Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Old Testament references to the throne of God declare the holiness, glory, and sovereignty of God. In Christ, the throne of God is a fountain of grace and mercy. Yet it remains a throne. It is a seat of divine authority. It is the place from which God reigns over heaven and earth. Jesus says: Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.”  In...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you to preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  In this episode, H.B. discusses ten ways to conclude a sermon. An effective sermon conclusion is brief, singular, and persuasive.  What are the ten ways to conclude a sermon effectively?  Summary Climax Application  Challenge  Solution  Vision-Casting  Testimony  Illustration  Celebration  Invitation  HBC2 RESOURCES:  On Preaching by H.B. Charles Jr.  On Pastoring by H.B. Charles Jr.  On Worship by H.B. Charles Jr.  It Happens After Prayer by H.B. Charles Jr.  The Difference Jesus Makes by H.B. Charles Jr.

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  In this episode, H.B. discusses the pitfalls of sermon preparation.  Having no sermon plan. Busyness.  Ministerial sloth.  Not eliminating distractions.  Starting too late.  Neglecting the biblical text.  Not allowing the text to speak to you personally.  Consulting too many resources.  Failing to strive for clarity.  Sloppy sermon structure.  Prayerlessness.  HBC2 RESOURCES:  On Preaching by H.B. Charles Jr.  On Pastoring by H.B. Charles Jr.  On Worship by H.B. Charles Jr.  It Happens After Prayer by H.B. Charles Jr.  The Difference Jesus Makes by H.B. Charles Jr.

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you to preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  In this episode, H.B. discusses collecting study tools for biblical preaching.  Build your library strategically. Start with the basics.  Ask the help.  Get the best works.  Make friends with authors.  Date before you marry.  Buy individual commentaries.  Find used copies.  Decide between physical and electronic.  Cover the bases.  Good preaching is impossible without study, and study is impossible without good books. - John R.W. Stott HBC2 RESOURCES:  On Preaching by H.B. Charles Jr.  On Pastoring by H.B. Charles Jr.  On Worship by H.B. Charles Jr. ...

On August 26, at the age of 86, John A. Reed Jr. quietly fell asleep in Jesus’s arms. His passing didn’t register on most people’s radar. But the news of his death had wide and strong aftershocks for many in Oklahoma City and around the country who knew and loved “Pops” or “Pop Reed.” The nicknames say a lot about the man and his ministry. Those like me who knew Reed viewed him as a father figure. Lifetime Legacy Reed was born in the home of a pastor. He was a U.S. Army veteran, a graduate of Langston University, and,...

The disciples asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” In Matthew 18:3-4, Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom.”  Childlikeness is the way to kingdom greatness. It is also the way to kingdom citizenship. You must become like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven. To be accepted into the kingdom is to be adopted by the King. Citizens of the kingdom are children of the King. Jesus affirms this in the invocation of The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in heaven.” The...

Psalm 119 is a long, complex, and beautiful poem that celebrates the sufficiency of Scripture to meet every need of the human soul. It begins with a declaration of blessing for those who live according to God’s word. Psalm 119:1-3 declares, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!” The one who lives with confidence in God’s word is blessed. However, this blessing must be defined as divine approval...

In the opening verse of this section, the psalmist feels the rain and sees the sunshine. Verse 161 says, “Princes persecute me without cause.” The psalmist had enemies in high places. Verse 23 says, “Princes sit plotting against me.” Princes have now gone from plotting to persecuting. This statement suggests the psalmist was royalty. But he could have been any believer whose devotion to God’s word threatened the powers that be. And they persecuted him without cause.  John 15:25 says, “But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without a cause.’” Jesus suffered persecution without a cause. Many other faithful men have experienced unjust persecution through the centuries, including the...

As Psalm 119 draws to a close, the psalmist prays with increasingly greater urgency. Throughout this psalm, he maintains his confidence in God’s word to meet. Yet, as the psalm draws to a close, the writer’s difficult circumstances have not changed. In the opening of this stanza, he is still suffering affliction. And his experience both issues us a warning to heed and gives us an example to follow. Devotion to the Lord will not solve all your problems. It may produce new, big, and long problems. The psalmist experienced great affliction. But he did not allow his chronic suffering to become an excuse for forsaking...

This section of Psalm 119 is a prayer with five requests. Supplication is the theme and tone of the text. In this regard, the section is no different than the previous section. Psalm 119 is an ode to the sufficiency of scripture expressed in prayer and praise. This section is different in that the emphasis is not on what the psalmist prayed. It is on the manner the psalmist prayed. He prayed with assurance. As the psalmist prays with earnestness, fervor, and urgency, he prays with confident assurance that God will hear and answer. Answered prayer is a great encouragement...

Psalm 119:137-144 continues the theme of the previous stanza, in which the psalmist magnifies the trustworthiness of God’s word and vows his determination to live by its truth. In verses 131-136, the psalmist focuses on the wonderful nature of God’s word.  In verses 137-144, the psalmist focuses on the righteous character of God’s word.  This section of Psalm 119 is under the heading Tsadhe, the eighteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Every line of this stanza starts with a word that begins with the letter Tsadhe. The first word of this stanza is the most obvious word that would have come to the psalmist that starts with Tsadhe. It is the word tsadek,...

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. - James 5:16 Over the years, it was said that if you wanted to know how popular a church is, visit it on Sunday morning. If you want to know how popular the preacher is, visit on Sunday nights. But if you want to know how popular Jesus is, visit the church’s prayer meeting.   As time has passed, most churches have abandoned both Sunday night services and prayer meetings. Could...