There seems to be a lot of discussion about whether or not Christians should make use of AI in sermon and service preparation. Some people have expressed fear that allowing AI to take over could be dangerous. I have no worries on that score. See my article here. In fact, to be clear, I’m very… Continue reading Why I won’t be using ChatGPT to help me prepare my sermons anytime soon
Category: Preaching and Teaching
A last word on note taking – what do I really care about?
Some of you will be following a little debate I’ve been involved in on whether or not we should be encouraging people to take notes during sermons. Alistair Chalmers wrote positively in favour of note taking here, I responded with the case against note taking here and finally, Steve Kneale offered this conclusive response, taking… Continue reading A last word on note taking – what do I really care about?
Why the purpose of preaching matters
I’ve written recently about listening to sermons and taking notes. My main reason for being against note taking is that it shapes and is shaped by our view of the purpose of preaching. Note taking is more associated with treating the sermon as primarily intellectual, educating, sharing information, applied to the mind. We are also… Continue reading Why the purpose of preaching matters
Is it best to use a knife and fork?
I’ve enjoyed and appreciated the discussion that has followed on from my articles about note taking. Responses have ranged from those who find it helpful to have the pressure to make notes taken off them through to those who have found note taking helpful and don’t intend to stop. A lot of you really don’t… Continue reading Is it best to use a knife and fork?
Instead of sermon note taking …
Yesterday I wrote about why I prefer people not to take notes when I’m preaching. So, how do we encourage people to retain, remember and apply what we preach. Here are some alternatives to note taking. Active engagement: One of my concerns with note taking is that it places the focus on intellectual processing and… Continue reading Instead of sermon note taking …
How relevant is the New Perspective (and other controversies)?
Our church are just starting a series on Galatians. Different people will be preaching a chapter each week and we’ll be following up in a bit more detail in our life group studies and with some blog posts here on Faithroots. Galatians is a controversial letter, controversial because Paul himself was writing polemically to respond… Continue reading How relevant is the New Perspective (and other controversies)?
Against sermon note taking
Alistair Chalmers makes the case for taking notes during sermons here. This is something I’ve changed my mind on. Having a congregation furiously scribbling down notes during your talk is the gold standard measure of effective conservative evangelical preaching. It’s up there with getting a spontaneous outburst of hallelujahs and amens at a Pentecostal service… Continue reading Against sermon note taking
Galatians Teaching and preaching Guide
Here’s a guide to reading and Teaching through the book of Galatians. It includes
Let it percolate
I remember a former pastor commenting once that no-one should attempt to write and publish a book before they were 40. He reckoned that there was a good chance that you would have to go back and explain why you’ve changed your mind Tim Keller of course only started writing for a wider audience into… Continue reading Let it percolate
How to approach a longer preaching series
Recently I wrote about the benefits of preaching longer series through larger books of the Bible, including the major Old Testament books. Those books which might take significantly longer include the major prophets such as Isaiah as well the Pentateuch and the history books. It’s possible to spend a year or even longer working week… Continue reading How to approach a longer preaching series
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