The pastor lives under a divine charge to preach the word. He does not have the right to proclaim his own message. He is a herald assigned to declare the message of the King. Every pastor has multiple responsibilities. But the pastor’s primary, central, and definitive function is to preach the word of God. A faithful pastor will not compromise the centrality of the pulpit. It is my desire and determination to be a faithful pastor. Therefore, I strive to guard the dignity of the pulpit that has been entrusted to me. How I live, study, and preach are shaped...

Welcome to THE ON PREACHING PODCAST, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. I was introduced to the ministry of Ray Pritchard through his book, In the Shadow of the Cross. I have followed his ministry ever since. Looking up his church website, I found links to sermons manuscripts and his blog. Ray was the first pastor who blogged that I knew. And I read him every day. In fact, blame Ray Pritchard for me being a blogger! After missing some days of checking his site, I logged on to discover that he had resigned his...

Welcome to THE ON PREACHING PODCAST, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I have the privilege of talking preaching with Dr. Tony Evans. Dr. Evans is the founding pastor of the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas, where he has served for forty-one years. He is also the President and featured speaker for The Urban Alternative. Many know Tony Evans through his wide-reaching radio and TV ministries. Likewise, Evans is a prolific author whose writings have impacted many lives - mine included. With the multiple ministries Tony Evans is engaged in,...

I am a news junkie. Or, I used to be. I now find it painfully difficult to watch the news. It seems the news no longer reports the news. Anchors or hosts now make an announcement, usually under the banner of breaking news. Someone explains the announcement in less than sixty seconds, usually with a graphic or clip that points to a conclusion. Then a panel discusses what we just heard… or didn’t hear. These panelists are clearly partisans, who argue for their political affiliation no matter what. The discussions regularly turn into arguments, with multiple people yelling at the...

What should I preach this Christmas? Pastors wrestle with this question every year. Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter celebrate the main events of the Christian faith. These holidays spotlight historical facts that establish the foundation of Christian truth. It is often claimed that the major religions of the world essential teach the same thing. That claim is categorically false. And you do not need to be a scholar in theology or an expect apology to explain the uniqueness of the Christian message. You only need to have a biblical understanding of what happened on Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter! Considering...

It was Sunday night, June 11, 1989. I was asleep in the guest room of the late Dr. Roy Allen of the Chapel Hill Baptist Church in Detroit. My rest was pleasantly interrupted, however, when Pastor Allen knocked on the door to tell me my father was on the phone. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to talk to my dad. He had been hospitalized the previous week. It was the first and only time in my life that my father was ever admitted into the hospital. I was concerned about him. And I missed him....

He waited for me to pause from reviewing my sermon manuscript before the service began. As soon as he saw an opening, he asked, “Do you still get nervous before you preach?” I answered him emphatically with one word: “Absolutely!” He was genuinely shocked by my answer. You would assume those who have preached for a long time or who preach regularly eventually get to a place where they are no longer nervous about preaching. Yet even skilled, prepared, and experienced preachers get nervous at preaching time. If they do not, they should. Maybe the most accurate answer to my...

Welcome to episode #33 of The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I point to seven resources to find good sermon illustrations... The Bible Biblical Commentaries Sermon Illustration Books General Reading Other Preachers Personal Experiences Everywhere Questions What do you think? How importance are sermon illustrations to your preaching? Where do you find illustrations for preaching? Recommended Resources On Preaching by H.B. Charles Jr.  On Pastoring by H.B. Charles Jr.  Well-Driven Nails by Byron Forrest Yawn  Using Illustrations to Preach with Power by Bryan Chapell Preaching that Connects by Mark...

I had a strange experience recently. As I preached our 7:45 Sunday worship service, a fly buzzed up to the pulpit. He landed near my Bible. He jumped on the microphone. He sat on my sh oulder. That thing was everywhere! The little fly was a big distraction. I have preached in many churches where a lot of distracting things happen in the service because of open windows. But there are no windows in the church where I serve. So I thought, “Where did this thing come from?” More importantly, I hate bugs! Loathe them. Any of them. All of...

Some preachers take off strong. They get to cruising altitude and pilot the sermon without turbulence. Then they land smoothly at the same airport from which they took off. It was good flight. Homiletical policies and procedures were followed. And the congregation enjoyed the ride so much that it never noticed they did not actually go anywhere. These craft-first preachers are lauded as great communicators. But they fail to preach the word, to the detriment of the crowds that sit under their preaching. Other preachers focus on the God-intended meaning of the text. The process is saturated in prayer for...

I went to the office early to work on my Thanksgiving sermon before the rest of the team arrived. I stopped by the Waffle House on the way. As I sat at the counter, a man in a nearby booth asked, “Is that Psalm 100 on your file.” It was. I was working on several projects at the same time. And I had marked Psalm 100 real big across the folder. I told the man I was working on Psalm 100 to preach for Thanksgiving. With a confused look, he asked, “So do you write your own sermons?” When I...

My father – H.B. Charles, Sr. – was a faithful preacher. He was not, however, an expositor. His messages were thoroughly biblical. But they were not expositional. My dad was more a textual preacher. He would often lift a verse and keep turning it to show the beautiful gospel implications in it. But the main point of the text was not necessarily the main point of his sermon. I was not led to Christ by expository preaching. The preaching that nurtured my faith was not expositional, either. Much of the preaching that continues to feed my soul is not classic...