Category: Preaching and Teaching

Do we need to make Scripture relevant?

Over the weekend we saw a crisis start to take shape. It was in effect self-inflicted. Warnings that there might some pressure on fuel supplies led to panic buying and over the weekend  the pumps ran dry.  In this article on Sunday, I commented that it would be peculiar if the crisis we were facing… Continue reading Do we need to make Scripture relevant?

Preaching in the middle of a crisis

Over the last couple of days, I ran a little survey on twitter asking people when was the last time they’d heard pastors addressing specific contemporary issues.  You can see the results here and I’m planning to share a few articles later this week with further analysis and discussion of them. One thing that came… Continue reading Preaching in the middle of a crisis

Teaching Proverbs

It’s probably a book of the Bible rarely preached on as a sequential expository series. People tend to focus on individual proverbs in isolation. However, when I spent time with a local church working through Proverbs as a teaching series, we found it deeply helpful and encouraging. So, if you are looking for a future… Continue reading Teaching Proverbs

“Do you want to be clean?” Preaching to the affections from the Old Testament

I mentioned the other day the conversation I had with Dan James about Haggai 2.  One of the things I’ve been challenged about increasingly is the importance of preaching to the affections.  This is an old puritan phrase meaning that our preaching should speak to the whole person not just to the intellect. We don’t… Continue reading “Do you want to be clean?” Preaching to the affections from the Old Testament

How much application?

We are usually told that we need “more application” and that our sermons shouldn’t become boring technical lectures, so this article from Chris Thomas may prove a surprising read to many. For balance, you may want to read this from Steve Kneale showing that there are still people arguing for more application. I also want… Continue reading How much application?

Going with the grain of how Scripture talks about God

I want to say a little bit more about the recent controversy concerning Gently and Lowly.  If we have discomfort about the language in the book, then it seems to be because we struggle with the language we find in Scripture. Let me pick up on one example. In Hosea 11:8-9 God says to Israel:… Continue reading Going with the grain of how Scripture talks about God

How to listen to sermons together

Sermons are not meant to be listened to on your own.  The very nature of preaching is that it is a corporate exercise, something that the whole church family shares in together.  So how do we stop our response from being individualistic? Pray together before listening What about getting together with a few people before… Continue reading How to listen to sermons together

How to listen to sermons when it’s the last thing you feel like doing

Sometimes the last thing you want to be doing is listening to a sermon.  It might simply be that you are exhausted and too tired to take in what is being said, sometimes it’s because what is being said is too painful, too close to the bone, sometimes it’s the other extreme, what is being… Continue reading How to listen to sermons when it’s the last thing you feel like doing