“If you preach from your weakness, you’ll never run out of material” (Andy Stanley).
Better Listen to Pilate
Pilate knew that it was out of envy that the leaders of the Jews delivered Jesus up (Mat 27:18). We know that Pilate was not a godly or a courageous man — he failed to deliver Jesus even though he knew He was being railroaded, and even though his wife had sent him a message …
Why All Other Titles Should be Interesting
“It should be noted in passing that this is an important purpose in an announced or printed sermon title — to help upset the equilibrium. Most titles tend to do the reverse. They appear to be drawn from the sermon’s conclusion (the scratch rather than the itch). As a result, the preacher has to move …
Birth and Dedication of Samuel
INTRODUCTION:We begin this story with the birth and dedication of Samuel. As with many of God’s great men, Samuel’s birth was remarkable. God loves the pattern of death and resurrection, and He also loves the pattern of barrenness followed by fruitfulness. We can see the same truth in how He makes the wilderness become a …
A Real Sham
“Competent fiction writers understand the human predicament well. As a result, their fiction has the feel of fact — of reality, while our fact — our reality — often has the feel of poor fiction” (Lowry, The Homiletical Plot, p. 25).
A Double Bind
“There are in fact preachers who fall into these two camps. Paul Scherer once described them: The one knows what to say but doesn’t know how to say it, and the other knows how to say it but has nothing to say” (Lowry, The Homiletical Plot, p. 17).
Fluid or Static?
“I shall prefer to speak of the continuity or the movement of a sermon, rather than of its outline” (Lowry, The Homiletical Plot, p. 14).
Knots Untied
“Likewise, a sermon is a plot (premeditated by the preacher) which has as its key ingredient a sensed discrepancy, a homiletical bind. Something is ‘up in the air’ — an issue not resolved . . . Preaching is story telling. A sermon is a narrative art form” (Lowry, The Homiletical Plot, p. 12).
Sermons Built From Legos
“I used to feel guilty about the sermon which seemed to have its own demands and desires . . . Of course I was violating the rules of sermon making — for many years before I had been taught the engineering science of sermon construction! To change the metaphor, I had been taught sermonic architecture …
Introduction and Background: Samuel 1
INTRODUCTION:The book of Samuel is the repository of some truly great Bible stories. But more than this, it represents the tale of three very complex characters—Samuel, Saul, and David. And behind it all, we see the promises and mercies of the steadfast God. One of the central things we will learn is the ways of …