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 about crafting effective sermon outlines. Sermon outlines are not absolutely necessary. But there is value in crafting and presenting formal points in your sermon. Outlines provide support and structure. They help the preacher preach with purpose, unity, and movement. And they help the congregation follow along and remember what is preached. Sermon outline points should be textual, diverse, and strategic. How can I craft sermon outline points for effective communication? Alliteration Narrative Headings Parallelism...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  

  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 about effective sermon transitions. Planes are in the most danger during take-off and landing. Car accidents most often happen as drivers turn or change lanes. And sermons most often crash during transitions - from introduction to the main body, from one point to the next, from outline to conclusion. How can a preacher make effective transitions in the sermon?  Be clear about the main idea of your sermon. Unite the sermon elements around the main...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In the previous episode of the podcast (#079), we talked about where you should do your sermon preparation. In this episode, I want to talk to you about when you should do your sermon preparation. This subject is about more than whether you prefer to study in the morning or at night. It is also about more than what days a week you use for sermon preparation. It is about being a good steward of your time for sermon preparation. When should...

  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 where you do your sermon preparation. There seems to be two obvious answers to the question about where a preacher does his sermon preparation: at home or at the church.  But the the question is bigger than just a geographic location. Where should you prepare to preach?  Prioritize concentration. Go to your secret prayer closet. Turn your "Office" into a "Study." Work where you tools are. Not in an ivory tower. Work...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I want to you talk to you about developing a sermon preparation checklist. Many "thought workers" use checklists to do their work with effectiveness, efficiency, and excellence - like doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, and chefs. Preachers should also use sermon preparation checklists as they prepare to preach the word. What should be in a preacher's sermon preparation checklist? When and where will I be preaching this sermon? Do I understand the meaning of the text? Have I applied this...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. Sermons have three basic elements: explanation, application, and illustration. Explain what the text means by what it says. Call on the hearer to respond to the truth with repentance, faith, and obedience. Illustrate how the truth of the text works in the world of the hearer. Illustrations are powerful. But the preacher must harness the power of illustrates by using them effectively in preaching. How do you use sermon illustrations effectivel? Remember the purpose of sermon illustrations. Place illustrations in your semon...

  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 what it means to preach the word. In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul charged Timothy to preach the word. This is the definitive, central, and primary function of the pastor and the church. But we live in a time where there is a conspiracy against preaching - in the pews and in the pulpit. But it is and has always been the will of God to save the lost and sanctify the church...

  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 executive decisions every preacher must make. Preachers are ministers of the word (Acts 6:4). Literally, we are servants of the word. As a result, there are fundamental elements of pulpit ministry over which we have no control. We have no authority over the biblical message we proclaim. We have no authority over the response of the hearer. We have no control over the ministry of the Holy Spirit as we preach But there...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  In this episode, we discuss how to structure a sermon. Good, clear, sound and sermon structure is key to effective preaching. But sermon structure must stay in its place. You do not want to preach a jellyfish sermon, with no structure. And you do not want to preach a skeleton, with no life. How should you structure your sermon for effective preaching?  Structure the sermon based on the text. Structure the sermon around one main idea. Structure the sermon for clear communication....

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.  In this episode, we discuss the use of Bible commentaries in sermon preparation. Make friends with several good commentators. Find the best commentaries on individual books of the Bible. Use different types of commentaries. Consult commentaries toward the end of your study. Make strategic use of Bible commentaries. Do not read too many commentaries. Remember that no commentary is the ultimate authority on scripture. View commentaries as a sermon preparation tool. Though shalt not steal! Preach the Word, not the commentary.  ...

  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 what expository preaching is not. Many preachers reject expository preaching, without really knowing what it is. Others seek to practice it, without really knowing what it is. But you should not react to a caricature of expository preaching. And you should learn a craft before you try to practice it. Here are fifteen myths about expository preaching to help the preacher rightly understand and faithfully practice expository preaching. Expository preaching is not whatever...