Podcast: Preaching to Uncle Bob: Evangelistic Preaching in a Post-Christian World with John Dickson

In this episode, Ridley College Faculty member, Tim Johnson, sits down with the John Dickson — historian, author, podcaster, and public Christian — ahead of the annual Ridley Preachers Conference. 

Their conversation centres on one of the most important and underestimated skills in ministry: evangelistic preaching. Not the Billy Graham crusade kind — but the kind that happens every Sunday in local churches around the country, where real doubters are sitting in real pews. 

John makes a compelling case that the local church is still the most powerful evangelistic tool we have, and that any preacher — not just the gifted evangelist — can learn to preach in a way that has something for the doubter in the room. 

They explore the difference between evangelistic preaching and evangelism, the common missteps that lose sceptical listeners, how to handle questions about Christianity's goodness and reputation, what Aristotle's three elements of persuasion have to do with the pulpit, and John's one piece of advice for anyone preparing an evangelistic sermon this Sunday. 

Whether you're a seasoned preacher or just starting out, this is a conversation that will change the way you think about your next sermon.

You can listen to this podcast here

Book: Apply the Word

Every preacher wants to see God’s Word impact their congregation. 

We wrestle with meaning, check the original Greek, and consult commentaries to make sure we’re faithful, articulate, and gospel-driven . But what if, in our diligence, we’re neglecting application, leaving our listeners informed rather than transformed?

Richard Coekin is passionate about application and candidly shares his own mistakes and growth in preaching over the past thirty years. Writing for both new and experienced preachers, Coekin lays out what good application is, what it’s not, and how to develop in this vital area so congregations don’t just hear the Word, but are equipped to put it into practice.

Key Points 

• The Problem with Expository Preaching: Why accurate textual exposition often neglects clear, practical application, leaving congregations informed but unchanged.
• Defining True Application: What faithful, text-driven application looks like (and distinguishing it from legalism, moralism, or subjective opinion).
• Application to the Heart: Shepherding listeners across different life situations—addressing tired parents, anxious believers, proud leaders, and skeptical guests.
• Nuts and Bolts of Sermon Preparation: Practical techniques and structural tools for incorporating clear application directly into sermon outlines and delivery.

Available on Amazon

Book: The Gospel for the person who has everything

The Gospel for the person who has everything

Secure, content, competent, reasonably happy and fulfilled, such persons of strength go their own way without any apparent discomfort at having missed the benefits of the Christian faith. . . . What do you say to the person who says, through his or her neglect of the faith, "Thanks, but I don’t need it"? —from the book

Bishop William Willimon brings the Gospel of Jesus Christ to life for the person who has everything – happy, fulfilled human beings, who don’t feel the same level of need expressed by the downcast, the outcast, the brokenhearted, and the miserable. Willimon says that the church’s message to the wretched and sad must not exclude the strong and the joyous. 

In nine concise, inspired chapters, he discusses these ideas:

• Must one be sad, depressed, wallowing in sin and degradation, immature, and childishly dependent in order truly to hear the Good News? (See chapters 1 and 2.)
• “What do we say to the strong?” (See chapters 3 and 4.)
• Speaking to the strong and to the people who are weak and want to be stronger: a particular kind of evangelistic message. They have their sins, but these sins are not the sins of the weak (chapter 5).
• Worship which takes God’s strong love seriously (chapter 6)
• Ethics which arise out of our response to that love (chapter 7)
• Church as a place of continual growth and widening responsibility (chapters 8 and 9)

Buy this book here

Article: Sermon Structures

David Schmitt shares with us 30 different sermon structures from 3 different main categories:

1.  Textual structures

2. Thematic structures

3. Dynamic structures

Take some time to explore the various structures at

https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/

 

Resource: Lay Person Upfront

Lay person upfront is a resource developed by Pastor Rob Edwards when he was pastor Calvary Rockhampton Lutheran Church.

The resources assists lay people who have the task of leading worship, lay leading, or lay preaching in a Lutheran context

You can download Lay person up front here.

Book: Rewiring your preaching

What preachers preach is not necessarily what hearers hear. Have you ever wondered why some hearers are affected by a sermon but not others? The issue may not necessarily be the content or delivery of the message. It may be how your hearers' brains process what you say. Modern neuroscience illuminates how our brains understand and hear sermons. Verbal stimuli can be accepted or rejected depending on the context of how they are received. The brain processes new information differently than information that reinforces already-held beliefs. To have long-term effect, new information must connect with previous memory. Psychologist, physician and preacher Richard Cox shows that better understanding of the brain can help preachers be more effective in their preaching. Intentional, purposeful preaching can actually produce new neural pathways that change how the brain thinks and how its owner acts. Our brains are intimately connected with how our bodies work, especially in how brain stimuli produce behavioral responses and how people experience comfort and healing in times of pain. God is at work in our brains to enable his people to hear him. Preach with the brain in mind, and help your hearers grow in mental, physical and spiritual health.

Contents
1. Brainstorm vs. Short Circuit
2. Linking Brain and Sermon
3. The Brain Sees Preaching As Unique
4. The Brain Uses Preaching For Healing
5. The Core Process of Preaching is Brain Work
6. Preaching Provides Brain Energy
7. Brain Stimuli Produce Behavioral Responses
8. Preaching and Pastoring Are Different
9. Getting To the Brain with Theology
10. Preaching and the Brain in Pain
11. Brain Healing and the Soul
12. Brain Healing and the Mind
13. Brain Healing and the Body
14. Brain Healing and the Community

Lutheran Preaching Course online

At the 2014 Pastor's confernece of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Michigan District Reverend Dr David Schmitt presented 5 sessions on preaching which are available below:

Contemporary Preaching Trends

Confessional Preaching

Transformational Preaching - Narrative

Transformational Preaching

Conversational Preaching

Using colour to enhance your message

Have you ever noticed how colours affect you?

There is a significant amount of research that suggests colours affect how people perceive and react to an organisation, product or idea.   
For instance Many fast food restaurants use a particular tone of red, because there is a belief and some evidence that suggests that particular tone of red encourages people to eat more.      

To explore how colour impacts how people perceive things visit:  
Church relevance 
Colour affects
Help Scout
Colour Psychology
NickKolenda
Very Well Mind
Psychology of Colour in Business
Wikipedia 

Now remembering that people not only understand messages from what they read or see, but how things look, then it is worth considering how can use colours to enhance the messages we give about the stories of God and His Good News. 

Book: Telling the truth - the Gospel as tragedy, comedy and fairytale

Telling the Truth is for the preacher who must pull the little cord that turns on the lectern light, must look out over the people and the silence, must begin to speak of a truth beyond telling. It is for the woman who wants to understand how people believe what they cheerfully acknowledge is a tragic, comic fairy tale. It is for anyone who believes that faith, like art, can hold a special mirror to human experience.
To understand what the gospels are all about, writes Frederick Buechner, you have to understand their unblinking reflection of everyday reality. There is no place here for either saccharine, happy endings, or soft-boiled hope. Rather, the gospels record the tragedy of human failure, the comedy of being loved overwhelmingly by God despite that failure, and the fairy tale of transformation through that love. If we understand this, we begin to understand much more. We realise that Pilate is an old man who drives to work in a limousine but smokes three packs a day. We see that the parables are divine jokes about the outlandishness of God who does impossible things with impossible people. We perceive the "once upon a time" of the gospel as a continual now, renewing itself over and over and over again. With grace and beauty, Buechner introduces us to this vision that, once found, cannot be forgotten.
Buechner says it best: "Let the preacher tell the truth. Let him preach this overcoming of tragedy by comedy, of darkness by light, of the ordinary by the extraordinary, as the tale that is too good not to be true because to dismiss it as untrue is to dismiss along with it that 'catch of the breath, that beat and lifting of the heart near to or even accompanied by tears,' which I believe is the deepest intuition of truth that we have."

Book: Preaching and Teaching the Law and Gospel of God

Preaching and Teaching the Law and Gospel of God contains the papers delivered at the 2012 Theological Conference Sponsored by Lutheran CORE and NALC August 15-16, 2012 at Calvary Lutheran Church, Golden Valley, Minnesota

Contents:
Introduction – Law and Gospel: The Hallmark of Classical Lutheranism
Rev. Dr. Carl E. Braaten

A Reformed Account of the Law-Gospel Distinction
Rev. Dr. Michael S. Horton

Law and Gospel: Separators, Confusers, and Preachers
Rev. Dr. Steven D. Paulson

Law and Gospel since Vatican II
Rev. Dr. Jared Wicks, S.J.

Did Luther Get Paul Right on Justification?
Dr. Stephen Westerholm

Law, Gospel, and the Beloved Community
Rev. Dr. Paul R. Hinlicky

The Third Use of the Law: Freedom and Obedience in the Christian Life
Rev. Dr. Piotr J. Malysz

 A Resurrection Hermeneutic: Law and Gospel in Preaching and Worship
Rev. Dr. Amy C. Schifrin

Preaching Law and Gospel
Rev. Dr. J. Larry Yoder

available from American Lutheran Publicity Bureau

Book: Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted: A Guide to Law and Gospel Preaching

A classic theology and a contemporary school of preaching come together in this new work. Glenn Monson, an active Lutheran preacher, has taken the substantial concerns of Law and Gospel theologians and combined them with the insights of the New Homiletic School to come up with a guide to sermon development that helps any preacher deliver Law and Gospel sermons in a contemporary way. The author leads the reader through a step-by-step process in thinking about Law and Gospel preaching from exegesis through sermon design to manuscript writing. Multiple examples from assigned lectionary texts are included, and several sermons are analyzed in detail. This book will be an invaluable friend of any lectionary preacher for whom Sunday is always coming and who longs to preach classic Law and Gospel sermons in a new and fresh way.
Contents
Law and Gospel thinking
Law and Gospel exegesis
Law and Gospel design
Law and Gospel manuscript design
Law and Gospel a methodology
Final thoughts

also available from BookDepository 

Lecture: Application in the preaching of grace

Application in the preaching of grace is the 2016 AA Pedderson lectureship at Luther Brethren Seminary
There are 2 sessions and a chapel service

The lecture is by Dr. Bryan Chapell who is the Senior Pastor of the historic Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, IL and President Emeritus of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. 
Dr. Chapell is a preacher, teacher, and speaker, and the author of many books, including Each for the Other, Holiness by Grace, Praying Backwards, The Gospel According to Daniel, The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach, and Christ-Centered Preaching.  

You can view the lectures at http://www.lbs.edu/pedersen-lectureship/pedersen2016/

Article/Essay: Preaching Matthew

Preaching Matthew by Jeffrey Gibb appears in the Fall 2016 issue of Concordia Journal. 
Rather than commenting on individual texts, it gives a longer view of preaching for the upcoming church year. 
Preaching Matthew covers:

• Formal Considerations
• Material Considerations
• Matthew's Gospel language
• Call to discipleship

Read the full article at http://concordiatheology.org/2016/11/preaching-matthew/

EBook: Pauline Hermeneutics, exploring the power of the Gospel

Paul’s letters are of crucial importance for Christian theology and church life. The way in which the apostle Paul critically reflected on the meaning of the gospel message in light of Scripture, the traditions, ethics and Christian faith and hope, has had a significant and lasting impact on the Lutheran tradition.

In this publication, the fourth and final in a series of LWF publications on biblical hermeneutics, renowned international scholars from the fields of biblical studies and systematic theology reevaluate to what extent twenty-first-century Lutherans can rediscover the Pauline paradigm of the “power of the Gospel” and hereby overcome ambiguous perceptions of the so-called “Lutheran reading(s)” of Paul.

Contents
The “Gospel” as the Hermeneutic of Emancipation in Paul’s Letters: Contemporary Implications 
Exploring Paul and Pauline Hermeneutics How and Why Paul Deals with Traditions 
Principles of Paul’s Hermeneutics
Slave and Free: Hermeneutical Reflections on Paul’s Use of the Slave–Master Metaphor

Reading Pauline Texts and Contexts
Paul on Charismata (1 Corinthians 12–14): The Principles of Diversity and Community Edification
Rospita Deliana Siahaan
Creation and Reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5: Impulses from Paul and Luther 
Towards an Intersectional Hermeneutics: Constructing Meaning with and not of Galatians 3–4

Pauline Hermeneutics: Exploring the “Power of the Gospel”
Paul on Citizenship: Pauline hermeneutics in Philippians 1:27 and 3:20 

Applying Paul’s Theology and Hermeneutics to Church and Society
The Paradox of Reading Paul in the Context of the Lutheran Churches in Africa
The Pauline Letters and (Homo)Sexuality: Examining Hermeneutical Arguments Used in the Estonian Discussion 
Called and Cold Saints: Some Thoughts on Holiness in the Hebrew Bible and in Paul
A New Life in Christ: Pauline Ethics and its Lutheran Reception 
Christians Engaging in Culture and Society and Hoping for the World to Come 

Obtain your free copy by visiting
https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/dtpw-studies-201602-pauline_hermeneutics_low.pdf

Books for Year A - The cultural world of the prophets, Jesus and the apostles

John J Pilch has produced some easy to read material that offer some historial and literary information on each of the readings and psalm for the Sundays in the lectionary for Year A.

Each of the books explore the cultural world of the prophets, Jesus and the apostles offering informaton about aspects of the cultural world in which the authors of these documents and their original recipients lived.  Such information helps too identify plausible links with the gospel for each Sunday and encourages the reader to explore their pastoral applications to modern life.

 

Conference: Craft of preaching

Craft of preaching - 4th to 5th October 2016
Do you ever wonder what’s behind the scenes of some of the sermons you hear at big preaching conferences with famous preachers?  Have you always wanted a practical preaching conference where you can learn some new methods for constructing a sermon and honing your homiletical skills?
Three top teachers of preachers will preach a sermon and then tell you how they got there, with plenty of time for Q&A. 
Workshops will provide hands-on experience with practitioners dedicated to homiletical issues. 
Bring your specific examples and questions to ask. 
Foundational, collegial and encouraging, this conference is a unique opportunity to tend the craft of your preaching among peers old and new.

Speakers
Tom Long, Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching, Candler School of Theology
Anna Carter Florence, Peter Marshall Associate Professor of Preaching, Columbia Theological Seminary
Karoline Lewis, Associate Professor of Biblical Preaching and The Marbury E. Anderson Chair of Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary (pre-conference class)
Jana Childers, Dean of the Seminary and Professor of Speech-Communication and Homiletics, San Francisco Theological Seminary

For more information visit https://www.luthersem.edu/celebration/wpp.aspx

30 rules for preaching

Hillsong is not a Lutheran church....however their senior pastor Brian Houston shares some simple words of wisdom for those who are called to preach at Hillsong, which transcend denominational boundaries
These rules can be found at
 http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/280640-hillsong-australia-preaching-teaching-brian-houston.html?print

Lectures: Preaching

Craig Alan Satterlee is the bishop of the North West Lower Michigan Synod of the ELCA. He has presented a number of Lectures on preaching which can be found here   The lectures include:

• Preaching is Communication
• Homiletic Method
• Exegetical Reminders
• Crafting the Sermon
• The Preaching Event
• Toward a Theology of Preaching
• Ten Parameters of Lutheran Preaching
• Lectionary Preaching
• Preaching as a Liturgical Act
• Preaching at Weddings and Funerals
• Preaching and Change
• What Is a Sermon?
• Who Cares If Anyone Responds to the Sermon! Preaching for the Joy of It!

Book: Moving Messages Ideas That Will Revolutionize the Sunday Experience

Pastors…teachers…every church leader longs for Sunday messages to be memorable and meaningful, to move listeners closer to God.
So why are so many messages forgettable?
Pastor and author Rick Bundschuh asked the same question—and began finding new ways to connect his church audience with the life-changing truths of the Bible. He preached participatory sermons, wove experiences into messages, and invited congregational conversation as part of the Sunday morning experience.
The results? Astounding—for Bundschuh and his church.
In this report from the front lines, Bundschuh shares what he did, how it went, and what he learned along the way. Practical and proven, here’s the best of what invigorated the Sunday experience for him and his congregation.
This book is a must-read for all church leaders eager to make Sunday messages engaging and impactful. You’ll benefit from Bundschuh’s journey and transform passive listeners into active participants in next Sunday’s message.

Sample of the book is available:  here

Chapters
PART 1:  The Journey
The Reason We’re Going on This trip in the First Place
A Willingness to Explore
Preparing for the Road Ahead
The Changing and the Unchanging: New Methods, timeless truths

PART 2: The Case for a New Paradigm on Sunday Morning
The Importance of Experiential Worship
Teaching Like Jesus
How Ideas Are Absorbed

PART 3: Creating an Environment for Success
Where Good Things Run Wild
Rethink the Space
Consider the Men
Teach as a Team
Let Others Bring Something to the Table
The Most Important New Hire: A Storyteller

PART 4:  Elements of Experiential Teaching
Ingredients of Memorable Messages
Teaching in Bits and Pieces
The Power of Story
Peer-to-Peer Interaction
Objects
Music, Movies, and Other Media
A Continuing Conversation
You Figure It Out
What Do I Do With This?
The “So What?” Factor
Special Ingredients

PART 5: Get Your Motor Runnin’
How to Introduce Experiential Worship
Easing Into the Shallow End
Moving toward the Deep End
Handling Skeptics
In Real time: An Example of How It Happens
A Note of Encouragement

Article: Preaching Repentance by James Nestingen

Preaching Repentance by James Nestingen

The article covers:

• Preaching repentance is a problem
• Repentance and the law
• The Gospel and repentance
• Repentance and the preacher

To read the article in full visit http://www.gospeloutreach.org/sites/default/files/content/Preaching_Repentance_PDF.pdf