Preaching historical narratives can, at times, be intimidating. Historical narratives do not function in the same way as, say, an epistle. Epistles are normally loaded with both indicatives and imperatives, thus providing the reader with a clear outline of wha... Read More »

The Book of Genesis “presents the literary and theological underpinning of the whole canonical Scriptures.”[1]Kenneth A. Mathews, Genesis 1–11:26, NAC 1A (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 1996), 22. This foundational role that Genesis provides for understa... Read More »

With the theme of biblical redemptive history in mind, I recently preached a series of messages from the book Genesis. My intent was not to do a thorough study through the book but to help my congregation see that God’s redemptive plan started as far bac... Read More »

Where have all the preachers gone? Biblical, Christ-centered preaching seems to have fallen on hard times. Too many modern pulpits have morphed into platforms for religious motivational speakers, cultural communicators, and trendy entertainers. If they use Scr... Read More »

There is a world of difference between preaching with fire in your bones and working up a sermon because you must preach on Sunday. Having been a pastor at the same church for over thirty years, I’ve preached through many of the books of the Bible. After you... Read More »

Every time I log into my Facebook account and scroll through the endless list of news, opinions, and experiences, my heart gets overwhelmed with a very wide gamut of feelings and emotions. I can go from laughter to anger in just two and a half seconds. I react... Read More »

“Worship isn’t God’s show. God is the audience. God’s watching. The congregation, they are the actors in this drama. Worship is their show. And the minister is just reminding the people of their forgotten lines.” — Soren Kierkegaard Who are we pre... Read More »

I love being at a seminary that fully embraces the idea of text-driven preaching. But who is really responsible for the idea of text-driven preaching becoming prevalent in our churches? Many will see this as the role of the seminary, but I think there is more ... Read More »

As of August 2020, I have preached almost 300 sermons at Mayhill Baptist, the church I have had the joy of pastoring since April 2017. Before COVID-19, we had morning and evening services, so I got to pad my sermon stats pretty quickly. During COVID-19, we hav... Read More »

In his classic homiletical work, Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today, John Stott insists that the preacher keep one foot firmly planted in the ancient text and one planted in the contemporary context; one in the biblical world and one in the c... Read More »

We’ve completed the exegesis of a passage of Scripture and have an exegetical outline developed. In a text-driven fashion, the substance, structure, and spirit of the text have been discovered. From our exegetical labors, we have crafted a preaching outline.... Read More »

When I first got started preaching, the outline of the study was something that I struggled with greatly. At the end of the research into the text, surrounded by stacks of books, papers, notes, and wads of paper, it was time to outline the sermon. In these ear... Read More »