Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. This episode is a first. During this episode, I will draw from the "mailbag" to answer questions about sermon preparation and sermon delivery. Over the years, I have learned to preach by three means: (1) Study, (2) practice, (3) and conversation. You can learn a lot about preaching by talking to other preachers about preaching. I hope this episode will serve you in that way. I am not an expert or scholar. But whatever I know about preaching from my decades of...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. Sometimes pastors struggle in preaching because they don’t take their pulpit work seriously. Others struggle in preaching because they struggle alone. But good preaching is a partnership between pastor and congregation, pulpit and pew, the one who preaches and the one who listens. The pastor preaches to help those in the pew. But the congregation can and should help the one in the pulpit, as well. Here are seven ways the pew can helpt the pulpit... Pray for your pastor. Give your...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. During the 2019 Sing! Worship Music Conference, hosted by Keity and Kristyn Getty in Nashville, I gave a talk about preaching the incarnation. In this episode of the podcast, I want to share some of the principles I gave during that talk. What is the Incarnation of Christ all about? I can answer in four words from John 1:14: "The Word became flesh." The Incarnation of Christ is essential to Christian truth, Christian worship, and Christian living. Here are ten priciples for...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In his episode, I have the privilege of interviewing Alexander Strauch. Alexander Strauch was raised in New Jersey and converted to Christ at a Bible camp in New York State. He received his undergraduate degree from Colorado Christian University and went on to earn his Master’s in Divinity degree from Denver Seminary. Mr. Strauch has served in the leadership and teaching ministry of Littleton Bible Chapel for nearly 50 years. As a gifted Bible teacher and a church elder with extensive practical experience, Mr....

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. Preaching is a public act of spiritual devotion. We may pray that God would hide us behind the cross as we preach. But there is no place to hide in the pulpit. Let's face it. The pulpit is a dangerous place. It can fill the preacher with pride that leads to his downfall. It can fill the preacher with discouragement that causes him to give up. It can fill the preacher with fear that prostitutes his divne message for human approval. How...

  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 preaching as the worship leader. Who is the worship leader in the local church? It is the pastor who regularly preaches in the worship services. It is one thing to preach as a guest at an event. It is another thing to be the main preaching pastor of a local church. As the worship leader of your congregation, you have more responsibility than the preaching and preparation of your sermon. What does...

  Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, I want to talk about the goals of the sermon. Every sermon should have goals the preacher seeks to reach. You should preach with purpose. These goals should shape how you prepare and proclaim the message. Here are seven goals every sermon should have... Instruction Faithful Engagement Clarity Demonstration Passion Worship     What are the goals of your sermons?    "One God-called man armed with one God-sent message, committed to one God-prescribed method - preaching - is always...

  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. 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...