In the early days of movies on DVD, I was living the high life when I scored an RCA 5-disc DVD player with my RadioShack employee discount. Soon after, a friend loaned me his copy of the hit action movie S.W.A.T., which had been burned on two discs. I microwav... Read More »

Preacher, you stand before the congregation to preach. Now, what is it that you intend to do? You quickly respond. Preach! So, what does that mean? There are some biblical objectives that must be considered if you are going to preach. Shooting an arrow at a ta... Read More »

A friend of mine told me recently something to the effect of, “Believers think that just because we do Christmas that it somehow means we’ve celebrated it.” Too many times December 26th rolls around, and we find ourselves suddenly confronted with the fac... Read More »

A shepherd knows his sheep and how to lead them to the best pastures. He knows the habits of his flock, the distractions along their path, and their deficiencies. Thus, he plans ahead to make certain the sheep graze on the choicest grass, take the right path, ... Read More »

Preaching is always a challenging task. The preacher who has the privilege and responsibility to stand before a congregation each week—or even multiple times each week— faces the challenge of being prepared when the preaching time arrives. One practice tha... Read More »

“Should” is a tricky question to answer.  When I hear a question begin with that word, I evaluate whether something is right or wrong.  Should the preacher plan his preaching?  That is an emphatic yes.  Should the preacher use a retreat to plan his pre... Read More »

What role should “objectives” play in the preparation of a sermon? In other words, as the pastor prepares another sermon for Sunday morning, what should be the driving factor in his preparation? What does he hope to instill, or perhaps focus upon, in his c... Read More »

I read a story about a bank employee who was fixing an ATM machine. The door accidentally shut while he was inside its tiny maintenance room. When someone approached the machine to receive some money, they instead received a note that said, “Please help.... Read More »

“But Dad, I NEED it!” It’s amazing to me how often those words are repeated in my house. I have two daughters and a son who are in the teenage years, and they are constantly wanting something new. I occasionally feel like my God-given job is just to say ... Read More »

In one of several interviews with Alistair Begg, I asked if he followed a strict order of explanation, illustration, and application when preparing a sermon. Begg replied, “I’m a bit of a menace to expository preachers.” Begg is hardly a menace, yet what... Read More »

Introduction As a senior pastor, the privilege and weight of preaching week after week is a great honor and responsibility. All pastors know this. What we do on Sundays has not really changed through the centuries: proclaiming the gospel, teaching Scripture, c... Read More »

The Christmas story is anything but common.  What God did in the Incarnation was remarkable!  In fact, Christmas has been called both a miracle and mystery.  The miracle is what God accomplished by sending Jesus to earth.  The mystery is why He sent Jesus.... Read More »