Archive for category Preaching
Discover Prayer
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Preaching, Sermons on October 25, 2010
Yesterday at Shelbyville First Baptist Church I kicked off a new series I’m calling Discover. Each week we will take an in-depth look at one of the key elements of the Christian life. The first sermon in the series I called Discover Prayer.
In the first sermon, I answered the following four key questions concerning prayer:
- What is prayer?
- Who can pray?
- How do we pray?
- What can prayer do?
The text was taken from the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7. The main memory verse from the sermon was Matthew 6:6.
“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6 (NIV)
People Pleaser or Leader?
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Preaching, Sermons on September 21, 2010
I love to please people! All my life, I have wanted people to like me, affirm me, and generally think that I’m wonderful. As I have matured as a leader and as a pastor, I’ve discovered that I have to sometimes set those desires aside and do the right thing regardless of what other’s think. My goal MUST NOT be to simply “please people” — my goal must be to help people. Sometimes I have to set boundaries and tell people “no” in order to help them. Other times I have to model a new approach and lead people to walk in a more effective, efficient manner.
Everyone seems to have their idea of what I should do as a pastor and how I should use my time. Hardly a week goes by, that someone does not pull me aside and share with me their personal assignment for my life. Most of the time, the assignment is fair and reasonable, but it almost always matches their personal preferences and desires. As the senior pastor I MUST consider the big picture and keep the entire church body in mind as I lead. If I simply jump from personal assignment to personal assignment, I will not lead with vision and God-given direction.
Here are the 5 promises I made to the church during my first sermon as senior pastor on November 2, 2008:
- I promise to love God. In order to fulfill this promise, I must be disciplined in my private time with the Lord. The man who never spends time with God in private is no good in public.
- I promise to love my family. I love to work hard and I love being a pastor (most the time). Because of this, I have to guard against neglecting my family. I have asked other staff members to tell me if they see this in my life and I have pledged to tell them if I see it in their lives.
- I promise to love you. I love Shelbyville First Baptist Church and all our people. I look forward to serving our Lord together for many years to come. Keep in mind that all our pastors love God and love our people.
- I promise to love the unchurched. I want to see people come to Christ. I need to spend more time around lost people. I need to get out of the office more and into the community.
- I promise to preach the Bible. I have tried my best to focus on God’s Word in my sermons and in my teaching. It takes time to prepare true, Biblical sermons, but it is worth all the hard work and extra effort. Currently, I set aside Tuesday and Wednesday as my main study days. Occasionally, I will schedule an appointment or meeting on those days, but I try to devote those days to preparation for preaching and teaching the Bible.
As we move forward, I pledge to always be open to suggestions and ideas. My default of wanting to please people will always be there, I’m sure. But, I promise when I’m faced with the choice of “simply pleasing someone” or “providing Godly leadership,” I will strive to choose providing Godly leadership every time.
Are You That Man? Woman?
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Preaching, Sermons on April 19, 2010
In his book, The Making of a Christian Leader, Ted Engstrom shares the following, powerful statement about what the world needs to see in Christian leaders:
The world needs men (and I might add women) who cannot be bought; whose word is their bond; who put character above wealth; who possess opinions and a will; who are larger than their vocations; who do not hesitate to take chances; who will not lose their individuality in a crowd; who will be as honest in small things as in great things; who will make no compromise with wrong; whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires; who will not say they do it “because everybody else does it”; who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity; who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hard-headedness are the best qualities for winning success; who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular; who say “no” with emphasis, although the rest of the world says “yes.”
Are you that man? Are you that woman?
The Importance of Preaching
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Preaching on March 9, 2010
A couple years ago when I served as Director of Discipleship & Assimilation at the Kentucky Baptist Convention , I hosted Dr. Gary McIntosh for a conference that discussed assimilation principles taken from his book, Beyond the First Visit. Fortunately, while he was with us, Dr. McIntosh unveiled the findings of a recent national survey he conducted.
I knew that the pastor played an important role in reaching and keeping people in a local church, but I was somewhat surprised by the overwhelming importance of the pastor’s preaching. Consider these findings from the study:
- 90% of respondents said that the pastor’s preaching influenced their decision to attend a particular church.
- When asked to rank the order of reasons why they chose to attend their church, the preaching of the pastor ranked #1.
To examine the specifics of the pastor’s role, the survey asked, “What factors of the pastor’s ministry influenced your choice of this church?” Here are their responses listed in the order of their ranking:
- Preaching that teaches and applies to my life.
- Authenticity of the pastor.
- Pastor’s convictions.
- Pastor’s leadership skills.
This study confirmed what most of us already suspected–the pastor must play a pivotal role if a local church is to experience genuine growth. Somewhat surprising was the overwhelming importance of preaching.
Sermon Series on Heaven
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Preaching on February 19, 2010
I’m thinking and praying about preaching a sermon series on Heaven. If I do, I’ll probably kick it off on Easter Sunday. In all of my years as a pastor, I have never preached an entire series on the eternal home of the believer.
Does the topic of Heaven interest you? Do you think others will be interested in the topic? Do you personally have questions about Heaven?
I need your help with the series. What are some questions you think I should address? Thank you in advance for your help.
Book Review: “30 Minutes to Raise the Dead”
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Book Reviews, Preaching on February 2, 2010
I just reread Bill Bennett’s excellent book called Thirty Minutes to Raise the Dead: How You Can Preach Your Best Sermon Yet — This Sunday. It reminds me of the two preaching books written by Jerry Vines because, like his books, it was well written and practical. It is a very easy read if you are a pastor, but extremely helpful.
In the book, Bennett discusses Faris Whitesell’s 7-part definition of expository preaching. Here are the seven parts:
Expository preaching must….
- Be based on a passage in the Bible, either short or long.
- Focus on the primary meaning of the passage.
- Relate the passage’s meaning to its context.
- Search for the timeless truths in the text.
- Organize these truths around one central theme.
- Employ the rhetorical devices of explanation, argumentation, illustration, and application to apply the truth of the passage to the hearer.
- See to persuade the hearers to obey the truth presented.
If you are a pastor and have not read Bennett’s book, find one and read it. It is a little difficult to find, but you can click on the title above and find one at Amazon. The book will be a blessing to you.
