the pastor's toolkit
Sermon introductions – so what and who cares?
Martin Salter
'Good morning everybody. Please keep your Bibles open at the passage we’ve just read. John chapter 14 contains glorious truths about the gospel. Our first point is...'
Many sermons begin like this. It’s not wrong, but do you notice the assumption here? In opening the sermon this way, the preacher has assumed that everyone in the room is fully engaged, interested, and ready to listen. Yet the reality is many are not.
Sent right where you are
Martin Salter
Martin Salter, speaker at this year’s Keswick Convention, on how good deeds should dovetail with evangelism
When we speak of ‘mission’ or ‘missionaries’ we tend to automatically think of those in far-off places.
Is it ungodly to work on your sermon delivery?
‘Just preach the word brother’, said the older preacher to his young apprentice. The younger man had expressed a desire to mature in the craft of communicating. The older man gently but firmly implied this was a waste of time – perhaps even an ungodly way to think about preaching.
The older man’s concerns are not unfounded. Preachers are not called to be stand-up comedians, slick rhetoricians or uber-charismatic vision-casters.