Now with a new cover This book offers the inspiring true stories behind 101 of your favorite hymns. It is excellent for devotional reading, sermon illustrations, and bulletin inserts, as well as for historical or biographical research.

'We were nearly there when some figures blocked our way. I went cold all over. This was no chance encounter. They had planned this and waited for us. This was it.''Move out of the way Blackie' the skinhead said. 'We got business with your friend.' Star Smith has enough problems in life trying to keep her wacky family a secret. Then a black girl arrives on the scene.... With the racist attitudes of kids in her area Star knows that if she befriends Ebony she could lose more than her reputation.

The best illustration book available to pastors today! Covers contemporary subjects such as abortion, drugs, and divorce, as well as the timeless subjects of faith, commitment, and Christian living.

Is bigger always better?

It's not often that we hear the virtues of the small. Our culture teaches that bigger is better--and that includes church ministry and preaching, too. But what if rather than swinging for the fences, preachers focused on improving their sermons through small habits, practices, and exercises? What if smaller is better?

In a world where small isn't always celebrated, Jonathan T. Pennington provides Small Preaching, a short book of simple tips that can have revolutionary effects over time. Pennington offers preachers 25 words of wisdom that will help shape their preaching for the better.

This accessible manual on preaching unpacks the core of how a preacher must think and what they must do. And it focuses our eyes on the central message - the gospel.

Use this resource to train yourself and others as a new preacher, to develop your thinking and skills as a growing preacher, and to encourage and sustain yourself as a seasoned preacher.

There are many books on preaching, but few, if any, on the theology of preaching. Yet, whether it is recognized or not, theology underlies any preaching that claims to be biblical. In Speaking God's Words Peter Adam builds confidence in preaching by laying a firm theological foundation for it. Preaching rests upon three great pillars: God has spoken, his words are now recorded in Scripture and he commissions people to explain, preach and teach his written words to their contemporaries. Throughout the book, using well-chosen illustrations, Dr Adam encourages preachers to give themselves to the demanding yet thrilling task of preaching God's words today.

He was a disrupter and a peacemaker, a rebel and a rabbi. His friends were the riffraff, and his enemies the religious elite. He was the wounded man who healed the sick, the homeless man who fed the hungry, the convicted criminal who released the captives, and the dead man who conquered the grave. The stories he told were scandalous, and the stories he lived changed the world. To reflect on the Jesus of the Gospels is to reflect on paradox, mystery, wonder, and messiness. It is to find God in the shadows, the tensions, and the ambiguities of life on earth as it is. These essays on the stories of Jesus are invitations to faith in all its complexity and untidiness. The Jesus who emerges here is not the sanitized Christ of piety and platitude, but the Christ of complicated joys and transcendent sorrows. The Christ who weeps, wonders, loses, learns, and seeks. These are the stories of the Incarnate God who finds and loves us in the messiness of our lives.

Doing justice to the complexity of the preaching task and the questions that underlie it, author Paul Scott Wilson organizes both the preparation and the content of the sermon around its four pages. Each page addresses a different theological and creative component of what happens in any sermon. Page One presents the trouble or conflict that takes place in or that underscores the biblical text itself. Page Two looks at similar conflict--sin or brokenness--in our own time. Page Three returns to the Bible to identify where God is at work in or behind the text--in other words, to discover the good news. Page Four points to God at work in our world, particularly in relation to the situations described in Page Two. This approach is about preaching the gospel in nearly any sermonic form. Wilson teaches the 'what', 'why', and 'how' of sermon construction, all rooted in a theology of the Word. This completely revised edition guides readers through the sermon process step by step, with the aim of composing sermons that challenge and provide hope, by focusing on God more closely than on humans. It has been largely rewritten to include an assessment of where preaching is today in light of propositional preaching, the New Homiletic, African American preaching, the effect of the internet, and use of technology. A chapter on exegesis has been added, plus new focus on the importance of preaching to a felt need, the need for proclamation in addition to teaching, and developing tools to ensure sermon excellence. New sermon examples have been added along with a section that responds to critics and looks to the future.

El mayor problema del obrero principiante es adquirir la técnica de llevar a cabo su ministerio. Este recurso le ayudará en la tarea principal de predicar el evangelio.

When You Talk, Are People Changed?

Whether you speak from the pulpit, podium, or the front of a classroom, you don't need much more than blank stares and faraway looks to tell you you're not connecting. Take heart before your audience takes leave You can convey your message in the powerful, life-changing way it deserves to be told. An insightful, entertaining parable that's an excellent guide for any speaker, Communicating for a Change takes a simple approach to delivering effectively. Join Pastor Ray as he discovers that the secrets to successful speaking are parallel to the lessons a trucker learns on the road. By knowing your destination before you leave (identifying the one basic premise of your message), using your blinkers (making transitions obvious), and implementing five other practical points, you'll drive your message home every time

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Once upon a time...

In the beginning...

Great stories capture and hold an audience's attention from start to finish. Why should it be any different when you stand up to speak?

In Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley and Lane Jones offer a unique strategy for communicators seeking to deliver captivating and practical messages. In this highly creative presentation, the authors unpack seven concepts that will empower you to engage and impact your audience in a way that leaves them wanting more.

Whether you are a senior pastor with weekly teaching responsibilities or a student pastor who has bern charged with engaging the hearts and minds of high school students, this book is a must-read.
-Bill Hybels, Senior pastor, Willow Creak Community Church

A very practical resource for every biblical communicator who wants to go from good to great.
-Ed Young, Senior pastor, Fellowship Church, Grapevine, Texas

To communicate effectively, you have to connect. Andy has been connecting with people for years, and now he's sharing his insights with the rest of us.
-Jeff Foxworthy, Comedian

Story Behind the Book

Andy Stanley and Lane Jones are on staff at one of America 's largest churches, North Point Community. Leaders of thousands of people, they regularly speak in front of large groups. They also listen to numerous speakers and know the disastrous effects of a poorly delivered message. This book is the result of their efforts to make public speaking--one of the most common fear-inducing activities known to mankind--simple, easy, and even enjoyable, so that God's messages will readily produce the life-changing results they should.

David J. Jackman Presents a Convenient, Accessible Primer on Expository Preaching

God uses his people to accomplish his work through his word. Every Bible teacher--from pastors and small-group leaders to Sunday school volunteers--has the task and privilege of rightly handling the revelation God has given. To do this effectively, they need to make Scripture the driving force of their preaching.

In this convenient handbook, David J. Jackman offers readers the basic principles of biblical exposition that will equip them to faithfully study, prepare, and deliver sermons and Bible talks. Sharing from his 30 years of experience equipping pastors, he gives readers the skills to study and convey the context of Bible passages, encourage meaningful application of Scripture, and more. Proclaiming the Word features several practical teaching examples along with a sample assessment in the back to help Bible expositors submit their sermons to the word of God.

• Handbook for Expository Preaching: Written for pastors, leaders, and teachers at every level of church life
• Practical: Presents key skills for expository preaching, including understanding biblical context, following the tone of the original Bible writers, and questioning how personal theological frameworks affect the interpretation of Scripture
• Applicable: Teaches pastors how to contextualize Bible talks for modern audiences and purposefully apply Scripture in their own lives

The final volume in the popular series featuring homilies on the Gospel readings for Sunday and holy days by Catholic women from around the world.

Offers abundant witness to the fact that the Spirit of God continues to raise up surprising and gifted preachers whose faithful witness and prophetic speech offer the entire church both challenge and hope. . . The witness of faithful women who can testify from experience that they have found in the Gospel 'words of spirit and life' (Jn. 6:63) is essential to the mission of the entire church. May the bold proclamations of the Gospel in this volume prompt a wider hearing of the good news and lead contemporary disciples to 'hear the word of God and act on it' (Lk 11:28).--From the Foreword by Catherine Hilkert OP

A man who's been transformed by Christ and desires to preach the gospel might say he feels called to be a pastor.

This personal conviction, while heartfelt, doesn't acknowledge important, challenging steps necessary to be a qualified leader. So where should full-time ministry begin?

In The Path to Being a Pastor, Bobby Jamieson explains why it's better to emphasize aspiration over calling as men pursue the office of elder and encourages readers to make sure they are pastorally gifted before considering the role. He shares from his own eleven-year experience preparing to be a pastor by walking potential leaders through different stages of ministry training, from practical steps--such as cultivating godly ambition and leadership, observing healthy churches, and mastering Scripture--to personal advice on building a strong family and succeeding in seminary. Emphasizing the importance of prayer, godly counsel, and immersion in the local church, Jamieson encourages men to ask Am I qualified? instead of Am I called? when considering a life in ministry.

C mo se proclama la verdad con claridad y vigencia.

Escrito en un estilo conversacional con abundantes ejemplos para ilustrar todos los conceptos, Volvamos a la predicaci n b blica lleva al lector paso a paso a trav s de todo el proceso de preparaci n de un mensaje b blico, desde estudiar el pasaje b blico con habilidad e integridad hasta comunicar el mensaje con persuasi n, precisi n, pasi n y pertinencia. El autor proporciona a los incipientes pastores consejos sabios que, sin duda, permanecer n con ellos a lo largo de su ministerio.

Invitation to Biblical Preaching takes the reader step-by-step through the entire process of preparing a biblical message, from studying a passage with skill and integrity to delivering a message with persuasion, accuracy, passion, and relevance.

This book provides a guide for the development of sermons, but places the emphasis on that element of preaching - the good news.

Plan a full year of sermons with Nelson's Preacher's Sourcebook.

Inspiration doesn't always have to come from the mountain top. God can just as easily use a resource like Nelson's Preacher's Sourcebook to give you fresh and new ideas for your sermons, small group meetings, and seasonal gatherings. With suggestions for creative outlines, scripture text, preaching techniques and historical notes, use this sourcebook as a jumping off point when talking to God about the message He wants you to deliver.

This Apologetics Edition of Nelson's Preacher's Sourcebook has an emphasis on evangelism and includes a sermon series focusing on apologetics.

Features include:

• Sermons, creative outlines, illustrations, and quotes for every Sunday of the year
• Special articles focusing on evangelism
• Worship helps, including hymns, prayers, and Scripture text
• Inspirational thoughts and preaching techniques
• Sermons of special occasions and holidays
• Sermons and register pages for weddings and funerals

With Nelson's Preacher's Sourcebook, you'll have engaging content for every Sunday of the year that your congregation will not just listen to, but truly hear.

2019 Reprint of 1895 Edition. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was an English Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the Prince of Preachers. Spurgeon authored many types of works including sermons, one autobiography, commentaries, books on prayer, devotionals, magazines, poetry, hymns, and more. He is perhaps best remembered for The Soul-Winner, a short book on how to convert souls to Christ. Contents include:

What is it to win a soul? -- Qualifications for soul-winning -- Godward -- Qualifications for soul-winning -- Manward -- Sermons likely to win souls -- Obstacles to soul-winning -- How to induce our people to win souls -- How to raise the dead -- How to win souls for Christ -- The cost of being a soul-winner -- The soul-winner's reward -- The soul-winner's life and work -- Soul-winning explained -- Soul-saving our one business -- Instruction in soul-winning -- Encouragement to soul-winners.

On top of all the responsibilities that comprise their vocation, pastors must write sermons that are original, insightful, useful, challenging, and comforting--once a week. Sermon Preparation explores the art and craft of sitting down to a blank page and writing a message that nourishes and speaks truth to the listener. Every chapter, written by an expert in the field, provides insights and techniques that are the result of years of sermon preparation.

Articles Include

• Writing a good message in a bad week
• Five Hammer Strokes for Creating Expository Sermon Outlines
• How Prayer Transforms Prep
• If You Dislike Sermon Prep
• Four Ways to Get out of a One Pitch Preaching Rut
• How to Plan and Package a Year-Long Preaching Series
• The Spiritual Importance of Being an Emotionally Healthy Preacher

A special hands-on section from leading pastors entitled How I Prepare a Sermon brings theory into practice and will give you the benefit of decades of experience. Contributors to this special section include:

• Timothy Keller
• Mark Driscoll
• Lee Eclov
• Matt Chandler
• Justin Buzzard
• and many more...!

The busy pastor, Bible student, or teacher will find many seeds in these outlines that can lead to sermons or lessons filled with a deeper understanding of the truth of God's Word. They are expository in nature.

John Murray said of him, Dr. Vos is, in my judgment, the most penetrating exegete it has been my privilege to know, and I believe, the most incisive exegete that has appeared in the English-speaking world in this century. The uniqueness of Vos's emphasis on the centrality of the covenantal work of Jesus Christ in history and our possession of that work through His mediation draws us back time and again to his powerful and passionate sermons. Translated to the realm of glory itself through the proclamation of the accomplished work of our covenant Lord, and by the gift of His Spirit, we partake of unparalleled communion with God and possess Him as our highest treasure presently in Christ as our covenant God. Short of the consummation we have made His glory and joy in His people our chief end in this pilgrim life.