Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  In this episode, I want to give you ten principles for preaching the parables of Jesus in the Gospels. How do preach a parable of Jesus?  Understand the nature of parables. Study the context of the parable. Analyze the structure of the parable. Seek the main idea of the parable. Be careful of interpreting the parable allegorically. Let the parable speak for itself. Do not get lost in the details of the parable. Pay attention to the conclusion of the parable. Determine the...

Welcome to the The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  In this episode, I want to talk to you about avoiding indecent exposure in the pulpit... To illustrate is to shed light on the subject. Illustrations are like windows in a house. They let the light in. They can also let in voyeurs, seeking to eye the forbidden. There is no place for voyeurism in the pulpit. Sermon illustrations should be like letting sunlight into a window, not like putting a spotlight on a stage. Here are ten guidelines for avoiding indecent...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I want to talk to you about ten men who have influenced my preaching. Every preacher has been influenced by other preachers. Some do not acknowledge the influences. Others deny they have any influences at all. It does not change the fact that every preacher stands on the shoulders of those who have gone before him, some in very specific ways. Who are the preachers who have influenced my preaching?  H.B. Charles Sr. E.K. Bailey John F. MacArthur Jr....

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  In this episode, I want to talk to you about the dynamics of Spirit-empowered preaching. I believe there are three characteristics of effective preaching: faithfulness to the text, clarity of the message, and passion in the presentation. When I speak of passion, I do not refer to some fleshly demonstration. Or the deacons in my Dad's church would call, "An outside show to an unfriendly world." I am talking about spirit-empower preaching. What are the dynamics of Spirit-empowered preaching?    Godly Character Doctrinal...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I want to talk to you about passion in preaching. I believe effective preaching involves faithfulness to the text, the clarity of the message, and passion in the presentation. Passion, however, should be the natural outflow and overflow of the preacher's determination to preach faithfully and clearly. What does preaching with passion involve?  Spiritual Devotion Personal Worship Bible Exposition Doctrinal Conviction Shepherd's Heart Believing Prayer Spirit-Infilling   Question What do you think passion in preaching involves? Related Resources  On Preachingby...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I want to talk to you about my sermon preparation hacks. Every preacher should have an intentional sermon preparation process. This process should include standard elements, which include reading deeply, recording carefully, and reflecting prayerfully. But these standard elements should be personalized. As you prepare to preach, do what works best for you!   What are the sermon preparation hacks I use to get ready to preach the word?   I prepare a study file with all of the...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  In this episode, I want to talk to you about preaching under pressure. In every life, some rain must fall. So it is with every ministry. For that matter, there will be times when the rains fall, the winds blow, and the floods rise. The pastor-teacher is foolish to think that you can make it through ministry preaching under blue skies of congregational peace. There will inevitably be times when you will have to preach under pressure. How do you faithfully preach...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I talk about preaching and preachers with Steve N. Wagers (Twitter: @BishopWagers), who is the Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church near Louisville, Kentucky. Before leading the Calvary Baptist Church, Wagers served congregations in Virginia, Kentucky, and Florida - spanning some 25 years of pastoral ministry. Steve Wagers is a faithful, dynamic, and compelling preaching of the gospel. He also a prolific author, having written books of expositional messages on Jonah, Ecclesiastes, Joshua, Habakkuk, Esther, & Nehemiah. After he preached our...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better!  In this episode, I talk about how to preach through distractions. All kinds of distractions may arise as you preach the word. Sound issues, temperature extremes, crying babies, walking people, ringing cellphones, medical emergencies, intentional disruptions can happen during any sermon and distract away from the message. How do you preach through distractions that may arise as you preach? Ignore it. Remain calm. Practice "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23). Address the distraction directly. Ask for help. Use humor to ease...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode of the podcast, I want to talk to you about how to preach a better sermon next week. We have all had those weeks when we've prayed, "Lord, if you get me through this Sunday, I promise I will do better next week"? How do you keep that promise? Here are seven practical principles to help you preach better this week... Start earlier. Guard your study time. Focus. Strive for clarity. Talk it through with someone. Be content with a B-...

                Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I want to talk to you about five neglected tools for sermon preparation. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. - 2 Timothy 2:15 Every workman needs tools to accomplish his work, including preachers. Especially preachers. Books are a preacher's tools. Effective preaching requires specialized tools. But no preacher should neglect the most...

B. Lockhart and R. Johnson were members of my father's church, when I was a boy. This brother and sister had relocated to Los Angeles from Little Rock. They loved my dad and faithfully served our congregation. But they constantly talked about their former pastor and church in Arkansas. I didn't understand why, until they gave me a tape of Jerry D. Black. He was preaching his classic sermon, "A Trip to Job's House." I vividly remember the first time I heard Jerry Black preach in person. It was during the National Baptist Convention USA in Los Angeles in 1990....