Preaching Tips
Make it Real –preaching tip for 28 November 2016
People remember through experience more than only in listening. They remember through touch, through sound and music, through color and art, through shape, and through taste. This advent season, make your sermons experiential, tangible, touchable, so that people take away with them the glory and beauty of Christ the Lord.
What Interests You? –Preaching Tip for 13 November 2016
What interests you about the scripture story you are reading? What catches your eye? It may help to think about the story and wonder why the gospel writer decided to include a piece of information in the story. The writers included what they thought to be important to the story. Never…
Embrace the Mystery –Preaching Tip for 6 November 2016
This Halloween season, we see more than ever our culture’s fascination with ghosts and the mystery of the unseen. Oddly, this fascination and belief in the super-natural doesn’t seem to pass over into the realm of the HOLY Spirit! Yet, the scriptures are filled with super-natural occurrences, mysterious happenings, and…
Allow Time –Preaching Tip for 30 October 2016 –All Saints Day
All Saints Day celebrates the whole body of Christ, past, present, and world-wide. Perhaps make your sermon more participatory this week. Allow people to tell their stories of how God has blessed their lives. Allow stories of healing, stories of community. Let others reflect on past members of the Church,…
A Holey Sermon is a Wholly Holy Sermon –Preaching Tip for 23 October 2016
One thing a preacher knows how to do –talk! And most of the time, we probably talk way too much. We need to learn to leave some “holes.” Holes for thought, pauses for emphasis, waits on answers so that the sermon can be participatory, and most of all, fermatas that…
The Power of Prayer –Preaching Tip for 16 October 2016
Never underestimate the power of prayer. Prayer doesn’t have to be one small part of the worship service, but should permeate the entire worship time, and it has a place in the sermon too! Don’t be afraid to incorporate prayer into your sermon. Be creative in making your sermon a…
New Ideas! –Preaching Tip for 9 October 2016
Sometimes the best sermon ideas come from other disciplines. Read widely –mostly in disciplines other than your own. Read about current trends in science, in photography, in architecture, in the arts. You’ll find that something will “click” as you pair your new information with the stories and metaphors of scripture, and…
Make Communion Part of Your Sermon –Preaching Tip for 2 October 2016
Communion or the Eucharist doesn’t have to be separate from your sermon. Be creative in keeping the Eucharist fresh and new for people by altering the liturgy to suit the needs and times of your culture and community, by incorporating the Eucharist into your sermon, and by moving the Eucharist…
Tackle difficult scriptures! –preaching tip for 25 September 2016
There are scriptures that all of us simply avoid. But every one is there for a reason to teach us something about Jesus and our faith. Don’t hesitate. Tackle difficult scriptures. Spend time and marinate in those that seem difficult to understand. The reward is often great.
Connect to the Scriptural Story –Preaching Tip for 18 September 2016
When creating your sermon, remember to connect it to the scriptural story. Many times, sermons can give an interesting lesson, but if it’s not connected to scripture, it doesn’t explain something that Jesus wants us to understand. You can connect to many scriptural stories, or only to one. But don’t…