Here’s a free gift to help you develop as a preacher, or to help you help others. Compare two preachers I heard recently. One had been to college and the other hadn’t, but that wasn’t what we noticed. One was more confident than the other, one gave us too much information while the other weighed
I think the shortest time I ever had to prepare a talk, was around five minutes. It was all down to a blissfully simple misunderstanding. A friend was arranging an evening on world mission, with a variety of speakers from around the country, key folk from local churches, and a number of mission agencies. Quite
It was one of the foundational insights of the Reformers – the priesthood of all believers. No more priestly caste, because we confess our sins to “The Reverend One-Another” They even did away with the very word. ‘Presbyter’, or ‘elder’ was preferred, and the anchor point of their work was teaching. But because we are
Because, as someone said today, it’s like doing open-heart surgery, on yourself, without an anaesthetic, in public. Or at least it should be. Think it through: What’s the opposite of each part of that description? How does this Sunday’s sermon shape up? H/t. Trevor Johnston, from the mission society, Crosslinks.
As I’ve thought about the books I’ve read over the past year, one stands out as being remarkable for its depth and relevance. It has a shrewd understanding of what it means to be a Christian and a church living increasingly on the edge of society. And its author understands the temptations we face, whether
One time, I decided to cook a surprise meal for my family. I cook for them fairly often, so Dad in the kitchen wasn’t the surprise. The key is, because it was to be a surprise, I didn’t check that I was doing the right meal. Steak was in the fridge – lots of it,
One of my heroes and gurus is Dick Lucas – man who has done one thing supremely well for decades: he opens up the Bible and shows us what is in it. Simple. When he was young, Dick loved those little metal puzzles, where two or three wire shapes interlock, and only the most patient
Ever since I was an undergraduate I’ve had on my shelves Don Carson’s survey of New Testament commentaries. It’s his notes on every commentary and series that he’s read (a lot), with best buys marked up. It’s gone through various editions, been joined by Tremper Longman’s OT survey, and later this year will have its
Open this post and click on the link. Vimeo here
I first noticed it in Malcolm Gladwell’s clever little book Outliers. In almost every area of human creativity and endeavour, when you come across an overnight success story, you can bet that behind it lies hours of practice. Hours. 10,000 of them to be exact. Gladwell charts it in music, writing, the sciences – there’s
How far ahead do you you plan your sermons? Someone asked me this week, and was rather surprised when I said that my pattern in church was eighteen months ahead. Why so long? Here were my reasons Authenticity. I need to get inside this Biblical book and let it read me, repeatedly. I need to
People come to church for a lift. An encouragement. Maybe a challenge. They don’t want trouble. And those of us who stand behind the lectern agree with them. We’ll give them their lift and maybe their challenge. But we don’t like trouble either. So we conspire together to avoid certain subjects. Which isn’t healthy It’s
A short video by Jim Packer on God’s holiness and our preaching. You’ll need to open this post to activate the link.
As a preacher I often find myself quite constrained at this time of year. There are some brilliant preaching opportunities coming round the corner (Carols, Christingle, Crib service, Midnight, Christmas Day), but they have quite a predictable shape to them. Carols: fifteen minute, punchy and throught-provoking evangelism. Christmas Day: fifteen minutes if I can hold
“I don’t know how the church has grown. All I’ve done is teach the Bible.” The wise old Christian leader looked genuine enough, but I’m sure he was harbouring a secret. But because he’s a model for younger church leaders, they are going to think that he’s telling them the truth, and start to think
Available here
The Point of the Sword 4
This morning’s lecture here The Point of the Sword 4
Point of the Sword 2
In today’s lecture. point of the sword 3
