Sermon and Study Notes for the Parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19:11-27
This is without a doubt one of the hardest of the parables to exegete. I struggled with this passage for nearly twice as many hours as it takes to prep a normal sermon. Therefore, I feel it is all the more important to give my resources away for this sermon. Here are my files: Study Notes For Luke 19.11-27 - A...
Protect your time because small interruptions have big consequences
One time a mentor casually asked me if I answered the phone on Tuesdays. It took me a moment to process his question but it soon registered; he was asking if I was willing to interrupt my study time for a simple phone call. He knew the Tuesdays were the main day that I used to study for my...
How I Write My Study Notes for My Sermon Prep
Every time I preach, there are over 10 different steps that I take to get my sermon to the final outline. I've share with you previously about my first step, but here is another vital move I make in sermon preparation. After I've done most of my word studies, translation comparisons and exegesis work, I start a document that I...
How I Make Sure I End My Sermons On Time
I once heard Alister Begg get up in front of a group of pastors and say, "I've heard the best sermons are those with a great introduction and a great conclusion, with those two things kept as close together as possible." Though this joke got a good laugh, there was truth to his statement - especially that day. Begg's preaching time...
My First Step in Sermon Preparation
How you start sermon preparation is very important. I often relate sermon preparation to bearing a child. Though I am a man, and will never carry a child, I have watched my wife go through the process twice and this has made the analogy all the more vivid for me. (However, I don’t suggest that you tell your 8 month...
The Importance of Being You in the Pulpit
“Become the sermon,” said the wise old sage of preaching to his zealous student, “Allow the message to become as natural to you as breathing. Don’t try to breath through someone else’s lungs and vibrate someone else’s vocal cords. Use your own.” There is great wisdom in these words. However, finding the courage to live them out in the pulpit...
Preaching to Apease?
Phillips Brooks, in his Lectures on Preaching, said a powerful statement that should be tattooed on the minds of all those who approach the pulit: “If you are afraid of men and a slave to their opinions, go and do something else. Go and make shoes to fit them. Go even and paint pictures which you know are bad but...
Sermon Illustrations and the Pastor’s Wife
I have an insatiable passion to find just the right sermon illustration (maybe it comes from my magic background). I have dones things that are a bit unconventional at times in order to make a point - such as buy a straight jacket online, light something on fire, put goldfish in a blender, and many other crazy things. Every time...
Swindoll on Spurgeon and Pastoral Criticism
My sister sent me this article, and I felt it was something that needed to be shared. For more resources from Chuck Swindoll visits www.Insight.org. Spurgeon's Channel of Encouragement by Charles R. Swindoll Read Matthew 5:10--12 Charles Haddon Spurgeon remains one of the most colorful and gifted preachers in the history of the church. Any man who loves to preach and desires to cultivate...
The Blind Preacher Who Saw Quite Well: A Short Bio of George Matheson
Some of the people who have impacted me the most in this life are those who have already passed from it. The preachers and writers of old have recorded deep thoughts about God that still echo through the generations and continue to proceed from their grave. One of those men is George Matheson, otherwise known as “The Blind Preacher.” In 1842...
How to write good content daily: 1000 words by 10:00 AM
A few days ago I had a conversation with my writer and editor friend about the pace at which I can write in order to stay productive towards my calling to author material. At one point in the conversation he asked “how many word today do you think you can write?" Little did he know that I'd been contemplating...