Preaching Tips

Be prepared!  Don’t try to prepare your sermon just before the church service when your parishioners are trying to see you.  Don’t try to review it during the church service, when you need to be present (the rest of the service is important too!) Don’t try to come up with…

When you preach, you don’t want to pat your congregation on the head and tell them everything they do is ok and good.  Jesus was clear that there is a difference between right and wrong, sin and not.  Jesus forgave sins, but also bade people to sin no more thereafter. …

Often the “missing person” in a sermon is Jesus.  Today, the “fad” is to psychologize, to sociologize, to culturalize, to relativize. We hear about the perils of alcoholism, the three kinds of bad thoughts that can creep into your life and destroy your self-worth, the dangers of bullying –all wonderful…

Preach Contextually! If your congregation is not made up of stock brokers and lawyers, don’t speak in business or legal language. Jesus was gifted at making sure he spoke in ways that his people would understand.  When he spoke to farmers, he used farming language.  When he spoke to fishermen,…

When you preach, are you excited about the gift of life Jesus has given you?  Has given the people listening to you? Are you so excited that it’s evident in your voice, in your manner, in the way you tell the story of Jesus in your sermon? Preach passionately, because…

The Hebrew scriptures are your clues to understanding the words, actions, and mission of Jesus.  Everything Jesus says is built upon a Hebrew testament story from the Torah, the prophets, or the psalms.  To better understand Jesus’ stories, always find its root in the Hebrew scriptures.  In doing so, you’ll…

We live in a world filled with violence. The power of prayer to turn the hearts of humanity is not to be underestimated.  “In all things pray,” says Paul to the Philippians.  Do not forget to make prayer part of your sermon.  Do not forget that your sermon is also…

Sometimes you may wonder about a metaphor in scripture that doesn’t seem to have much power.  If so, you are certainly missing something.  Try going back to the Hebrew meaning of that metaphor.  You will surely hit pay dirt.  Much is lost in translation. Take the time to investigate key metaphors. …

When you’re writing your sermon, don’t forget to make it story-like or to include a story if the sermon itself is not the story.  Stories help people understand better what you are trying to tell them.  Stories help them apply Jesus’ lessons to their own lives. And above all, don’t…

How do you recognize a metaphor?  Here are four ways: A metaphor is a noun, such as sun, hand, light, journey, rock. A metaphor has multiple meanings and points to something more conceptual, for example: When I say, Jesus is the rock, I don’t mean literally that He is a rock,…