“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

“…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

“Contentment in the midst of chaos is a powerful testimony to a solid foundation and a confident purpose. We have what we need. God is enough.” - Olinger

“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

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.”

Introductions

The introduction and conclusion are now the only portions of my sermons I script. Here is the introduction:

“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

Related: America’s Oldest Denomination Faces Split Over LGBT Issues

“Last week, the executive director of curriculum and instruction in the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, told teachers that a new state law required them to present multiple perspectives about ‘widely debated and currently controversial’ issues. This means that they needed to make “opposing” views on the Holocaust available to students.” - RNS

“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

Some analysis of Faith Communities Today survey

“There are no enemies present. Nevertheless, the sword is drawn, perhaps again without him fully realizing what he’s doing. His passions are in control.” - Desiring God

Originally published in Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal (DBSJ) 2013. Used by permission. Read Part 1 and Part 2.

The 6,000-year-earth position may be questioned on the grounds of logical, hermeneutical, text-critical, and intertextual tensions. Anomalies in the biblical story line and extrabiblical historical records provide additional evidence.

“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

Related…

“Now, we’ve actually seen, we’ve witnessed ourselves in [Peters’] article the leap over that vast canyon of common sense.” - C.Leaders

“We don’t have to abstract Edwards as ‘a man of his times’ or retreat to what we don’t know. We should instead critique him when he clearly gets things wrong. His lifelong commitment to race-based slavery is clearly one such instance.” - TGC

“Questions about the potential existence, age, and location of Sodom are not directly related to the fundamental question addressed in this investigation as to what processes produced high-temperature materials at Tall el-Hammam during the MBA (Middle Bronze Age),” the report notes. - BPNews

“Paul placed the charge of living at peace on his hearers. He did not mention the obligations of the other party or parties in the conflict. His focus is on his hearers’ efforts to be peacemakers.” - Tim McKnight

“A new study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science shows that the number one predictive factor for an American child becoming an atheist is growing up in a home with little religion or religious activity.” - Lifeway

“The United States stands out among 17 advanced economies as one of the most conflicted when it comes to questions of social unity. A large majority of Americans say there are strong political and strong racial and ethnic conflicts in the U.S. and that most people disagree on basic facts.” - Pew

“We think it is immoral for persons to be forced to take unproven COVID-19 experimental vaccinations…that may alter their own DNA.” - C.Leaders

“We don’t need a better guidebook or a different set of rules. We need to change the way we approach the conversation.” - C.Today

“A new survey finds a majority of Americans who hold to such a view also believe in a ‘replacement’ conspiracy theory holding that immigrants are invading the U.S. in an attempt to replace the country’s current culture.” - RNS

“…if we are to be grateful (and we are), to whom should we be grateful, exactly? Karlamangla never specifies…. Maybe thanking no one in particular isn’t really gratitude.” - Breakpoint

“New York will continue to be barred from enforcing any requirement that employers deny religious exemptions. Additionally, the state cannot revoke exemptions already granted.” - RNS

“Two experts on intercultural evangelism explore the challenge of sharing Christ in a climate of growing indifference.” - C.Today

“pastors should be appreciated all the time, and not just one month a year. Pray for your pastors, pay them well, and give them time and space to love and lead their families. And maybe reconsider your pastor appreciation gifts.” - C.Leaders

“True socialism also entails quite a bit more: ‘…the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole (government)’” - Stephen Rowland

“ ‘What does the average Muslim believe?’ … Robin Hadaway’s book The Muslim Majority demonstrates that it is harder to answer than one might think. It assumes two things that are not actually true” - TGC

“…some prochoice religious groups argue that as Adam’s life began when God breathed into him, so each human life begins when the baby is born and takes his first breath. This demonstrates a misunderstanding of the nature of the unborn’s respiration.” - Randy Alcorn

From Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal (DBSJ) 2013. Used by permission. Read Part 1.

The 6000-year-earth position may be questioned on several grounds, some more substantial than others. I would like to suggest, though, that while all of the arguments developed below are load-bearing, the intertextual-exegetical arguments take pride of place in the ensuing material.

The current series by Mark Snoeberger about this subject made me think that this would be a great poll question.

I was influenced by Henry Morris, who suggested the earth was perhaps 10,000 years old. Since Ken Ham has become popular, the new creationist party line has returned to Bishop Ussher’s chronology, setting the date for creation at 4004 B.C. This, of course, raises both historical and textual questions. How dependable are the numbers/ages in the genealogies? Are these merely highlight descendants, or a complete list? How do we account for the differing numbers (regarding age) between the LXX and the Masoretic text?