July 28, 2026
There’s Power in the Process
AI may help pastors prepare sermons, but it cannot replace the Spirit-formed process of living with Scripture, wrestling through the message, and preaching with power.
Preaching
Preaching helps pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers communicate God’s Word with clarity, faithfulness, and purpose. Explore practical, Scripture-shaped resources on sermon preparation, expository preaching, teaching methods, illustration and application, and leading people toward transformation. You’ll also find guidance on preaching in different seasons, teaching across age groups, handling difficult texts, and developing a healthy rhythm for study and delivery. Whether you preach weekly or teach in classes and small groups, these articles aim to strengthen your ministry of the Word.
May 28, 2026
Preaching to Broken Hearts
A hospital-room visit early in ministry shaped Chris Philbeck’s approach to preaching. He urges pastors to reflect God’s heart by preaching with clarity and compassion to weary, burdened, brokenhearted people.
March 13, 2026
Equipping God’s People
Chris Philbeck reflects on leading a preaching cohort and the biblical call to equip God’s people. He shares how preaching becomes most powerful when Scripture first transforms the preacher and produces authenticity that can’t be faked.
January 1, 2026
Preach the Real Gospel
Discernment isn’t knowing the difference between right and wrong; it’s knowing the difference between right and almost right. Almost right will never be enough when it comes to someone’s eternal destiny.
December 30, 2025
What’s Next?
For the Christian, a new year means another growth step to take, another goal to set, and more fruit to bear in God’s kingdom.
November 6, 2025
Proclamation and Persuasion: The Invitation
When the gospel is proclaimed, and the Holy Spirit brings conviction, and people are challenged to respond, they respond.
November 5, 2025
When a Plan Comes Together
A sermon should be long enough to adequately exegete and apply the main point of the passage, but short enough to leave mature Christians willing to listen a few minutes longer.
September 3, 2025
Write Sermons for the Ear, Not for the Eye
Preaching is a living transaction between the preacher and those who are listening; the words we speak must represent that truth. So, when you sit down to prepare a sermon, write for the ear, not the eye.
The Power of the Pulpit
The power of the pulpit resides neither in physical furnishings nor in preachers themselves, but in the Holy Spirit who empowers his servants to proclaim God’s timeless truth.
How Should We Respond to the Never-Ending News Cycle?
In a culture filled with bad news, may God give us wisdom to lead graciously and share boldly the good news of Christ.
Preaching with Your Own Voice
We all want to be great preachers. But being a great preacher is not nearly as important as presenting a great God with your own unique voice.
What I’ve Learned from Flannery O’Connor about Preaching and Ministry
After reading the letters of Flannery O'Connor, Jeff Dye shares what he has learned about preaching, ministry, and life.
The Power of Preaching Comes from God
We need to let God control the message. The power in preaching doesn’t come from the packaging or presentation, it comes from God.
The Power of Repetition
One of the most significant things I learned over the course of more than four decades of preaching in the local church is people don’t need to be taught something new as much as they need to be reminded of what they already know.
December 31, 2024
Preach with the Wisdom God Provides
Regardless of how effective we might be in creating emotional responses, it’s the preaching of God’s Word that helps people make deep and meaningful connections with God that leads to life change.
October 17, 2024
Love for the Word Empowers Preaching
When it comes to preaching, our effort begins and ends with drawing near to God and his Word so he can speak through us with a message that is so much more than we could ever create on our own.
‘Preaching with No Regrets’
Most every preacher will tell you they have a certain number of regrets in their life when it comes to ministry. I certainly do. But I don’t want to have any regrets when it comes to preaching. . . .
Leading Through Preaching
Joshua was leading through preaching. He was wielding leadership influence through the proclamation of his words and the witness of his life. Let’s follow that example.
THROWBACK THURSDAY: Thistle’s ‘Seven Multisyllabic Mistakes in Preaching’ (1990)
In this "Epistle from Thistle," the columnist and correspondent describes (in his own unique way) "seven multisyllabic mistakes, or 'speaking faults,' preachers or, I suppose, any public speaker can make." . . .
Leading Through Preaching
By Chris Philbeck I’m writing this at the beginning of a new year. For many people a new year marks the opportunity for new beginnings. It’s a time when many make resolutions like losing weight, getting out of debt, or ending a bad habit. The beginning of 2024 is significant for me because it marks an ending. I began full-time vocational ministry in May 1980, and I intend to retire from it on June 30, 2024. When I graduated from Bible college in 1980, all I wanted to do was be a preacher. Because I was young and inexperienced, I
