Preaching to Be Heard

Preaching to Be Heard
Author: Lucas O'Neill
Publisher: Lexham Press
Total Pages: 119
Release: 2019-02-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1683592379

"If a sermon is preached in a church and no one is listening, does it make a difference?" There are many expository preachers who forego dynamic delivery and many dynamic preachers who lose sight of faithfully communicating the biblical text. Too often preachers feel they have to choose one or the other. But dynamic delivery and faithful exposition are not mutually exclusive. In Preaching to Be Heard, Lucas O'Neill shows pastors that presenting engaging sermons that are biblically focused is not an impossibility. In fact, the key to commanding attention lies in the text itself. Rather than relying on tricks or gimmicks, his approach to sermon writing focuses on maintaining tension throughout while sticking close to the biblical text. Using practical examples and a step-by-step method, O'Neill shows pastors how relying on the inherent anticipation within Scripture can lead to sermons that are powerful--and heard.

The Gospel People Don't Want to Hear

The Gospel People Don't Want to Hear
Author: Lisa Cressman
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2020-05-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506456405

Lisa Cressman, founder of Backstory Preaching, offers preachers tools to craft difficult sermon messages that can be heard. The gospel changes lives, but to do that it must first be heard. For it to be heard, people have to trust they are "seen" and their concerns and fears are acknowledged. They have to feel their perspectives are real, valid, and respected. Preachers have a difficult message to preach, a message many will not want to hear: new life always emerges from death. Cressman shows preachers how to craft sermons with the right tone and how to have the courage to say what you're called to say. Part 1 of the book provides the preparatory work needed before crafting those difficult sermon messages. Here the focus is on how preachers prepare themselves, build relationships of mutual trust with listeners, and understand and appropriately use authority and leadership to proclaim the gospel. Part 2 focuses on the sermon itself with suggestions on what to say and how to say it. The preacher will find new tools and sharpen existing ones to preach difficult messages with empathy, compassion, and skill.

Backstory Preaching

Backstory Preaching
Author: Lisa Cressman
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2018-05-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0814645380

Instead of being a dour task on the checklist, what if the process of homily prep renewed you? Instead of feeling insecure about your message, what if your skills made you confident to preach a consistently clear message of Good News, authentic to you, relevant to your listeners, holding their attention and inviting transformation? Backstory Preaching: Integrating Life, Spirituality, and Craft shows you how. By integrating your life and spirituality with the practical skills necessary for effective preaching, you can move beyond the boredom, stress, or insecurity of preaching so it is no longer you who preach but Christ who preaches in you. By connecting with God in the midst of your sermon prep, the Gospel will be spread deeper and further. God’s joy—and yours—will be made complete.

On Preaching

On Preaching
Author: H.B. Charles, Jr.
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2014-04-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802490980

Preaching Magazine's 2015 Book of the Year If you are a pastor, you know the importance of preaching. You have spent time learning and refining the art of preaching because it is vital to the life of God's people—including the preacher. But you probably also find it challenging. On Preaching is a masterful resource that will refresh your soul and revitalize your preaching ministry. Drawing upon Scripture and years of preaching experience, H. B. Charles offers a practical resource for pastors, seminarians, church planters, and Bible teachers that is full of energy and wonderfully enjoyable. He gives tips like, "Avoid indecent exposure—get your wife's permission before using your family in the message" and "Illustrate! A good illustration is like a window on a house. It helps your listeners see in or out." Written in a very clear and concise manner, this resource is formatted into 30 short chapters that can easily be read as a devotional. On Preaching will encourage seasoned preachers to dig deeper into the basics as they pause and reflect on the effectiveness of their ministry. It will also serve as a spring board for those who are just beginning a preaching ministry.

The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching

The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching
Author: Zondervan,
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 737
Release: 2009-05-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310296404

A Comprehensive Resource for Today’s Christian Communicators. This extensive encyclopedia is the most complete and practical work ever published on the art and craft of biblical preaching. Its 11 major sections contain nearly 200 articles, comprehensively covering topics on preaching and methodology, including: Sermon structure and “the big idea.” The art of introductions, transitions, and conclusions. Methods for sermon prep, from outlining to exercising. Approaches to different types of preaching: topical, expository, evangelistic, and more. Best practices for sermon delivery, speaking with authority, and using humor. Leveraging effective illustrations and stories. Understanding audience. and much more. Entries are characterized by intensely practical and vivid writing designed to help preachers deepen their understanding and sharpen their communication skills. The contributors include a virtual Who’s Who of preaching from a cross section of denominations and traditions, such as Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Rick Warren, Warren Wiersbe, Alice Mathews, John Piper, Andy Stanley, and many others. Haddon Robinson and Craig Brian Larson—two of today’s most respected voices in preaching—provide editorial oversight. Includes audio CD with preaching technique examples from the book.

Rediscovering Humility

Rediscovering Humility
Author: Christopher A. Hutchinson
Publisher: New Growth Press
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2018-06-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1945270977

Most of us value humility . . . especially in other people. But Jesus taught that humility is central to the Christian life. Author Christopher Hutchinson invites the church to follow Christ—both individually and corporately—in this high calling.

The Preaching Life

The Preaching Life
Author: Barbara Brown Taylor
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 193
Release: 1993
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 156101074X

Like Annie Dillard's The Writing Life, Taylor emphasizes the holy dimensions of ordinary life and describes the essentials of faith with insight and humor, touching on the vocations, imagination, worship, sacraments, ministry and the Bible as they relate to the life of faith.

The Four Pages of the Sermon

The Four Pages of the Sermon
Author: Paul Scott Wilson
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2010-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1426724713

Doing justice to the complexity of the preaching task and the questions that underlie it, Wilson organizes both the preparation and the content of the sermon around its "four pages." Each "page" addresses a different theological and creative component of what happens in any sermon. Page One presents the trouble or conflict that takes place in or that underscores the biblical text itself. Page Two looks at similar conflict--sin or brokenness--in our own time. Page Three returns to the Bible to identify where God is at work in or behind the text--in other words, to discover the good news. Page Four points to God at work in our world, particularly in relation to the situations described in Page Two.

Prophetic Preaching

Prophetic Preaching
Author: Leonora Tubbs Tisdale
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2010-08-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1611640970

Where have all the prophets gone? And why do preachers seem to shy away from prophetic witness? Astute preacher Leonora Tisdale considers these vexing questions while providing guidance and encouragement to pastors who want to recommit themselves to the task of prophetic witness. With a keen sensitivity to pastoral contexts, Tisdale's work is full of helpful suggestions and examples to help pastors structure and preach prophetic sermons, considered by many to be one of the most difficult tasks pastors are called to undertake.