Three Powerful Ways to Start Your Sermon

Euripides said a bad beginning makes a bad ending. That’s definitely true in sermons.  Like a front porch of a house, your introduction should welcome people to the message.  Your first five minutes are really important.  They often determine if people will listen to the rest of the minutes. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “I felt that…

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Five Ways To Beat Sermon Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is a familiar, dreaded place. It’s where the blinking cursor on the computer screen seems to be taunting and laughing. It’s the same thing with Sermon Block.  Sunday’s coming and nothing seems to be flowing from the mind to the page.  That’s one of the reasons we created Preaching Rocket.  Sermon Block is…

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10 Keys to Preaching from Crawford Lorrits

Crawford Loritts, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA, conducted an incredible seminar on effective preaching and teaching. Crawford’s thoughts were so insightful that our team wished to pass them along to you. One thing you will notice as you read Crawford’s words is his incredible use of language and desire to invest…

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5 Tips on Finding Your Own Voice

One of the Preaching Rocket core values is: Stop Downloading Sermons and Preach You’re Own. The reason we’re passionate about this is because we know that God has given you a unique voice and life experiences to share with others.  We want every preacher we work with to find their own voice.  Here are five…

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Five Things Every Sermon Needs

The word “sermon” comes from an old Latin word meaning “discourse.”  But a sermon is far more important than a speech.  A properly prepared and delivered message is powerful thing – God’s truth delivered through the voice of a herald.  In most church services, the sermon is a central element.  It’s too important to cut-and-paste.…

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The Lonely Preacher

Preachers are often lonely. In fact, as we’ve talked with hundreds of pastors, we’ve found a common denominator that isn’t being talked about in too many circles. 1. Most preachers prepare alone. How do you prepare to preach? Do you take 1 day? Do you scramble on Saturdays? Do you study every day? There are…

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Building a Sermon Feedback Team

In Part 1 of the Leveraging Feedback series, we discussed the fact that feedback is inevitable in the world of preaching and speaking. It comes with the territory. And yet, that doesn’t mean you have to absorb the feedback and give it credibility. In fact, we gave you the permission to ignore feedback. Suggesting that…

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Finding Time to Prepare a Sermon

Pastors are more than preachers. You’re counselors and leaders, sometimes accountants and cleaners. There is more than reading on the agenda. Yet the many duties of ministry often keep you from devoting time to your most important, or at least the most visible, element of your church…the weekly sermon. Too many times, urgent tasks that…

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Download Sermons or Preach Your Own

As a preacher’s kid, I remember watching my Dad preach three different sermons each week. One Sunday morning, another Sunday evening and one more Wednesday night. What’s even more amazing is that he did this BEFORE the Internet was invented. In our fast-paced, high-tech world, the temptation is to short-circuit the hard work and download…

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