Every aspect of a sermon is of great interest to me: proposition, structure, language, tone, illustration, delivery, even sermon length. Wesley confessed that he preached for three hours on at least one occasion. Jonathan Edwards preached more than a handful of two hour sermons. Calvin, it would...
On Sunday, I shared I had just returned from a visit in Southern California and caught myself thinking of the poem of Suzanne Lummis, “Shangri-La,” in which she contends that Los Angelinos are always young, always suntanned, and always “real,” that LA is inside a...
If something is an imitation, it isn’t as valuable, right? The off-white, naugahyde handbag with LV splashed on the side will never impress. The Rolex with a jerky second hand, well, don’t even try. Surimi paste, though made with real Alaskan Pollock, will never be real crab. A...
In my limited experience, many preachers, and many who teach preaching in American seminaries, are under duress. The reason for panic is the cultural transformation taking place before our eyes as Millennials (those born in the early 1980s to mid-90s) advance in the world, almost...
For the past several months, I have been reading (and rereading) a very short book called Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture by David Murray. This book shows how to apply the spiritual habits God has provided for us in the Bible. The author may sound familiar because many of...
