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8 Ways to Hook Your Congregation Into Your Message

Hook

The biblical text should be the grand centerpiece of every sermon. But we often take what should be the centerpiece, and move it to the front of what we have to say. In most cases, reading the text should come first in importance, but not first in the order of a message. Whether you're looking back at Plato or …

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Creating a ‘Whatever It Takes’ Culture

Whatever It Takes

Go ahead. Accuse me of being pragmatic. I'm guilty, just as Jesus and Paul were. I often scratch my head trying to figure out what's so bad about that anyway. Biblical theology never changes. God never changes in His character and attributes. But culture changes, so the means of communicating the unchanging …

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Think Bigger

BIG

You know what my problem is? I think too small. Every time I expect big things from God, He surprises me with more, which is both a delight as well as a shame. I need to think bigger! In a recent ten-minute message I gave at a church planting assessment, I address this very issue of thinking past today, past …

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What Good Is Your Church Anyway?

Light Bulb

I recently read the quote of a skeptical unbeliever that stopped me in my tracks... The church is a parasite. It owns the best property, doesn't pay any taxes, and doesn't help anybody. As a Pastor who loves the local church rather deeply, everything in me wants to argue. Who does this anonymous skeptic …

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How to Fix Broken Relationships

Broken

Context: The following are my notes for a message to the men gathering for Saddleback's Herd Saturday, which is why it's a message directed primarily at men. Two Things Men Do Well We've been raising both a daughter and a son. I've watched my daughter grow from a baby to an eight year old. She has an amazing …

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This Mysterious Thing Called the “Church”

St. Olaf Church

The “church” is eternally precious to Jesus Christ – He’s passionate about it. What a privilege just to be a part of it! Plenty of people make the mistake of defining the church as a building, a religious institution, or a particular denomination, but the Bible’s definition of church (from the Greek …

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Easter Means Healing Now, Hope Forever

Let me focus in for a moment on Simon Peter, one of the key disciples surrounding Jesus. You may know the story by heart in which Peter asserted that He would never dessert the Lord Jesus, to which Jesus replied, “Before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.” Sure enough, Peter forsook his …

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Seven Ways Twitter Will Improve Your Preaching and Teaching

John Calvin published 22 volumes of commentaries on the Bible and Martin Lloyd-Jones published 9 volumes on Romans alone. What if you could remove all of the non-essential language, antiquated stories, and strip all of that knowledge down to some bite-sized, transportable truths? There is certainly room for …

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Learn About Radical Preaching at Radicalis 2011

It was precisely eleven years ago when my father-in-law and I traveled to Saddleback Church for the Preaching for Life Change conference taught by Rick Warren and Tom Holladay. And it was definitely life-changing and ministry-altering. It changed the way I preached in multiple ways... I learned to bulid a …

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All Your Pastor Wants for Christmas

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Disclaimer: I don’t know your Pastor (probably) and so I can’t say for sure he wants any of these things, much less that he wants these things exclusively, but I thought I’d take a stab at saying here’s what, in my estimation, many Pastors would love to have… if you’re looking for ideas. A …

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