Tag Archives: preaching

A Little Handbook for Preachers: Ten Practical Ways to a Better Sermon by Sunday

Preaching books are a dime a dozen. Its really hard to find a preaching book that either says something unique or says something important in a unique way. So I don’t have much confidence in preaching books – especially books that give you X number of ways to be a better preacher or books thatContinue reading “A Little Handbook for Preachers: Ten Practical Ways to a Better Sermon by Sunday”

John Calvin’s Goals as an Expositor of Scripture

For God there is nothing higher than preaching the gospel, because it is the means to lead people to salvation.[1]             In his ministry John Calvin was in full agreement with Martin Luther’s saying that “the ears alone are the organ of a Christian”. (COP, 37) Calvin believed that the verbal proclamation of God’s wordContinue reading “John Calvin’s Goals as an Expositor of Scripture”

Kevin Vanhoozer on the Task of Preaching

What do we “do” as preachers? Are we giving people more information (biblical, practical, spiritual)? Are we giving them encouragement? Are we shaping their affections? Kevin Vanhoozer has a suggestion…. From The Drama of Doctrine: The ministry of the Word involves far more than ideas. Thanks to a host of postmodern prophets, we are moreContinue reading “Kevin Vanhoozer on the Task of Preaching”

Sanctified by Grace – Preaching

A few days ago I began a blog tour on Kent Eilers and Kyle Strobel’s 2014 book Sanctified by Grace. Over the next few days I will be posting some highlights from various chapters, concluding with a review of the book as a whole. Today I turn my attention to the chapter on preaching. AsContinue reading “Sanctified by Grace – Preaching”

Why do we Preach to People With Really Bad Memories?

Studies show that we will forget about 40% within the first 24 hours of learning something. If we wait another 24 hours before reviewing the information, we lose about 60% of it.  So if we were taking a test we could go from a grade of ‘A’ (100%) to ‘D’ (60%), to ‘F’ (40%) inContinue reading “Why do we Preach to People With Really Bad Memories?”

Mark Dever on the PhD and the Pulpit: “On Having a Doctorate in the Pastorate”

Originally posted on PJ's personal blog. For articles see gospelize.me:
Should a pastor have a PhD? Is it helpful? Is it necessary? Mark Dever spoke on the assigned topic: “Why a PhD is Needed in the Pulpit” (mp3) but changed the title to “On Having a Doctorate in the Pastorate.” I outlined his…

Paul’s Theology of Preaching

The argument of Paul’s Theology of Preaching can be broken up into two steps: 1)Begin by showing the distinctives of Greco-Roman rhetoric. 2)Show How Paul’s first four chapters in 1 Corinthians is meant to address preaching done in view of Greco-Roman Rhetoric. The fundamental assumption behind Greco-Roman Rhetoric is that the audience + the speaker’sContinue reading “Paul’s Theology of Preaching”

What Should Preachers Be Reading?

What would you say to a preacher who feels intimidated by all he feels he needs to read in order to “speak to the culture”? Where should he start? He needs to start noticing the cultural water he swims in every day. You don’t need to start with heavy tomes. Look at the music videos onContinue reading “What Should Preachers Be Reading?”

Preaching to Non-Believers

Trevin Wax on Preaching to Non-Believers…. There is one thing Stanley and Keller agree on: preachers ought to be mindful of the unbelievers in their congregation. Different Reasons for the Same Practice Stanley and Keller may be worlds apart in terms of their theological vision for ministry, but they both maintain that a preacher shouldContinue reading “Preaching to Non-Believers”