By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in...

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty haws put in everything she had, all she had to live on. -...

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he...

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...

And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."' David himself calls him. Lord. She how is he his Son?" And the great throng heard him gladly. And in his teaching he said, "Bewared of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the...

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. - 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 is a prayer report. Paul writes to let the Thessalonians know that and what he prays for them. He begins by telling why he prays for them. Verse 11 says: “To this end we always pray for you.” “To this end” points back...

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this:‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. - Mark 12:28-34 Armies win battles through bombardment. They repeatedly attack until their enemy’s defenses break down. After the barrage, the weakened adversary is defeated. Spiritual warfare advances this way. Do not let your guard down after any battle. Another wave of attack is sure to come. It happened to Jesus in Mark 12. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple, disrupting the business administration of the sacrificial system. The religious authorities, guardians of the temple and its operations, sought to destroy Jesus. In chapter 12, three deployments of religious leaders attack Jesus to bring him...

And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the...

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them or not? But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." And they brought one. And...

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:...

But thanks be to God who, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Corinthians 15:57 A strange scene erupted at Badger Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Over 60,000 University of Wisconsin fans watched their beloved football team get beat by Michigan State. The more their team lost, the more the crowd cheered. As it turns out, seventy miles away, the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the World Series. The Badger fans celebrated a great victory they did not see despite the terrible loss right in front of them.  Here is...

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...