Not only do I love preaching and listening to preachers, but I also love to read books about preaching. There are tons of incredible preachers, leaders, and writers who have a lot of valuable insight about the craft of preaching and a lot of books have really helped me as I've spent time learning how to be a better communicator of God's word. I've put together a list of some of my favorite books on preaching. The books are a variety of styles ranging from the practical to theological in nature, but they all have had value for me as I've read and studied them.
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Preaching
In the book Faithful Preaching by Tony Merida he listed out a great list of ten points of a great preacher. His list of preaching points are referenced from Martin Luther's table talks. The list has some obvious points like, "Be able to speak well." But it also lists some other great reminders that we might forget like, "Be ready to benture body and blood, wealth and honor, for the word of God."
When I was a young kid, I was pretty much afraid of anything. I was afraid of swimming, even with a life-jacket on. I was afraid of eating taco bell; I actually cried when I was forced to try taco bell for the first time. When I was a kid, everything seemed to be too big a risk. In life, there will always be certain things that have some element of risk to them. And this is especially true when it comes to our faith. There are risks that comes with living out your faith. The risks may be losing respect, friends, popularity, or something else. Taking the truth of the gospel seriously, to the point that we are willing to live it out everywhere, can sometimes be risky.
When Jesus tells the disciples that the truth will set them free, I immediately have two questions. What is the truth and what does it set us free from? There are plenty of things in life that are true. Facebook is filled with true statements every time sometimes likes a status that says "truth is..."
Truth or Dare is a game all about making a difficult decision; which will be less uncomfortable - being truthful about a difficult question or following through with the dare presented to you? I remember not knowing what I would choose when playing the game and being frozen as I tried to determine, should I focus on the truth or focus on the dare. As Christians, it is crucial that we spend time both knowing and growing in the truth and daring to live out that truth in our day-to-day lives.
I love pretty much anything by Andy Stanley; this clip from their series "What is Christian" does a great job challenging us to think about really living out our faith. Imagine what the world would look like if we actually lived the way the Bible teaches. What would happen if we all started doing that?
A few weeks ago I spent some time thinking about my sermon prep process. As I thought about it, I listed out a few steps that I felt like I needed to remind myself of as I spend time writing messages. The steps are soak it in, break it down, put flesh on it, and own it.
This past Sunday we finished our 4 week sermon series titled "Cooties." Cooties was a series all about dating, relationships, friendships with the opposite sex, and sexual purity. For the final week of the series we focused on sexual purity, to do this we broke the group into two and spent time discussing the same topic with just 6th and 7th graders and again with 8th graders only. The message was very similar, with some more explicit details for the 8th grade message.
Good things, used wrong ways.
Sex is a good thing. It was a part of creation. When we read the creation account in Genesis 1, God not only creates male and female, but he also commands them to be fruitful and multiply (aka: have sex). God created sex; it was his idea and he even called it "very good." This is an important reality for us as we talk about sex because it's easy for us to get caught up in an idea that sex is bad and we shouldn't do it. Sex is good...when it is used the way God intended it to be used.
Just like many good things; because of sin, good things often get used in wrong ways. Too much water can make someone die. Too much food might make someone extremely obese. The internet can allow for a wealth of information or it could allow for anonymous bullying. These are good things and can be very good, but they can also be misused. After sin enters the picture in Genesis 3, humanity starts to use good things in wrong ways. Sex, which is a good thing, when used in the wrong way can be very damaging.
Gross, God, or Gift.
There are three possibilities for how we might think about sex. Two of them are common, but not biblical. And the third is bibilical but probably the least common. Many people think gross as soon as they hear the topic of sex. In fact, gross might be most common in settings like a church where it is easy for us to simply give they message that "sex is bad." Sex is not gross; God created it. The most popular thought pattern in culture is most likely god. This is the idea that your own desires rule regardless of how that lines up with what God has set as the standard. The culture worships our own desires, often found in sexual behaviors, as god. The third way we can think about it is as a gift. God created it, God designed it, and God has given it to us so we need to be responsible and use it the way that he intended it.
This past Sunday, we began our new sermon series for the middle school ministry for the month of February. Cooties is a series about friendships, dating, identity, and sexual purity. For four weeks we are going to be looking at what we can learn about dating and relationships during the middle school years.
More Than Friends
During middle school, it is very normal for people to begin having the desire to be "more than friends." Because of the changes that are happening, during this age we begin to look at the opposite sex differently. While 3rd graders focus on playing tag with the opposite gender, 7th graders begin to have all kinds of ideas about what it means to be boyfriend and girlfriend. These new attractions are normal; it's part of growing up. Now, what we do with these new attractions is a very important discussion to have.
Is Dating in Middle School Beneficial?
The Bible doesn't ever say that dating in middle school is a sin, so I cannot say that it is not allowed. It might be a sin, however, if dating in middle school is causing you to sin in the way you're treating others, the way you're talking or what you're doing with your significant other, or if your parents say you are not allowed. But let's say none of this is happening, is dating in middle school beneficial?
In 1 Corinthians 10:23 Paul writes, “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive." Paul isn't specifically talking about dating, in fact he's talking about dietary laws. But I think the truth of this statement holds significant value to the dating discussion in middle school. Dating in middle school may be allowed, but is it helpful?
If you say yes...
I would argue it's not beneficial, but you might argue yes. And if you argue yes there are some important things to be aware of that might come along with dating.
- What do your parents say? If they say no, don't do it.
- Spend time in groups while dating in middle school. You can really get to know people this way.
- What will you do when it comes to break ups? Do you want to deal with that yet?
- What's your motivation for dating? Is it something other than finding a future spouse?
- There are a whole bunch of new temptations. (You need to be thinking about your sexual purity)
- Can you maintain your normal friendships while having a boyfriend/girlfriend?
That's a lot to think about and manage. At some point even with everything that comes along with dating, it is still worth it because the benefit is finding a spouse but is that something you want to be worrying about in middle school?
If you say no...
I think that's a smart decision; I am not saying you shouldn't like or "like like" people. There will still be certain individuals that you have crushes on and you want to spend more time with than the others, but you are simply deciding that the most beneficial thing is to not worrying about having a boyfriend or girlfriend right now.
So what do you do?
1. Don't date. If you don't think it's beneficial, don't do it.
2. Learn to be a great friend right now. The qualities that will be important for you in being a good boyfriend or girlfriend or finding one, will probably be the same qualities that are important in having a good friendship. Right now learn how to be a great friend to the opposite sex and that will be of significant value when you do decide to start dating.
This past Sunday, we finished our sermon series for our middle school ministry entitled All Access. Because of the death and ressurection of Jesus we have complete and total access to our God; since we have complete access what does our prayer life look like? The third and final message was all about "How to Pray."
We commonly recite the words that Jesus taught when his disciples asked him how to pray:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." - Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus taught the disciples this prayer; it is loaded with significance for us as we pray. Here are a few of the observations that we spent time discussing on Sunday.
Pray with confidence. When we approach God in prayer, we approach him confidently as his children. We have no rights to call God our father, but because of Jesus we know that we can go to God as father and we can be confident that he loves us, provides for us, and will do what's best for us.
Honor God's name with words and actions. We need to remember that not only is God our father, but he is holy. We honor God in our prayers with our words and we also do the same with our actions when we do what is right. When we pray we should be worshipping him and our actions when we are not in prayer should match the words we use when we do pray.
Needs > Wants. Daily bread is not about asking God to provide for our needs. When we pray to God we should pray that he would provide for our daily needs and also thank him that he has given us our daily needs like a house, a family, food, and clothes.
Confess. Confession is an essential part of our prayer life. We all sin, therefore, confession should be a part of our prayers.
Ask for help. No matter how motivated we are to change things and no matter how badly things get around us, we cannot simply will things to change. We need God's help. We pray that God will help protect us from evil, keep us from temptation, and to help do what is right.
This past Sunday we started a brand new series for our Middle School students entitled "All Access." For 3 weeks, we will be discussing prayer. Because of the death and ressurection of Jesus we have complete access to God. Because we have complete access to him, it is important that we use that access we have and continually be praying. Throughout the series, I will be sharing some of my notes from the lessons (except for the first lesson, which I did not give). If you're looking for a series on prayer and want to steal any of these ideas or graphics, feel free.
Week 1: Why Pray?
Week 2: What is Prayer?
Week 3: How to Pray?
For a copy of our additional background slide: download it here.
[This post is a part of the Creating a Sermon Series series]
Creating a sermon series brand that both communicates and intrigues churchgoers can be a very difficult process. An important part of the branding process is the point where you work through key details that need to be discussed in order to execute the series. In order to help our team discuss the branding, I put together a few different questions to help work through the details. There are certainly other important questions and discussions that may come up, but these questions help set up a framework for us to discuss some of the creative elements to our upcoming series.
1. Series Details
- What's the big idea?
- How long is the series?
- What are the topics and texts for the weekends?
- Who will be preaching?
- What dates will this take place?
2. Theming/Branding
- What should it be called?
- How should the series look and feel? (Eg: think of images, metaphors, movies, tv shows that have the "feel" we are looking for)
- What enviornments are we trying to create?
- What about pre-service music, lighting, and stage design?
3. Preaching Details
- What's a concise version of the messages?
- Are there any concepts that we could illustrate? (This is an opportunity to think of videos, props, pictures, etc.)
- How can this message beyond lived out beyond Sunday (The web, books, small groups, etc)
4. Music
- From the previous discussion, is there enough to work with for direction on weekends?
- Could any of this lead to series specific songs?
- Are there any songs that help communicate the ideas of the series?
5. The Deliverables
- What graphics need to be created and by when?
- What videos (bumpers, promotion videos) need to be created and by when?
- How are we promoting this series? When do these elements need to be finished?
What other questions might you ask? For a great example of how to brand a sermon series, check out Mars Hill Seattle's Battle Plan.
If you want to be a better preacher, whether to students or adults, you need to not only be doing it yourself but also reading and listening to others who do it well. I am constantly downloading new sermons to listen to and always looking for new ones to get into my list of podcasts. This list is not based on the accuracy of their theology, but instead on their ability to communicate well. There are certainly some on the list that I would reccommend to anybody to listen to and others that I would be cautious about recommending to somebody if I'm unsure of there ability to listen critically.
A Few Preachers I'm Listening To:
Matt Chandler, The Village Church - Probably one the best preachers I have ever listened to.
Matt Popovits, CrossPoint Church - Great theology. Great preacher.
Andy Stanley, NorthPoint Church - The best when it comes to clear, simple communication.
Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church Seattle - Long sermons but does a great job at breaking books down verse by verse.
Rob Bell - Probably one of the best communicators around; I often disagree with his theology but he communicates well.
Francis Chan - I cannot listen to him preach without thinking "This guy really believes every word he is saying." I hope people feel that way when I teach.
Steven Furtick, Elevation Church - I enjoy seeing how he approaches the topics creatively.
Photo Credit: LifeWay
Preaching is one of the most important things that happen in the life of a church. Preachers must regularly work on their craft. I love preaching. It is one of my favorite parts of being in youth ministry; every week, sometimes even more often, I get to spend time preparing and giving a message to teach our middle school students. Because I love it so much, I have found some things that seem to be helpful to me in improving my preaching.
4 Ways to Improve Preaching
Preach More. The best way to improve at anything is to get more practice. It's true of any athlete that wants to compete at a higher level; if you want to improve at your skill you need to get reps in. If you want to be a better preacher, whether it be on the preparation end or in the delivery, you need to find ways to preach often.
Read Scripture. We cannot be effective in our preaching if we are not studying the scripture. You might have enough Bible knowledge to get by without spending time personally in the word, but falling into this trap is a huge danger. Spend time in the scripture, not simply for the sake of finding things to preach on but for the sake of your own relationship with God.
Listen More. If you love to preach and want to get better, listen to great preachers. I regularly have a list of sermons that are downloading every week. Find a variety of styles and denominations; there is a lot to learn by finding different preachers that are effective in communicating.
Read Books. When you find a book or writer that you love, read all their books and the books that they reference. Reading books will allow you to continually be learning and building your library of potential ideas. It will also help you grow in your knowledge of what you are reading about. The key here though is that you need to find a way to not only read books, but remember what was in them. For me that means underlining and recording things in evernote.
Photo Credit: GWoods
[This post is a part of the Creating a Sermon Series series]
Branding the sermon series is the part that is one of my favorite parts of the series preparation. It is the part of the planning that we really begin to think about what images, words, and symbols will help make this series of messages memorable. What visuals will help not only make it memorable, but help communicate the message that we are trying to share. The branding stage is the stage that a sermon series begins to look like an actual usable sermon series. The branding is when the series gets a title and begins to be fleshed out into all the elements that make up a sermon series.
Branding is the "name, term, sign, symbol, or combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers." In the context of a sermon series, it's the name, terms, signs, symbols, or comibantion thereof to help church-goers identify the vision and message of a set of sermons and encourage them to listen.
Branding a sermon series might include:
- Title: What words are you going to use to identify the series?
- Graphics: What's the visual feel (colors, images, sermon slides, etc) that you are going to use to identify the series?
- Tagline: Is there a subtitle that helps further communicate your message?
- Staging: Can the brand recognition be enhanced by a certain stage set-up?
- Video: Is there video that you want to use as a part of the series brand? Is there a video bumper that helps lead into the sermon?
- Sermon Titles: Is there a way you want to tie your individual sermon titles into the actual series?
[The above list is an adaptation from Tentblogger's Introduction to Branding]
A quality brand has been seen to evoke great passion amongst followers. Apple, with their simple name, logo, and design have shaped the way their customers view their products. Not only do they successfully sell their products, but they turn customers into passionate evangelists of their brand. And Apple users don't just use Apple products, they brag about Apple products.
Don't expect sermon series branding to convert people. Your creativity abilities are not going to motivate somebody to get out of the pew and into the neighborhood. A creative title doesn't move a passive churchgoer into an active evangelist. That's the Spirit's job. But branding a sermon series will help create an important sermon series recognition. When a slide is shown, when a 30 second video clip appears, or when the title of a sermon series is spoken, the message and direction of a well-branded series will be recognized.
Photo Credit: Captcreate