to happen to disrupt worship is a sound problem, particularly a screeching one. But if for some reason,…
Metaphors Without Words –Preaching Tip for 2 July 2017
Some metaphors don’t need words at all. Don’t be afraid to use hand signals, movements, or signals in order to implant meaning into the stories of scripture. When people use their own bodies, hands, fingers to make movements that signify certain meanings, those meanings will be implanted not only in…