Articles for tag: Sermon Series

January 1, 2024

Christian Standard

Weeds in My Garden

HOW A SERMON SERIES ON MENTAL HEALTH BROUGHT HEALING TO A CHURCH  A perceived need among church leaders and church members led to a survey on mental health, which led to a dynamic and transformative sermon series.  By Clayton Hentzel  During the pandemic, I regularly participated in Zoom calls with pastors from across the country. One of those calls was with The Solomon Foundation. Early in the pandemic, Doug Crozier, the CEO of TSF, put counselor Dr. Wes Beavis on retainer. Dr. Beavis briefly shared some mental health tips on each weekly call. He provided everyone with a little help

May 1, 2021

Justin Horey

SPOTLIGHT: Boones Creek Christian Church (Johnson City, TN)

God’s Word Brings Growth At the beginning of 2019, Boones Creek Christian Church in Johnson City, Tennessee, started a three-year sermon series on the Trinity. Senior minister David Clark planned to spend a year preaching and teaching on God the Father, a year on the person of Christ, and a year on the Holy Spirit. In 2020, the focus was on Jesus. David Eversole, the church’s administrative minister, recalled that the first two months of 2020 were an encouraging time for the congregation because of the churchwide emphasis on learning about Jesus. Not only were the Sunday sermons all about

May 1, 2020

Christian Standard

SPOTLIGHT: Galilee Christian Church, Jefferson, Georgia

We Wanted to Make More Disciples, So We Planned on It By Nick Vipperman In late 2018, Galilee Christian Church in Jefferson, Georgia, decided we would focus on making disciples in 2019. Those of us who have served in ministry for any amount of time know this can be a challenge; it’s easy to have our focus pulled in a hundred directions. So we took some very specific steps to see our goal come to fruition. We communicated and prayed. As we were heading into 2019, we spent many hours talking about what we wanted to do in 2019. We

March 20, 2019

Christian Standard

Did You Hear What They’re Preaching About?

Preachers can sometimes experience creative lulls, so in the interest of providing inspiration, but not duplication (we hope), here are what some of our churches have been preaching about in recent weeks. By the way, most sermons from these series are available at the respective churches’ websites (and we’ve provided links). ________________________ Christ’s Church of the Valley (Phoenix, Ariz.) aTypical “Society has taken an interesting turn on what’s considered typical; activity-packed schedules, strained relationships, overextended budgets, and piles of debt. If this is what typical looks like, then now is the time to break the mold! Join us for our

October 22, 2018

Jerry Harris

Big Changes in Our Magazines

By Jerry Harris “The Times They Are A-Changin’” was the title of a 1964 Bob Dylan song addressing his belief in a need for social justice. If you were 16 when that song was released, you’re 70 years old today. In 1964, Christian Standard, The Lookout, and Standard Publishing were the gold standard for Christian education, leadership, and discipleship. Two years later, in 1966, the little entity that started in Cleveland, Ohio, celebrated 100 years in business; by then it was a major company housed in a factory with 7 acres under roof and hundreds of employees. That was before

July 7, 2018

Christian Standard

‘At the Movies’ Opens to Mixed Reviews

By Caleb Kaltenbach BURLINGTON, OK—Chad Beachwix’s decision to show Black Panther last Sunday morning isn’t sitting well with leadership at Sixth Christian Church. “The movie has a powerful message and I thought it would really challenge our church,” Beachwix said. “I interjected the sermon at certain points during the movie.” Longtime elder Bob Norbit disagreed. “No, he did not interject himself,” Norbit said. “Every 30 minutes he paused the movie, talked for a minute, pushed play, and ate popcorn in the first row.” Moving forward, Norbit said, eldership will prescreen all of Beachwix’s selections for his “At the Movies” sermon series.

June 30, 2018

Christian Standard

Youth Sports Families Offer a ‘Heads-Up’

By Caleb Kaltenbach PARKER, CO—Just as senior pastors look forward to the fall season attendance bump, youth sports families across the nation delivered a “heads-up” regarding their attendance. “We’ve never given a ‘heads-up’ about our attendance, but when many of us formed a National Youth Sports Family Social Media Group, we thought it was a good idea,” said Dana Jensen of 66th Street Christian Church, Sedalia, Ohio. Jensen said her pastor’s reaction was a bit unsettling. “He was in such a happy mood that morning, but when I told him that starting in September we’d be gone for two and a

May 10, 2018

Tyler McKenzie

SPOTLIGHT: Northeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky

The church grew in 2017, despite being warned attendance possibly could drop 15 percent under a new pastor.   By Andy Rector Tyler McKenzie says he was “raw” when he was hired as teaching pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2012. In April 2016, McKenzie became lead pastor. Former lead minister Bob Cherry, who helped start Northeast in 1977, saw something in McKenzie during the initial interview process. And Cherry doesn’t mince words about McKenzie’s subsequent promotion: “Tyler is the right guy” for the lead pastor role. A year before McKenzie joined the Northeast staff, Cherry began

May 3, 2018

Christian Standard

Church Member Recovering after Pastor Throws Captain America Shield into the Congregation

By Caleb Kaltenbach DALLAS—“I’m not sure what happened,” said pastor Billy Yates. “I guess I just got too excited.” Yates was visibly shaken, head downcast, rubbing at the temples of his mask, after ill-advisedly hurling a Captain America shield into a crowd of people attending Open Door Church’s 11 a.m. worship service. In an effort to connect with culture, the staff of Open Door Church plotted out an Avengers sermon series. This past Sunday, Yates preached in a spandex Captain America costume while throwing his shield up and down. Eventually, as Yates grew bolder, he sailed the metal shield into

October 18, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

Getting Ready to Vote

By Mark A. Taylor Maybe the best thing we can say about the current U.S. election cycle is it”s almost over. Just three more weeks to go, but as the quality of the rhetoric continues to degenerate, we can fear these may be the most distasteful weeks of all. How is the church reacting? In any election, we”re interested to see or hear how the church is preparing its members to glorify God with their votes. But there”s a harsher light on that question this year for more than one reason. The candidates both have higher negative ratings than any

August 21, 2015

Christian Standard

‘Story of God’ . . . for All Mankind

By Jennifer Johnson Story of God was designed simply to enhance a sermon series””and now it just might go international. Sherri McCready originally developed visual and performance art to accompany a four-month sermon series focusing on 16 key stories from Genesis to Revelation. At the time she was the creative arts director at Highland Christian Church in Asheville, NC, and her husband, Shannon, served as lead pastor. “Shannon was burdened by how many people don”t read the Bible””or anything else,” she says. “He began researching missionaries who dealt with people groups without a written language and how they communicated the

August 10, 2015

Christian Standard

7 Things Singles Want Their Pastors to Know

By Jennifer Johnson “¢ Please acknowledge that our culture is couple-focused.  Many people still believe you”re incomplete””and you must be unhappy””if you”re not married. While many of us would like to be married, the fact that we aren”t doesn”t define who we are. We live in a culture that idealizes romantic love and feels sorry for those not in a relationship, but the church should have a richer perspective on each individual”s value in the body of Christ. It”s not your fault that our culture trends this way, but don”t let the church inadvertently reinforce it. “¢ We don”t mind

March 10, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Ideas for Easter””or Anytime

By Mark A. Taylor At our annual contributing editor January retreat, someone asked, “Why do churches always make such a big thing of Christmas?” She was reflecting on the fact that Christian Standard almost always puts “Christmas” on a December cover, but sometimes we hardly mention Easter at all. Maybe we”re giving in to the culture on this. For many people, Christmas preparations begin in the summer, and we see Christmas everywhere by the end of October. Christmas concerts, Christmas parties, Christmas gift-buying””they fill the month of December. Indeed, sometimes by Christmas Day, we”re too tired to celebrate. Churches follow

February 1, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Ideas for Easter””or Anytime

By Mark A. Taylor At our annual contributing editor January retreat, someone asked, “Why do churches always make such a big thing of Christmas?” She was reflecting on the fact that CHRISTIAN STANDARD almost always puts “Christmas” on a December cover, but sometimes we hardly mention Easter at all. Maybe we”re giving in to the culture on this.  For many people, Christmas preparations begin in the summer, and we see Christmas everywhere by the end of October. Christmas concerts, Christmas parties, Christmas gift-buying””they fill the month of December. Indeed, sometimes by Christmas Day, we”re too tired to celebrate. Churches follow

October 2, 2014

Christian Standard

A Playground for All Children

By Jennifer Johnson In 2012 Arron Chambers preached a sermon series on Nehemiah at Journey Christian Church and challenged them to do a “great work” in their community of Greeley, CO. At the same time, he and his wife, Rhonda, asked their four kids to pray about a great work they could do as a family. “At the time, our youngest kids were 8 and 10 and loved going to the playgrounds in our neighborhood,” says Chambers, who serves as lead minister at Journey Christian. “They suggested we build a playground that all children could enjoy, including kids with developmental

April 17, 2014

Christian Standard

A Smooth Transition

By John Plunkett In September 2011, I had preached at Creve Coeur (Illinois) Christian Church for 33 years, more than half its existence. But I was ready to retire. I had been thinking about this for some time. As early as 2006 I proposed a plan with an associate minister that would have implemented a three-year transition moving me to retirement and him to the senior minister”s role. But that plan fell apart when the associate was called to be senior minister of another congregation. In September 2011, I told the elders of my pending retirement and that my last

April 10, 2014

Christian Standard

We Plan, They Respond

By Lise Caldwell Worship is a response to who God is. Can you plan to respond? Maybe not, but we find great satisfaction in crafting experiences that lead people to worship God. We huddle around 8-foot round tables strewn with laptops and iPads, soda cans and pizza crusts. The whiteboard that dominates the front of the room is ominously blank. The dates of our upcoming weekend services throb in the corners, pulsating in their urgency. I scribble on my notepad. Someone coughs. The room grows quiet. Time to plan our worship services. “Planning” worship sounds counterintuitive. We don”t “plan” to

February 16, 2014

Christian Standard

“˜Garden to City”

By Jed Mullenix Harbor of Hope Christian Church considered the Bible as four movements, like acts in a play. “Garden to City” emerged from the desire to bring our community into a personal encounter with the greatest story ever told, the Bible. I assume I am like most other pastors in that my heart is not simply for the local church to become familiar with the narrative of the Bible, but for the people I love and lead to encounter the Author of the narrative. The story begins in a garden and ends in a city. It is a garden

January 18, 2013

Christian Standard

Deeper Hunger for God”s Story

By Brian Mavis Eighty-five percent of American households have at least two Bibles. Eighty-five percent of Americans say they want to read their Bibles more.1 There”s an old saying, “Figures don”t lie, but liars figure.” Even so, the stats look promising, and it seems to me that Americans have the necessary ingredients””Bibles and motivation””to know God”s story better. Maybe having a deeper hunger for God”s Word isn”t “what”s next”; maybe it”s just what I wish was next. But if we listen to what people are saying, I do think it can be what”s next. In its REVEAL study, Willow Creek”s

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