27 and Done

Posted by on 7.29.11 in Personal, Preaching

I have preached 27 times in the last two weeks. 13 times at Cannon Beach.14 times at Word of Life.This morning my voice was pretty scratchy during the last two messages. I felt fine (more or less) but my voice was a bit worn out.I don’t mind all the preaching, in fact I enjoy it, but I confess that I’m glad I’m not preaching anywh…

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iPad Preacher

Posted by on 7.15.11 in Preaching, Sermons

Sometimes you’ve got to change with the times.For the last two days I’ve been trying to figure out how to put my sermon notes on my iPad. I was greatly prodded in this direction by my friend Greg Kuehn, pastor of Sierra Bible Church, who told me how much I would like it. He uses an app called DocsToGo that let’s him import his not…

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Great Sermons are a Bother

Posted by on 3.6.11 in Preaching, Sermons

In one of his books Warren Wiersbe quotes a famous preacher who said, “Great sermons are a bother.” He meant something like this. In the ministry we’re tempted to try and solve our problems by preaching one “great” sermon. Of course no one knows exactly what a “great” sermon is. I suppose in this context it…

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When You Don’t Know What to Preach

Posted by on 3.4.11 in Preaching

A question came recently from a young friend who has been invited to preach in a few weeks. He’ll be filling in for the pastor who is away that Sunday. It’s a small congregation, and he doesn’t know the people or much of anything about the church. Did I have any suggestions about how to choose a sermon?There are two ways to go her…

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15 Skills of Great Preachers

Posted by on 2.8.11 in Pastors, Preaching, Sermons

Lately I’ve been thinking about what makes a “great” preacher. The answer must necessarily be subjective. After listening to hundreds of sermons by hundreds of preachers (some famous, most not) in various settings for 45 years, I’ve come to some conclusions about “great” sermons and “great” preachers….

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A Day at the Olford Center

Posted by on 1.19.11 in Preaching

This morning I drove to Memphis to spend the day at the Stephen Olford Center for Biblical Preaching. Founded by Stephen Olford in 1985 to encourage and equip preachers and teachers of God’s Word, the work is ably carried on under the leadership of his son, Dr. David Olford.Through seminars, evening classes, conferences and distance learning,…

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Preaching Through a Translator

Posted by on 11.16.10 in Missions, Preaching

Several weeks ago I preached using side-by-side translation during our visit to Montreal. I did the same thing when we visited Dalian, China in October. Almost every time I mention that I’m preaching that way, someone asks me what it’s like. The answer is, it depends.Most people assume that preaching with an translator is harder than …

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Sermon Video: “Our Coming to You Was Not in Vain”

Posted by on 9.26.10 in Preaching, Sermons, Video

Over the weekend we remembered that it has been five years since our final service at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL. At the end of all the goodbyes, we knew the Lord was moving us in a new direction. Little did we know that our family was about to expand and that we would eventually become grandparents. We didn’t know about the door…

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New Sermon Video – “Do not Grieve the Spirit”

Posted by on 9.8.10 in Preaching, Sermons, Video

The following sermon is 5 years old and is one of the last sermons I preached at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL, where I served as pastor for 16 years.The sermon is based on Ephesians 4:29-32, which begins this way:"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to …

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Sunday at a Satellite Campus

Posted by on 9.5.10 in Churches, Preaching

This morning we went the Northway Campus of the Village Church in Dallas. This is a satellite campus of the main campus in Flower Mound, north of Dallas-Forth Worth Airport. There is another satellite campus in Denton. Together three locations offer 11 services each week, drawing somewhere in the neighborhood of 7-9,000 people every Sunday. We chos…

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