These are my top 5 commentaries on the book of Psalms. I have been a minister for thirty years or so and I have discovered many great commentaries on the books of the Bible. I will explain what types of Bible commentaries I look for and why I choose these types of commentaries. And I will pick my 5 top commentaries on the book of Psalms. Different Types of Bible … [Read more...]
Exploring The Book of Ephesians
Exploring The Book of Ephesians: This is an article that explores the treasure house of riches in Christ from the book of Ephesians in the New Testament of the Bible. The Book of Ephesians - An Introduction Financial security is something that most people pursue with great passion and enthusiasm. After all, we live in the lucky country where material riches are in … [Read more...]
How To Prepare Expository Sermon Outlines
How To Prepare Expository Sermon Outlines: I have been preparing weekly sermons for about thirty-years or so and I still find the process requires time and effect even though it is much easier these day to write expository sermon outlines. To write expository sermon outlines and expository sermons, you will require at least a rudimentary understanding of the characteristics … [Read more...]
How To Write A Wedding Sermon
How To Write A Wedding Sermon: Over the years I have officiated at many weddings and I have written many wedding sermons from several different perspectives. The wedding sermon is an opportunity to share the biblical concept of marriage so that the audience can grasp the importance of marriage and it is also an opportunity to encourage the newly-weds in their journey … [Read more...]
4 Principal Types of Biblical Sermons
4 Principal Types of Biblical Sermons: There are several types of sermons and various way of categorizing them. I find that the simplest way to categorize the principal types of biblical sermons is to classify them as expository, textual, topical and narrative. I would encourage you to read through the examples below in order to grasp the difference between the 4 principal … [Read more...]
How To Prepare A Deductive Sermon
How To Prepare A Deductive Sermon: When you need to write two or three sermons a week, it is advantageous to have a set structure for writing sermons. I generally prepare weekly sermons with a deductive model in mind. Over many years of preaching weekly sermons, I have developed a deductive model of sermon preparation that enables me to prepare two or three weekly sermons … [Read more...]
How To Prepare An Inductive Sermon
How To Prepare An Inductive Sermon: I never really understood sermon preparation and structure until seminary and ministry. I learned inductive and deductive methods of sermon preparation at seminary but it wasn’t until I began my preaching ministry that I developed an inductive model for preaching. To develop an inductive model for preaching, I needed to understand and … [Read more...]
7 Best Books on Expository Preaching
7 Best Books on Expository Preaching: I have accumulated many books (70 or so) relating to preaching or homiletics. The books I like best are the “how to” books on preaching. 7 Best Books on Expository Preaching We all have different preferences when it comes to choosing books we like. The 7 Best Books on Expository Preaching are the ones that have helped me develop … [Read more...]
How To Prepare A Short Sermon For Beginners
How To Prepare a Short Sermon For Beginners? I am often asked to share short sermons for special occasions. How do I prepare short sermons? I follow the five steps below. How To Prepare a Short Sermon For Beginners I am constantly asked to share short sermons for devotions at retirement villages, men’s ministry, children’s story, staff devotions at Christian Schools … [Read more...]
12 Best Books On Sermon Preparation Tips
12 Best Books on Sermon Preparation Tips: There are a variety of good books relating to sermon preparation tips. In this post I will note my 12 best books on sermon preparation tips which I have found useful for developing and delivering biblical sermons. Some of these books are scholarly (text books on homiletics) and others are more inspirational or motivational … [Read more...]
7 Sermon Preparation Tips For Beginners
7 Sermon Preparation Tips For Beginners: I have been preaching weekly sermons for nearly thirty years or so BUT I have never stopped learning and developing the skills needed for preaching. These are my 7 sermon preparations tips for beginners that I consider helpful for developing one's preaching skills. 7 Sermon Preparation Tips For Beginners Ministry has changed … [Read more...]
How To Write A Sermon Conclusion For Impact
How To Write A Sermon Conclusion For Impact? “An experienced pilot knows that landing an airplane demands special concentration, so an able preacher understands that sermon conclusions require thoughtful preparation. Like a skilled pilot, you should know where your sermon will land” (So Haddon Robinson – check out this book from Amazon). How To Write A Sermon Conclusion … [Read more...]
How To Preach A Sermon For Beginners
How To Preach A Sermon For Beginners? In this brief article, I want to expand and explain this subject in three parts: where I started, where you need to start and where to from there. How To Preach A Sermon For Beginners? 1. Where I Started The first time I preached was disastrous. I was in my first year of seminary and I was given an opportunity to preach a … [Read more...]
Why Add Stories To Your Preaching?
We all love a good story. In fact, we are addicted to storytelling. We spend endless hours watching stories on television, ipads and iphones. We go to the cinema with friends and family to watch a good story. We purchase lifestyle magazines because we enjoy reading stories about interesting and remarkable people. When I am at the doctors, I usually pick up a lifestyle magazine … [Read more...]
Sermon Preparation And Structure
Sermon Preparation and Structure: After nearly thirty-years of preaching weekly sermons, I have found that basic sermon structures are fundamental to good sermon preparation. Once you learn and understand the basic sermon structures, you are on the road to enjoying sermon preparation. I often see the transition in students when they learn and understand how to apply basic … [Read more...]
How To Write Topical Sermons
How To Write Topical Sermons! The best way to learn how to write topical sermons is to show you an example of a topical sermon. The example I will show you will be on the topic of prayer. How To Write Topical Sermons The topical sermon that I will show you has three parts: the introduction, the sermon body and a conclusion. The introduction will introduce the topical. … [Read more...]
How To Write Christmas Sermon Outlines
How To Write Christmas Sermon Outlines: The focus of the Christmas sermon should be on the birth of Jesus Christ and the redemptive nature of His birth. I usually create Christmas sermon outlines from passages of Scripture that focus on these two points. How To Write Christmas Sermon Outlines While teaching homiletics to Bible College students, I have discovered that … [Read more...]
How to Prepare to Deliver a Sermon
How to prepare to deliver a sermon? In this article, I want to look at how the preacher prepares to deliver a sermon. In other words, I want to look at how the preacher bridges the gap between the study and the pulpit in order to preach God’s word with passion and purpose. How to Prepare to Deliver a Sermon? I am assuming that the preacher has written his sermon … [Read more...]
Figures of Speech in Psalms
Figures of Speech in Psalms: Hebrew poetry has a distinctive type of language that uses illustrative expressions known as figures of speech to bring warmth, vividness and vitality to biblical poetry. Figures of Speech in Psalms Ryken explains that “poetry is heightened speech, far more compressed than prose. Whereas expository prose uses the sentence or paragraph as … [Read more...]
Types of Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry
Types of Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry: Poetic language in the psalms is set within the structure of biblical poetry. The most common and repeated structure is parallelism. In other words, biblical poetry consists of a distinctive type of sentence structure and it is called parallelism. Biblical poetry is predominately written in this verse form of parallelism. Types of … [Read more...]
What are the Different Types of Psalms
What are the different types of Psalms: To interpret and preach the psalms, you will need to know the categories into which each psalm is placed. There are 150 psalms and these various psalms are categorized into various literary types. It is most helpful to identify these categories if you want to interpret them correctly. The different types of psalms are: wisdom psalms, … [Read more...]
The Exposition of Biblical Poetry
The Exposition of Biblical Poetry: I have been preaching weekly sermons for twenty-seven years or so. I have mainly preached sermons from the books of the New Testament. I have only preached through a couple of books from the Old Testament and several one off messages from different passage of the Old Testament. Because I majored in the Greek language while at seminary, I … [Read more...]
How To Write a Sermon Introduction
How To Write a Sermon Introduction: Before we look at how to write a sermon introduction, we need to grasp the fact that there are several structural components to the sermon and the introduction is only one part of those structural components. There are four types of sermon introductions. They are (1) introductions that command attention, (2) introductions that uncover … [Read more...]
The Six Structural Components of the Sermon
The Six Structural Components of the Sermon: Great sermons are made up of great parts. If the parts or structures are great throughout, then you will have a great sermon to share with your congregation. So what are the six structural components of the sermon that makes the message great? 1. The First Structural Component is the Topic or Title If you want to get … [Read more...]
How To Prepare and Deliver Sermons
How to Prepare and Deliver Sermons: I have been preaching for nearly twenty-six years and I am still fine tuning the science and art of preparing and delivering sermons. When it comes to teaching my students, I have found a great joy in reading and learning more about sermon preparation and delivery. How To Prepare and Deliver Sermons I generally divide my teaching … [Read more...]