The other day I talked about breaking the Conservative Evangelical rule that every sermon has to be expository. Here is the paradox, you may have ended up being at least as if not more expository by relaxing the rule. I say potentially more expository first, because what happens when we try to force fit an… Continue reading Why that Christmas talk may have been more expository than you think
Category: Preaching and Teaching
The forgotten objective of preaching and why it matters
I recently shared some notes setting out what I’m looking for from a preacher.. I suggested that we are looking for, in terms of content: I would suggest that in recent years, the emphasis has tended to be more and more on the first of these with a nod to the second. That to some… Continue reading The forgotten objective of preaching and why it matters
Preparing to preach at Christmas? … First break all the rules
Or at least two of them… One of my favourite books is by Marcus Buckingham and it’s called First Break All the Rules. It’s about how leaders are taught a whole load of conventions or rules but truly successful ones break those rules. In effect Buckingham is seeking to discover a better set of leadership… Continue reading Preparing to preach at Christmas? … First break all the rules
What am I looking out for when assessing preachers
One of my priorities is to train people for preaching and teaching. This also means that I get involved in assessing and offering feedback. Here’s what I’m looking out for. A. What the preacher knows Notes B. What the preacher communicates I’m focusing specifically on expository preaching. We need to remember that many people may… Continue reading What am I looking out for when assessing preachers
Make it visual
How do you engage visual learners and help them to remember what you have said in a sermon. Well, one obvious way is to use visual aids. That might be as simple as including some powerpoint slides with images. Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of PowerPoint in preaching. It risks asking people to dual… Continue reading Make it visual
Cash for questions: Tax, God and Caesar
Here in the UK, it was the Budget this week and there is much talk about tax and benefits. That also coincided with our Life Group looking at Luke 20:20-26 where Jesus is asked a question about paying taxes Early readers of Luke’s Gospel, perhaps in the late 60s/early 70s of the first century will… Continue reading Cash for questions: Tax, God and Caesar
Preachers: Don’t make things that are about Jesus about yourself
Have a listen to this sermon. It was delivered by Bishop Cei Dewar at Christopher Wickland’s church. These are two key men in the current Christian Nationalism movement. Both spoke on the platform at the Unite the Kingdom rally. I was therefore interested in the talk partly because of that but also partly because we… Continue reading Preachers: Don’t make things that are about Jesus about yourself
Is your satnav set right? Why we need faith
This is the text of a sermon I recently preached from Luke 17. Introduction A few years ago, we went on holiday with some friends to a place called West Bay which is down in Dorset and famous as the place where Broadchurch was filmed. Our friends’ parents had a holiday home there but they… Continue reading Is your satnav set right? Why we need faith
The deficient shepherd culture
Back the other week, I was talking to some Evangelical Anglicans about the state of the CofE. I explained to them the problem. With their “stay in” strategy that it leads to people thinking they have to stay when their evangelical vicar is inevitably replaced with a liberal. One response was to the effect that… Continue reading The deficient shepherd culture
Responding to a sermon on “why Christians should go on a Tommy Robinson march”
In amongst the responses to the Tommy Robinson march, I came across this one from a pastor who had been part of the march. It’s not an easy listen but worth persevering with. You get an insight into the arguments and methods used by those seeking to justify Christians marching under the banner of the… Continue reading Responding to a sermon on “why Christians should go on a Tommy Robinson march”
Faithroots 