Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, we will talk about simple preaching. No, we should not dumb down the message. But we should not strive to be deep, profound, mystical, technical, or academic. We should not talk over the heads of our hearers. We believe in the perspicuity of scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Scripture is clear. And the aim of preaching is to be help the hearer understand the truth of scripture. Jesus himself modeled simple preaching. And, throughout church history, strong preachers have been characterized...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, H.B. talks about a process for text-driven preaching. Something drives every sermon. Because the Bible is the word of God, the text of scripture should drive and direct every sermon. How can I prepare and preach text driven sermons? Choose the text strategically. You only have fifty-two Sundays to shepherd your congregation in the truth of God's word, at best. Therefore, you cannot afford to be casual or careless about sermon text selection. Be strategic about planning your preaching. Think...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I want to offer you fifty tips to help you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. These pointers are not in any order of importance. They cover a range of subjects related to personal devotion, sermon preparation, and pulpit ministry. And, of course, this list is not exhaustive. There's a long more to learn about preaching well. But I hope you find some of these words of advice helpful, as you prepare and preach. Let's go for it... Plan your preaching. ...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. What is preaching? What is biblical preaching? What does it mean to preach the word? 2 Timothy 4:1-5 answers these questions in a clear, convicting, and challenging way.  In 2 Timothy 4:1-5, the Apostle Paul issues his final charge to his son in the ministry. He gives this charge “in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:1). Verses 2-5 record nine biblical exhortations...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. It has been said that you preach to broken hearts, as there is one in every pew. But what should the preacher do when the broken heart is in the pulpit? There are times when the preacher goes to the pulpit with great joy. He cannot wait to stand to preach. He can barely stand as he preaches. He feels he will float away as the Holy Spirit holds him up in the pulpit.  Those good times in pulpit ministry won’t last forever....

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. It has been my practice to write full sermon manuscripts and then whittle them down to a set of pulpit notes. For the past several years, I have preached from the manuscript. In some ways, I feel like my preacher is improving by preaching from manuscripts. At the same time, there are ways in which I think using sermon manuscripts hinders my preaching. As I said, I have a complicated relationship with sermon manuscripts. What is my current view of sermon manuscripts? Biblical...

This is The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. A faithful, biblical sermon has three basic elements: explanation, illustration, and application. As preachers, we are prone to skip over application or to do it wrong. It is critical that preachers take application seriously and work to do it effectively. How can I practice the ministry of application effectively? Appy the text. Pray for wisdom. Know your audience. Make pastoral applications. Ask probing questions. Craft your application. Illustrate for application. Address different categories. Apply throughout the sermon. Trust the Holy Spirit. BOOK RECOMMENDATION:...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preacher faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, we are doing something a little different. Royland Kirkwood joins me on the podcast for the first time. Roy is one of the elders and pastoral staff members at Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, where is serve as Pastor-Teacher. We have served together for seven years now. He is a young preacher for whom I have high hopes and great expectations. During this conversation, Royland turns the tables and interviews me on preaching. This episode is part one of a two...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preaching faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, we'll talk about pulpit ethics. Pulpit ethics are pulpit manners which include dos and don'ts for those who stand in corporate worship of God's people to preach the holy word of God. Whatever happened to pulpit ethics? We not longer have pulpits. We now have stages. We no longer have ethics. We now have platforms. We desperately need a recovery of pulpit ethics. What are the basics of pulpit ethics? Physical Posture Appropriate Attire Reverent Speech Nonverbal Communication Personal Distraction...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, H.B. discusses why preaching matters. This may seem to be an obvious discussion, especially in a podcast dedicated to the subject of preaching. But the priority of preaching should not be assumed or neglected. You will face times when preaching is "out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2), and the centrality of the preached word will be attacked. If you lose your why, you lose your way. Why does preaching matter? the Bible commands preaching. Preaching honors divine authority. God saves...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. I do not think preaching needs an adjective, modifier, or descriptor. Either it is preaching or it is not. If I was forced to pick a term to describe preaching, it would not be expository. It would be the word “Faithful.” The goal of the preacher should be to be faithful.  What does it mean to preach faithfully? Here are ten characteristics of faithful preaching... Preach as a herald. Preach the text. Preach the gospel. Preach with conviction. Preach with clarity. Preach with purpose....

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. Over the years, I have interviewed various preachers about their life and ministry. In most of these interviews, my final question is the same. If you could get into a time-machine and go back to talk to your younger self, what advice would you give him? In this episode, I turn the question on myself. Here are seven pieces of preaching advice I would give to my younger self... Practice Spiritual Disciplines. Prioritize Formal Training. Pursue Godly Character. Read Formative Books. Record Study...