Series: Preaching

The Listener’s Role in Preaching

By Chris Philbeck Recently I’ve been walking through a season of life filled with disappointment. At one point my attitude got so bad I decided I needed to listen to a great sermon on how to overcome disappointment. I’ve always loved to listen to great preaching; I try to carve out time for that each week. I found a sermon from Dr. David Jeremiah called, “Joseph: Overcoming Disappointment.” I got out a notepad and a pen, clicked the link on my computer, and the first thing I heard him say was, “God takes our setbacks and turns them into comebacks.

January 1, 2023

The Power in Preaching

By Chris Philbeck In 2001, when I came to my current church, I had to adjust to having a Saturday night service. I had been a pastor for over 20 years, but the weekend service had always been exclusive to Sunday morning, and it took a while to feel comfortable preaching on Saturday night for various reasons. We didn’t have a particularly large crowd, and the people would be pretty spread out in a worship center that could seat around 1,400. The energy level was different on Saturday night, and the service just felt different. More often than I like

November 1, 2022

Apologetics & Worldview

How Do We Answer the Great Questions in Life?

By Chris Philbeck Our preaching team decided to devote June to an “Ask Me Anything” series. I know that’s nothing new or dramatic; churches and preachers have been doing these kinds of message series for years. But I’ve never done one, so we encouraged our church family to send in their questions during May. And even though I had a basic expectation of the kinds of questions people would submit, I was surprised by the response. On the first weekend of the series, I began by saying that upon reviewing the questions I was left with two overwhelming feelings. First

September 1, 2022

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Stay the Course

By Chris Philbeck When it comes to ministry, for me, one Scripture verse stands above the rest. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” I love this verse for many different reasons, but mostly because of Paul’s honesty in saying that doing good can wear you out. How else can you interpret those first eight words? While I invest my life in many “good” things, preaching is the one constant “good” thing that takes up most of my

July 1, 2022

Pour Yourself into Your Preaching

By Chris Philbeck When my wife and I had been married for about 20 years, she took a part-time job to help pay for our children’s college. Fortunately for her, an opportunity came along to do something that fit with her artistic talent and interests, and she went to work for a small company that manufactured custom-made windows using a process called Stained Glass Overlay. Unlike traditional stained glass, she would use multiple materials like glass, multilayered polyester film, bevels, jewels, etc. to form a solid piece of decorative art glass. She absolutely loved her job and came home each

May 1, 2022

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

Preaching the Gospel

By Chris Philbeck One of the “Core Four” strategies for living out the vision and mission of Mount Pleasant Christian Church, where I’ve been the senior pastor for the past 20 years, is “Serving others across the street and around the world.” A few years ago, that strategy gave birth to a unique multisite model focused on underserved and underresourced neighborhoods in and around Indianapolis. The Message paraphrase of John 1:14 says about Jesus, “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.”We have followed that example by expanding the ministry and influence of our church by acquiring two

March 1, 2022

The Most Important Thing

By Chris Philbeck My wife and I recently attended a pastors and wives retreat just outside of Phoenix. It was a great experience for both of us. While we’ve been married for almost 40 years, it’s always good to get away from the busyness of life to reconnect. The retreat also included some times when the pastors and wives split to focus on separate topics. One session for the pastors began with the question: What do you think is the most important thing in good preaching? Hearing the various answers—such as connection, engagement, relevance, vulnerability, etc.—was interesting. At one point

January 1, 2022

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Ministry Training & Education

What They Didn’t Teach Me in Bible College

I am thankful for my time in Bible college. I enrolled at Ozark Christian College in the fall of 1976 and while there I developed lifelong friendships, a greater understanding of the Scriptures, and a deep love for preaching. Don DeWelt was my homiletics professor, and every class was memorable. That course provided me with a better understanding of how to preach, and it awakened my love for preaching. But it wasn’t just my homiletics class, it was also the opportunity to hear great preachers in chapel services and at special events. I learned about preaching with passion by listening

November 1, 2021

Devotionals

Relevance

By Chris Philbeck One of the great blessings of my life over the past 40 years has been the privilege of leading a church plant, a turnaround church, and a megachurch. And while these churches have been incredibly different, the one constant has been the opportunity and responsibility to preach. I was 23 when I started, and I’m 63 today. To be honest, I’m not sure I would have wanted to listen to my 23-year-old self every week in that first church. But I am forever grateful for a group of people who loved me and gave me the opportunity

September 1, 2021

The High Call of Preaching

I’m sure every preacher can think of a time when they were convinced God had given them a life-changing, church-altering message. I’m talking about a message born out of significant time alone with God and his Word. I’m referring to a message that grew inside of the preacher’s heart for some time as the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, led them into all truth. I remember a weekend like that at the church I serve. I was convinced my message that week had a special anointing from God. I believed it was a message that could change lives as

July 1, 2021

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

The Art of Application

One of the most fundamental responsibilities of preachers is to help people connect the reality of life and the meaning of the Scriptures.

May 1, 2021

Great Sermons and Being Near to God

Every preacher has his own process for writing a sermon. But there’s another preparation that needs to happen in private . . .

June 19, 2017

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (24)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. DavidÂ Mehrle David Mehrle serves as lead pastor with Southwest Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He became a Christian while he was in junior high. He has served the church in student ministry and as a lead pastor for more than 22 years. He graduated from St. Louis Christian College and received his master”s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. David”s Best Sermon: The best sermon I have heard is “Speak! Against Culture” by Dr. Shane Wood, professor of New Testament at Ozark Christian

May 26, 2017

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (23)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Kevin Wise Kevin Wise was raised in the church but lived in the world. After two years in college, he left school to party and deal drugs for a couple of years. He then returned to college, where he took anatomy and physiology classes that made him more aware of a designer and creator. As he studied the Bible, his life totally changed. He became a minister and served with the North County Church of Christ in

April 24, 2017

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (22)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Tim Sutherland Tim Sutherland is a third-generation Christian church minister. (His father, Joe, taught at Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tennessee, for many years and his grandfather graduated from Johnson Bible College””now Johnson University””in 1921.) He was baptized at Greenwood Christian Church in Canton, Ohio, in 1970. Tim was a teaching team leader for many years at Community Christian Church, Naperville, Illinois, and is currently president and CEO of Sutherland Strategic Staffing, a pre-employment assessment service. He

March 30, 2017

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (21)

By Arron Chambers These Christian leaders tell about sermons you might like to hear too. David Springer David Springer grew up as a preacher”s kid in Mount Vernon, Ohio, with his four siblings and parents, Ken and Mel Springer. He graduated from Johnson University, Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2011. He met his wife, Brittany, their freshman year at Johnson. He serves as associate minister for youth with Northside Christian Church in Georgetown, Kentucky. Brittany and David have two children, Lyla and Landry. David”s Best Sermon: The best sermon I have ever heard for youth was by Jeff Walling, director of

February 26, 2017

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (20)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Bob Blanshan Bob Blanshan, his beautiful wife, Sarah, and three children live in Crowley, Louisiana, where he serves as the children and family minister at Forest Park Church of Christ. He grew up on the other end of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota, attending a church just six miles from the Canadian border. Bob is fortunate to have heard a lot of great preaching throughout his lifetime, including his father, Dale Blanshan, and his grandfather, Bob Blanshan,

February 2, 2017

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (19)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Neill Snyder Neill Snyder grew up in the church and became a Christian at the age of 12. His love for Latino people led him to plant Iglesia Cristiana Southwest in Denver, Colorado. He and his wife, Rosy, have two preschool-age children. Neill”s Best Sermon: The best sermon on compassion is “Get God in Your Gut” by Vince Antonucci. The sermon can be heard at http://vivalaverve.org/media/messages (it”s part of the Renegade series). Why Neill likes this sermon:

January 1, 2017

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (18)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Rick Chromey Rick Chromey has served as a youth minister, professor of youth and family, church consultant and, most recently, “edu-trainer.” Rick also writes extensively and teaches online graduate courses for Hope International University, Fullerton, California. He currently serves as director of leadership for KidZ at Heart International and travels widely equipping teachers and leaders. Rick and his wife, Linda, live in Meridian, Idaho, near their four children. His website is www.rickchromey.com. Rick”s Best Sermon: The best sermon

October 31, 2016