Five Simple Steps So You Can Breathe Deeply Through Advent
As Christmas approaches, many stresses become more acute and frequent—like the pressure to produce high quality (though not-over-the-top-perfect) sermons, liturgies, and music; pastoral care needs; disagreements between church leaders; and the expectations of parishioners, your family, and, perhaps, even yourself.
Follow these five steps to have a season of calm, connection, and clarity.
A 4-Step Process to Connect Scripture to Your Listeners’ Lives
When the cultures and circumstances of Scripture seem irrelevant or unfamiliar, how do we help our listeners connect. How do we find the truth that transcends time and context? This 4-step process helps you look at the human condition beneath the circumstances to find the the ways God showed up then and continues to show up now.
Lectio on Life: Four Steps to Writing a Topical Sermon
Sometimes you just gotta say it.
Sometimes you just gotta address the topic of the day:
- a sudden turn of events for the congregation
- a tragedy
- social justice
- a natural disaster
- the "elephant in the room"
How do you preach a topical sermon and also rely on the lectionary like we're supposed to?
How to Cultivate a New Preaching LIfe
When your preaching life feels overgrown with last-minute scrambles, the tyranny of the urgent, insecurity about your sermons, or frustration that your sabbath feels ever out of reach, it may be time to pull up the old and plant something new.
Too Many Sermon Ideas? 3 Ways to Find Your Message Fast
When there are so many potential themes, ideas, characters, and overlap with our world, it can be impossible to know where to start! Here are three strategies to try when you feel stuck because you have TOO many ideas—with a specific process for each.
Tough Passage? Preach What the Gospel Says (Not What You Wish it Said)
Sometimes the principalities and powers of this world need to be named because they are in need of God’s redemption. However, if we name the same principalities and powers every week people will tune out the urgency. Instead, help people hear the context and need for God’s redemption revealed by the text itself. Let people wrestle with angels through questions posed— without giving answers. Then trust God will convert any willing heart to love Jesus most.
4 Steps to Build a “Study Hall” for Efficient, Effective, & Sacred Sermon Prep
We may not be students at the moment, but we still face deadlines, major projects, and of course, preaching happens at a certain time every week
What I’ve learned since I was an undergrad is that study halls don’t have to be inside a library, and they become a lot more meaningful when we design them to be not only productive, but sacred.
5 Steps to Simplify Your Sermon Prep When You Get "Lifed!"
When life throws chaos your way, prepping a sermon can feel overwhelming. And it is if you prep the same way you always do. But with a simplified process, you can write a solid sermon in less time that will leave your listeners pondering the Good News.
What I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Preaching
I trust you are as capable as I was at finding your way and learning the lessons about preaching that you need. But learning by trial and error takes a long time, and I wish I hadn’t lost so much of mine. Alas, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. So I’m sharing the main challenges I faced along with what I wish I’d known: suggestions to make this preaching life easier—no matter how many years you’ve been in the pulpit!
