Posts Tagged ‘preaching’
Accounting Our Lives as Precious
by Edwin Crozier Paul clearly had a special relationship with the church in Ephesus. The elders were special to him. When he thought he might be on his way to death, he wanted to make sure he met with those elders one last time. In Acts 20:17-38, he stopped at Miletus and called the elders…
Read MoreSee How Many Thousands
by Edwin Crozier Do you recall what happened to the church in Jerusalem up through Acts 8? It had grown by leaps and bounds. On the first day, about 3000 were added to the church. Then it quickly grew to 5000 men (not counting women and children). But then, in Acts 8:1, after Stephen’s execution,…
Read MoreApollos and the More Accurate Way
by Edwin Crozier In Acts 18:24-28, we meet Apollos. He was a Jew from Alexandria who came to Ephesus. Keep in mind Alexandria was considered an educational center of the known world. The Torah had been translated into Greek in Alexandria. Just by hearing Apollos was from Alexandria, we expect him to be educationally a…
Read MoreSharing the Good News
Author Unknown via Seeking Things Above We tend to talk with others about what interests us most. Golfers like to talk about golf, musicians about music, and hunters about hunting. The point here is this: Do Christians like to talk about Christ, the church, and the Bible? How committed are we to who we are…
Read MoreHow the Chips May Fall
by Chadwick Brewer “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (II Timothy 4:1–2). These…
Read MoreResponding to the Good News
by Edwin Crozier The Ethiopian Eunuch had traveled hundreds of miles to worship at the Jerusalem temple. However, he was not allowed to fully participate in the worship because the law said a eunuch could not enter the Lord’s assembly in Deuteronomy 23:1. I don’t know if he was aware of that law before he…
Read MoreGo Away for Now
by Mike Johnson via Seeking Things Above Luke tells us in Acts 24 of a time when Paul, whom the Jews had earlier seized, was brought before the area’s governor—a man named Felix. They brought charges against Paul, and he defended himself. Hoping to receive a bribe, Felix refused to let Paul go, and he…
Read MoreI’m Bad at Evangelism
by Berry Kercheville Yes, I understand that sentiment! My feelings exactly. I have known very few that I would say were really good at talking to people about the Lord and getting them into a Bible study. For the first nine years I preached, I watched my friend, Bernice Boyes, get Bible studies with people…
Read MoreDo the Work of an Evangelist
by Edwin Crozier Timothy’s job is to preach the word. However, he needs to be prepared for folks not to listen. No doubt, there will always be the faithful. But Paul has already told him the difficult times are coming. Clearly, if there will be people who have the appearance of godliness but deny its…
Read MorePaul as a Model Preacher
by Hugh DeLong Of course, there are some exclusive aspects of his preaching – he was an inspired apostle and had the confirmation of his message by the Holy Spirit (cp. Hebrews 2:1-4, etc.). Yet, in preaching to people with no background in Jewish history, how did Paul present this message of salvation? What I’m…
Read MorePreach the Gospel to All Nations
by Hugh DeLong Really? All? Even those from the country of ……..? Yes. All. This goes back to the very beginning – the mother of all living and the promise that her seed would bruise the head of the serpent, the devil. What followed was a list of all her offspring – some good (Enoch, Noah)…
Read MoreGentle, Not Quarrelsome
by Edwin Crozier Text: II Timothy 2 I find it a bit humorous. When Paul tells Timothy he is given a spirit of power instead of fear and tells him to fan his gift into flame, many people conclude, “Timothy must have been a timid, cowardly fellow.” However, I’ve yet to hear anyone say, “You…
Read MoreA Worker with No Need to Be Ashamed
by Edwin Crozier Text: II Timothy 2 “I want to be a worker for the Lord!” I’ve sung that since I was a teenager. Perhaps you’ve got a long memory of that song as well. “I want to…be busy every day in the vineyard of the Lord.” Paul talks to Timothy about being a worker.…
Read MoreTeaching Other Faithful Men
by Hugh DeLong Having preached now for over 50 years, one of my favorite instructions on preaching is II Timothy 2:2: “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” I think this may have been the…
Read MoreWriting and Face-to-Face
by Terry Wane Benton Some are not writers, and that is understandable. They are gifted in a personal way, but not so much at expressing themselves in writing. Not all have the same gifts and talents, and that is certainly understandable. Paul believed in face-to-face teaching and in the power of the written word. Writing…
Read MoreHow should a preacher ask for a raise?
Question: Hello! I have a question regarding a pay raise as a preacher. I love the congregation I am with. I have been here for 3 years. I am the full-time minister. There is a part-time one as well. How do you approach the eldership with this? I understand talking about money can be awkward.…
Read MoreThe Pulpit Belongs to the Gospel
by Bill Robinson A pulpit is a small piece of furniture that carries a large responsibility. It is not a stage for personal taste, not a platform for political conviction, not a podium for the latest cultural trend, and not a chair from which to dispense opinions about romance, relationships, or any of the thousand…
Read MoreWhat Should We Preach?
by Mike Schmidt via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 2, June 1995 Much has been said and written lately about preaching and teaching. Some see a “new apostasy” underway, with this departure being fueled by a change in what is being preached. Some have taken lists of topics from meeting announcements and complained that there was…
Read MorePlant the Word, Not Churches
by Clay Gentry In today’s religious marketplace, “church planting” has become a specialized industry. It’s a world of demographic maps, branding consultants, and launch strategies borrowed more from Corporate America than from the New Testament. Some say the secret to reaching the lost lies in the novelty of a new church plant or the polished…
Read MoreForty Years a Christian
by David R. Kenney July 29, 2017, marks 40 years since my dad immersed me in Christ at the Church of Christ in New Philadelphia, Ohio. My dad was the first to congratulate me, then Ralph Miller, and then other brothers and sisters in Christ who assembled that Friday afternoon. The church on Commercial Avenue…
Read MoreEvangelism, the Great Need, or Preacher, Change Your Job Description
by Chuck Scott via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 3, September 1994 Jesus said, “Go teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19)! We are not to wait for them to come to us to hear His word; we are to go out and evangelize. Why am I an evangelist? God has abundantly blessed me with all spiritual blessings,…
Read MoreWhich Doctrines to Never Mention in Church?
by Terry Wane Benton In order to make the church more appealing to lost sinners in the community, we could avoid talking about drunkenness, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc., but then our goal becomes seeking to please men (the creature) over the Creator (Romans 1:18ff). God put verses in the epistles to be read and studied…
Read MoreThose “Sorry” Young Preachers
by Bill Hall via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14 No. 8, August 2014 We hear criticism all along of the young preachers among us: “They don’t preach like the older preachers,” they say. That’s funny! It sounds like what people said of us older preachers when we were young. The truth is, we know of many young…
Read MoreCommunication: Fuel to the Fires of Evangelism
by Jim Deason via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14 No. 8, August 2014 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:16). It is called the Great Commission, and so it is. First given to the apostles, the work of Christians everywhere is to take the gospel to the lost. The church…
Read MoreThat Questionaire
by Floyd Chappelear via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 My congratulations are extended to those men who refused to reply to the infamous “Questionnaire” being mailed by some churches. My sincerest concerns are extended to those brethren who responded to it out of fear that support would be cut off. (Do not think…
Read MoreWhy don’t preachers follow Paul’s example and not accept pay for preaching?
Question: In I Corinthians 11:1, we are commanded to follow the example of the Bible, so why don’t preachers today follow Paul’s example and not take money for preaching so as not to hinder the Gospel of Christ? Reason I ask this question is because from 1950s-1970s preachers were ranked by majority of people to…
Read MoreWhat I Found Out About Preaching
by Clay Gentry Today, as I stepped into the pulpit, I began my 20th year of preaching. Looking back at that second Sunday in January 2007, I realize I’m no longer the “young preacher” in the room. I spent nearly 13 years with the good brethren at Lanton and have been with Jackson Heights for…
Read MoreConfidence in Sharing Your Faith
by Scott Smelser via InLight Media Evangelism intimidates us. We feel guilty because we feel like we should do more, but that only creates a stronger vicious cycle of not doing it. In this video, Scott Smelser breaks it down and shows you how sharing your faith is totally doable, and much simpler than you…
Read MoreYour website has helped a lot
Question: Hello, I’ve written before. I preached for a couple of decades with no formal training. However, being an adult class teacher for most of my adult life helped a lot. We attend a small congregation. I retired from a large company, so I didn’t need a big salary. I never meant to get into…
Read MoreThe Positive About the Negative
by Lee Moses Many a faithful Gospel preacher has been chided for being “too negative” in his preaching. True, a preacher can certainly be overly negative, robbing Christians of the joy that is rightfully theirs by blasting the congregation from the pulpit every Lord’s Day, condemning them for sins they are not guilty of, and…
Read MoreChanging Preaching Content
by Gardner Hall In his book Reviving the Ancient Faith, historian Richard Hughes documents a noticeable shift in the content of preaching among “mainstream” churches of Christ in the 1960s and 1970s. The early 1950s featured speakers on the nationwide “church” program, “Herald of Truth,” who emphasized compliance with “the plan of salvation,” adherence to…
Read MoreBecoming Your Enemy
by Micky Galloway Paul wrote the Galatian letter to those who had been influenced by Judaizing teachers who had bound, as necessary to salvation, certain aspects of the Law of Moses. Paul indicted some of them, “Ye are severed from Christ, ye would be justified by the Law; ye are fallen away from grace” (Galatians…
Read MoreAdvice to Younger Preachers (McDonald)
by Robert L. McDonald via Expository Review, April 1983 When I first began preaching, in the late 40s or early 50s, I looked to older preachers for any help they could give me. I was delighted to hear them reminisce about their many experiences and problems encountered. Over the years, I have looked back on…
Read MorePreaching Is a Different Kind of Work
by Zeke Flores There are both good and bad, positive and negative aspects to it. But I can say that the positive far outweighs the negative. Because of the nature of the work, you get opportunities to serve the best people in the world – Christians – all the time. You get to help people…
Read MoreShare Your Faith Without Having All the Answers
by Erik Borlaug Do you ever feel nervous about evangelism—afraid you won’t have the right answers when talking with skeptics? You’re not alone. Many Christians avoid spiritual conversations because they feel unprepared. But here’s the good news: effective evangelism doesn’t start with having all the answers—it starts with asking good questions. In this video, Erik…
Read MoreReaching the Lost
by David Dann Most people are lost. “Few” are headed in the right direction in contrast to the “many” who are bound for destruction (Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV). They are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) and are “alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the…
Read MoreEvangelism (Haley)
by Robin Haley via Matters of the Faith, Vol. 5 No. 3, October-December 1999, p. 11. I recently came across the acrostic for the word “evangelism.” I found it not only interesting and accurate, but also a good reminder. I added some Scripture references to the acrostic to help us consider the word “evangelism” and…
Read MoreSometimes It Is Not Enough!
by Aubrey Belue One of the earliest jobs my dad had was teaching school – he began while still in his teens, at a one-room school in upstate Mississippi. Some of his students in the higher grades were as old and as big as he was, and more than once, he maintained discipline with the…
Read MoreEquipping the Saints
by Floyd Chappelear via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 1, 31 March 1992 Were one to try to identify the single most important imperative for the gospel preacher, one might choose II Timothy 4:5: “do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” Doing such work so that one can make full proof…
Read MoreGood Things Happen When We Teach the Lost
by Roger D. Campbell What child of God would not agree that it is “good” to teach the Gospel to those who are lost outside of Jesus? Surely no member of the Lord’s church would be opposed to the idea of teaching the lost. The “glad tidings of good things” (Romans 10:15) is God’s message…
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