Michael Cooper

What Hath Geneva to do with Your Pulpit? How Calvin’s Theology of Preaching Can Impact Your Preaching

The name John Calvin can invoke various caricatures of a cold and emotionless theologian. Maybe you read the name and you have a visceral reaction to the very idea of Calvinism. Perhaps you were part of the “Young, Restless, Reformed” movement and champion... Read More »

Dissecting the Structure

In their book Preach, Mark Dever and Greg Gilbert argue, “Expositional preaching is preaching in which the main point of the Biblical text being considered becomes the main point of the sermon being preached.”[1]Mark Dever and Greg Gilbert, Preach ... Read More »

Why Preach Text-Driven Sermons

The hallmark characteristic of an expository sermon is that the main point of the text becomes the main point of the sermon. As such there are various models of expository preaching, ranging from text-centered preaching of the older generations to the more pop... Read More »

The Sacredness of the Pulpit 

With the advent of post-modernism, the pulpit has lost a bit of its power and grandeur. The preacher is one without authority. During the Reformation, the pulpit was the rudder that steered the culture but now the pulpit is caught amongst the waves from othe... Read More »

3 Ways to Establish Text-Driven Leadership

Sound biblical preaching is the foundation of Jesus’ church. Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach, Paul exhorts Timothy to preach, and God blesses the local church with the gifts of pastor-teachers. Needless to say, a church will rise and fall give... Read More »

Developing the Intellect

When asked by the Pharisees which command in the Law is the greatest, our Lord Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:37). For the pastor, t... Read More »

Making Use of Good Models of Preaching

Preaching is more than just “standing up and talking about the Bible.” While it may look like that to the person sitting in the pew, for the individual standing up behind the pulpit, there is an entire framework driving that particular sermon. In t... Read More »

7 Defining Marks of a Text-Driven Preacher

Dr. Steven Smith states, “Text-Driven preaching is the interpretation and communication of a Biblical text in a sermon that re-presents the substance, structure, and the spirit of the text.”  As a pastor, I have greatly benefited from learning and... Read More »

So What’s the Big Idea: Making Our Sermons Concrete

As expositors, we’ve all struggled with how to make our sermons “stick” with our people. As we work through the text, wrestle with the syntax, and come to an understanding of the passage, we do so with the hope that on Sunday the congregation... Read More »

The Homiletical Challenge: How to Turn True Statements into Truth Nuggets

As text-driven preachers, we long to “rightly divide” the Word from the pulpit. We go deep into the structure of the text, analyzing the syntax and semantics, longing for the truth of God’s inspired Word to awake our souls as we aim to awake ... Read More »