Sermon Preparation
Should You Copy Someone Else’s Sermon?
Years ago, I worked as a marketing director for a theme park in Atlanta. Part of my job involved booking concerts for special events. The biggest “name” I ever booked was KC and the Sunshine Band. If you don’t remember these guys, you’re much younger than me. Whenever I couldn’t find an affordable original band, we…
Read MoreWhy People Listen to Some Sermons and Not Others
Two sermons. Both truthful, and biblical. Both helpful. But one is heard and the other is forgotten. One is engaging and the other is endured. One sticks, the other doesn’t. We know that God’s Word doesn’t return void, and that the Holy Spirit is the One who enables someone to understand the truth of scripture.…
Read MoreThe Anatomy of a Great Message-Preaching Infographic
Great sermons and great stories share some common themes. They all have a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Other elements such as connection, tension, and resolution also factor in. That got me thinking. Any great sermon or message is going to be first and foremost founded in the scriptures and God-honoring. But great sermons…
Read MoreHow Dr. Charles Stanley Prepares to Preach
As a pastor, or communicator, it’s easy to neglect the most important component of sermon and message preparation—your own heart. With family obligations, staff meetings, and other commitments competing for your time, you may find yourself trying to find something to say, without having something worth saying. How do you prevent this? Here are some…
Read MoreFour Steps to Create Effective Church Systems
Back in 2006, I attended the Drive Conference with Andy Stanley. In my notebook, I wrote down something he said in a session about volunteer systems: Your system is perfectly designed to produce the results you’re getting. So, if you want better results, you have to improve the system. That got me thinking about…
Read MoreWhat do you do when you get STUCK in sermon prep?
I hate being stuck in traffic. But it happens. Usually when I’m on my way to something and never when I have extra time. I hate being stuck in line at Wal-Mart. No matter what lane I pick, I’m always behind the person fumbling through their purse to write a check. I hate being stuck…
Read MoreWhere to Find Great Sermon Illustrations
As a preacher, I’m always looking for great sermon illustrations. So I thought I would share a list of some of the top secret places I find sermon illustrations. After all, there shouldn’t be trade secrets in the Kingdom of God. Here are seven go-to places for sermon illustrations. 1. Your past. You may…
Read MoreSix Ways to Make Your Sermon Stick
One of my favorite books is Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath. It’s all about how some ideas stick, while other ideas fade away. As preachers, helping our messages stick is important. In the book, the Heath Brothers (typing that makes me hungry for a candy bar), give six ways to make a…
Read MoreFive Ways To Beat Sermon Writer’s Block
Writer’s block is a familiar, dreaded place. It’s where the blinking cursor on the computer screen seems to be taunting and laughing. It’s the same thing with Sermon Block. Sunday’s coming and nothing seems to be flowing from the mind to the page. That’s one of the reasons we created Preaching Rocket. Sermon Block is…
Read More10 Keys to Preaching from Crawford Lorrits
Crawford Loritts, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA, conducted an incredible seminar on effective preaching and teaching. Crawford’s thoughts were so insightful that our team wished to pass them along to you. One thing you will notice as you read Crawford’s words is his incredible use of language and desire to invest…
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