Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you to preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In 2 Timothy 4:5, Paul charges Timothy (and, thus, the Lord Jesus Christ charges the church and its ministers) to "do the work of an evangelist." We do not know if Timothy had the gift of evangelism. But he had a sacred duty to do the work of an evangelist. As we preach, there are two groups of people in the congregation: true believers, false believers, and unbelievers. We should always be sensitive to the unbelievers who may be present, so that...

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15 I often say that I don’t want God to speak to me in the pulpit. I concluded this after hearing the story about the unprepared preacher who walked to the pulpit begging God to speak to him. To his surprise and dismay, the Lord spoke to him and said, “You should have studied.”  Get it?  If that’s how the Lord speaks, I don’t want the Lord to speak to me in...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you to preach faithfully, clearly, and better. "Preaching and praying go together," It is well said. "If there is to be preaching in the pulpit, there must be praying in the pews." I fully agree with these statements. But I would add one point. Not only should there be prayer in the pews, but there should also be praying in the pulpit. The entire process of sermon planning, preparation, and delivery should be seasoned and saturated in believing prayer. What are the marks of a prayer-saturated sermon? Pray for...

When I was a young pastor, I dreaded preaching Easter. It felt like people were only there to show off their new clothes. It seemed like I didn’t have the congregation’s full attention. And I saw people who I hadn’t seen since last Easter and would not see until the next.  At some point, I changed my mind about preaching holidays in general and Easter in particular. If you can’t beat them, join them, I concluded. It is a matter of the stewardship of opportunity. If Easter is the Sunday the most people will come to church and sinners will...

Faithful preachers are growing preachings. We should always be making progress in our preaching (1 Timothy 4:15). The preacher progresses through studying preaching, by preaching, and in conversation with other preachings. In studying preaching, you should read at least one book on preaching each year. Here are 25 books on preaching you should read. (NOTE: This list is not exhaustive. And it is not in any particular order.) 1. Preaching | Michael Reeves  2. 12 Essentials Skills for Great Preaching | Wayne McDill 3. Preaching & Preachers | D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones 4. Anointed Expository Preaching | Steven Olford & David...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, The Podcast dedicated to helping you to preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, H.B. discusses four targets of gospel application in your preaching. A biblical sermon should include explanation, application, and illustration. Throughout the body of the sermon, you should explain the text, apply the text, and illustrate the text. For many, effective application is difficult to develop. But this principle might be helpful: Think about the who before you think about the how. Who are you trying to apply the text to should come before thoughts about how to make that...

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.

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,...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, H.B. reflects on the first sermon he preached - forty years ago - August 26, 2024. The sermon was preached at a youth choir musical at the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, where H.B.'s dad - H.B. Charles Sr. - was the pastor.  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. Registration for Cutting...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you to preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, H.B. discusses the words you should consider in your sermon text for further study. You should note these words in your observation of the text and study them in the interpretation phase of your word work.  What words should you study in the text?  Unfamiliar Words Familiar Words  Technical Words  Repeated Words  Confusing Words  Action Words  Proper Names  Variant Words  Figurative Speech  Quoted Words  HBC2 RESOURCES:  On Preaching by H.B. Charles Jr.  On Pastoring by H.B. Charles Jr.  On Worship by H.B....

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. Derek W.H. Thomas, a native of Wales, is the Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology and the recently retired Senior Minister at First Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Columbia, South Carolina. He previously served as the Chairman of the Theology Department at Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson), the Minister of Teaching at First Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Jackson, Mississippi, and the Robert Strong Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Atlanta). He is also a Teaching Fellow with Ligonier Ministries and...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you to preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, H.B. discusses a system of sermon preparation. Although the principles of sermon preparation are common, each preacher must develop, practice, and refine his own process for moving from text to sermon.  What does a system of sermon preparation involve?  Study the text. This is the primary word work you should do in sermon preparation. Ask strategic questions of the text. Then seek scriptural answers to your questions, as you carefully read the text. Consult the resources. This is the secondary...