Living With Confidence In God (Psalms 23)

The following is an exert from Rediscovering Expository Preaching by John MacArthur, Jr. Fling him into his office. Tear the “Office” sign from the door and nail on the sign, “Study.” Take him off the mailing list. Lock him up with his books and his typewriter and his Bible. Slam him down on his knees before texts and broken hearts and the flock of lives of a superficial flock and a holy God Force him to be the one man in our surfeited communities who knows about God. Throw him into the ring to box with God until he learns how...

The following is an exert from the introduction of my new book, The Difference Jesus Makes. I was in junior high school the first time a girl gave me her phone number. I did not ask for the number. As our families had dinner together that Sunday evening, it was obvious that I liked her. But I did not have the guts to ask for her number. I didn’t even know that was what you were supposed to do. But she saved the day. Before we left the restraint, the young lady told me she needed a pen. I borrowed...

Thanks for reading my blog. Saturday Shout-Outs is my weekly online bulletin board. Enjoy! You can sign up for my FREE weekly sermon manuscript email list in the box in the top right of this page. Shout-out to my friend, Mac Brunson, for the opportunity to give the opening lecture at the Jacksonville Pastors' Conference hosted by the First Baptist Church. A shout out to Josh Buice for the opportunity to speak at the G3 Conference in Douglasville (near Atlanta) this week. It was way cool to meet Tim Challies and Voddie Baucham for the first time at G3. Check...

How To Get To God (John 14:5-6)

This is episode #015 of The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, we talk about the different ways you can and should the scriptures in your preaching. Here are five ways to effectively use scripture in your preaching...   Read the scriptures. Explain the scriptures. Apply the scriptures. Correlate the scriptures. Illustrate with the scriptures.  Questions So what do you think? How do you use scripture in your preaching? Do you use these ways I recommend? Are there others ways you recommend?  [Tweet "I preached as never sure to preach...

One Friday evening, he died on the cross for your sins and mine! They buried him in Joseph’s new tomb! But early Sunday morning, he rose from the dead with all power in his hands! The church tradition I grew up in expected the preacher to end the sermon by going to the cross. My father ended his sermons with a summarizing illustration of whatever text he preached. But many other preachers I heard closed their messages with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some claim if you do not go to Calvary at the end. And you...

My father was a good preacher. People who heard my dad will tell you Junior cannot touch Senior when it comes to preaching. There are many preachers who have influenced my preaching. But my dad is at the top of the list. My dad would often tell me, “Son, I don’t want you to be a jackleg preacher.” I didn’t know what a “jackleg preacher” was. Still don’t. But I heard the term enough to know it was something I did not want to be. I hope I am or am becoming the kind of preacher my dad would be...

Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed in me, when as yet there was none of them. - Psalm 139:13-16   Join us, along...

Thanks for reading my blog! You can sign up for my FREE weekly sermon manuscript email list in the box in the top right of this page. A big shout-out to all the Shiloh Church members who participated in Prayer Emphasis Week 2015. Clay Today: Shiloh Merger: More than black-and-white Check out the devotional I wrote this week: "Commit Your Work to the Lord."  Take a listen to the latest episode of The On Preaching Podcast: "What I Pray When I Preach" Ray Pritchard: 20 Sermons for Sanctity of Human Life Sunday James Hamilton Jr.: Worthy of Double Honor: Expository Advocating...

This is episode #014 of The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I talk about why I pray before I preach and what I preach when I preach. When I start my sermons, I typically begin with a public prayer. No one told me to do this or taught me that I should do it. In fact, many of the preachers I look up to do not publicly prepare to begin their messages. But I pray before I preach for two reasons: To personally and publicly declare I need...

For several months, I have read a chapter of Proverbs daily. I have read Proverbs countless times over the years. But it has come alive for me in fresh and new ways recently. One proverb I have meditated a great deal on is Proverbs 16:3… Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Proverbs are not guaranteed promises. They are practical wisdom for a godly and peaceful life. It may not be wise to read them as a principle and promise. It is more like a cause-and-effect. There is a choice and a consequence. You make...