As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“He explained one motivation some pastors have for remaining silent. ‘Rather than reminding their church, in the name of “humility,” many pastors just soldier on, trying to convince themselves that they don’t need to feel appreciated.’” - C.Leaders
King Manasseh was one of ungodliest kings to ever rule over God’s people. The biblical record of his wickedness includes explicit statements that show that he was profoundly involved in the occult:
2 Chronicles 33:6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
“How a leader sees people will impact how a leader leads. If a leader sees people as tools for an overarching vision, you will get one approach…. If a leader sees people as potential pain in their lives, you will get a very different approach…. But there is another way, a better way.” - Geiger
“…the Westminster Larger Catechism, which was completed 347 years ago this week. The Westminster Catechisms—both the Larger and Shorter versions—would become some of the most influential catechisms in Christian history.” - TGC
“I’m talking about churches that were growing before the pandemic, then embraced the digital world during the pandemic, and now are back growing again after the pandemic. In every case, they cited one powerful tool for growing the church … Word of mouth.” - Phil Cooke
“A Pew Research study finds 64% of Americans who typically attend church at least monthly attended a religious service in person in September 2021—up from 43% in March 2021 and 33% in July 2020.” - Lifeway
In this article, I’ll include excerpts from a recent sermon and share some thoughts about sermon preparation and delivery. Every pastor prepares sermons differently. My goal here is a combination of mechanics and approach―how to best capture and communicate what God is doing with what He’s saying, and to deliver shorter, more effective sermons.
All the examples which follow are from a sermon on Acts 8:2-25, titled “Peter and the Magician.”
“According to a new study from Nashville-based Lifeway Research, 45% of Americans say they have watched a Christian church service online during the COVID-19 pandemic, including some who say they don’t normally physically attend.” - Lifeway
“The Reformed Church in America’s 214th General Synod…voted Saturday (Oct. 16) to appoint a team to develop a restructuring plan for the nearly 400-year old denomination as it divides over LGBTQ ordination and same-sex marriage.” - RNS
“The decisions made on Tuesday afternoon, October 5, in response to the 2021 Convention now place our missionary enterprise as Southern Baptists into uncertain, unknown, unprecedented and uncharted waters,” Floyd said in the letter. - BPNews
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