YOUR SERMON-COACH PREACHING TIP

     Through the years I have preached in many different churches and been exposed to the practices of numerous denominations. The church in which I was raised was big on Christmas but never mentioned Advent. Because of this I was pleasantly surprised when I was first introduced to it.
     The word advent means "coming." Advent refers to a period of time, approximately four weeks in length, that prepares us to welcome the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day.
     Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas Day. Even if Christma itself is on a Saturday, Advent includes the four previous Sundays. This year, Advent Sunday One will be on November 30.
     In liturgical settings, Advent is usually the beginning of the church year.
     Observing Advent year after year not only prepares people to meaningfully celebrate our Lord's first coming, but it points us toward His Second Coming as a way of renewing our anticipation of that great day. Advent can also help us develop the habit of recognizing the coming of Christ into our everyday lives all year round.
     Advent is celebrated by hundreds of thousands of Christians throughout the world, and many people do so with some kind of candle-lighting ceremony and the reading of Scriptures.
     I have come to love celebrating Advent and find that it makes the overall pace of the season less hectic. If Advent is not something you know all that much about as a minister, maybe it's a facet of ministry you should look into more.
Title: Picturing a Revived Church
     Sermon in a Sentence: Picturing what is desired enhances one's prayer for revival.
     Text: Psalm 42
     Excerpt: Words are not hard to understand if the stand for objects our mind can easily visualize. For example, elephant poses no problem because you know what one looks like. Watermelon is kind of a long word, but no one finds it confusing. Why? Because people have a visual picture of it. It is something concrete.
     Small, abstract words like faith, however, can pose real problems. Very few of us have a good handle on what faith is. Trust is similar but not quite as bad because in your imagination trust can be portrayed. Perhaps you’ll picture a child jumping from a table into his daddy’s arms, or a parent entrusting the keys of the family car to a teenager. Being able to picture a word helps us know its meaning.  Read More
Title: The Christlike Touch
     Sermon in a Sentence: Openness to a holy touch allows for special ministry.
     Text: Mark 1:40-42 and others
     Excerpt: I’m kind of a funny person. Often I feel uncomfortable around touchers. You know, people who apparently feel natural touching someone while ministering to them. On the other hand, I also find myself impatient with those incapable of ever touching another person, even when offering comfort, affirmation, or expressing joy and friendship.
     Some of this ambivalence on my part stems from the fact that during my lifetime, great changes have taken place. It used to be kind of an unwritten rule that “a hands-off policy avoids complications.”  Read More
Title: Procrastination
     Sermon in a Sentence: Blessed are those who pursue God's desires today!
     Text: Psalm 119:59-60
     Excerpt: I might try to be funny and say, “I’ve been wanting to speak on procrastination for some time now, but I’ve just kept putting it off.”
     That really wouldn’t be true (and probably wouldn’t be too humorous, either). I do know that with the many things occupying people’s time, procrastination continues to be a big problem in our society.
     The word procrastination comes from the Latin pro-, meaning “forward,” plus cras, which is “tomorrow.” Hence it means “to put forward to tomorrow.” The problem doubtless relates to any area you might name, but my concern is its effect on spiritual matters.  Read More
Title: Restoring a Brother
     Sermon in a Sentence: Spiritual people, in a spirit of gentleness, should restore believers who have fallen prey to temptation.
     Text: Galatians 6:1
     Excerpt: What would you have done in my position? Twice in a week I was asked to help people who had yielded to temptation. In both situations those making the request were close friends and fine Christians. But each had somehow been caught in one of Satan’s many traps. The violations were both so serious I couldn’t just nonchalantly ignore the matter.  Read More Title: From Generation to Generation: Psalm 145
     Sermon in a Sentence: Each generation must continue the lauding of God's great works.
     Text: Psalm 145
     Excerpt: How difficult it is to imagine living in a society where people who can read are in the minority and whatever reading material is available is not printed but copied by hand. But if you’ll go in imagination back into the setting of the author whose writings we’ll look at, you’ll need to eliminate radio, TV, the Internet, postal services, and phones. Learning is communicated through oral tradition. This will be the chief means of knowledge about both past and present as opposed to our modern utilization of newspapers, magazines, books and such.
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Title: Rejoicing in Each Day: Psalm 118
     Sermon in a Sentence: God intends that His people rejoice in the privilege of each new day.
     Text: Psalm 118:24
     Excerpt: Which of the following two characterizations best describes the kind of person you are?
     One: Normally you don’t particularly notice things like sunsets or birds singing or the stars coming out at night. When you travel the scenery just passes by.
     Two: You relish the arrival of flowers in the spring; you see beauty in a fresh blanket of snow. You even enjoy walking in a light drizzle.
     Did you identify with one of these descriptions? Let me attempt several other contrasts. How do you wake up in the morning? Grudgingly, reluctantly, not really sure you want to rejoin the human race for another go at things? Or do you awaken with a glad heart, happy to be alive, and grateful for another day and the opportunities it affords?  Read More