Posts Tagged ‘Sermons’

Pastors who are plagiarising are building a web of deceit

Thursday, April 29th, 2021

A sermon isn’t just another speech, says theologian Scot McKnight, a professor at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. Instead, it is supposed to be an encounter with God. Through reading, prayer and study, the preacher hears from God and then passes on what they learned to the congregation. When a pastor short-circuits that by plagiarising, it’s Read more

Top of the church shopper’s list: strong preaching

Friday, August 26th, 2016

Top-notch preaching most attracts people looking for a new place to pray. That’s the conclusion of a new Pew Research Center study, released Tuesday (Aug. 23), which asked 5,000 people about their search for a new church or other house of worship. “This is what people value in a congregation — a good message, a good Read more

British churchgoers want serious sermons not jokes

Friday, May 13th, 2016

A poll has found that British churchgoers prefer clergy stick to serious topics in sermons rather than jokes or rambling anecdotes. The poll of 1400 regular churchgoing Christians found that they ranked explanations of the Bible as 27 times as important in a sermon as humour and “practical application” 42 times more highly than personal anecdote. Read more

Archbishop of Canterbury laments ‘moral claptrap’ in sermons

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015

The Archbishop of Canterbury says some sermons he has heard amounted to “moral claptrap” about being nicer to each other. Preaching at an evensong service in New York in January, Archbishop Welby said Jesus’ life “challenges every assumption” about society. “He does not permit us to accept a society in which the weak are excluded Read more

Hate long sermons? Well what about this one…

Friday, November 28th, 2014

A Florida Pastor recently broke the Guinness world record for the Longest Speech Marathon by preaching a sermon that lasted 53 hours and 18 minutes from Friday to Sunday. Zach Zehnder, the 31-year-old pastor of the Cross Mount Dora in Florida set out to break the previous record of 48 hours and 31 minutes in Read more

Texas pastors made to hand over sermons to city authorities

Friday, October 17th, 2014

Christians across the United States are mobilising after the city of Houston in Texas ordered five pastors to turn over their sermons. Houston’s city attorney issued subpoenas in response to a lawsuit related to the city’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The new law, which has yet to take effect, would, among other things, allow men who Read more

Gumdrop catechesis and marshmallow sermons

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

I really can’t remember the last time that a homily made me squirm in my seat and cast a downward glance at being convicted of my sinfulness. I can’t call to mind ever leaving mass with a zeal and fiery passion to go make a difference that was so hot I wanted to jump in Read more

Twittering Cardinal tells Priests – “liven up your sermons”

Friday, November 11th, 2011

Spice up your sermons, is the message Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi is giving to priests. Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said that priests who used theological language that was formulaic and boring risked making the gospel irrelevant. Grey, dull and flavourless sermons need to be livened up with graphic stories and scandal contained within the Bible, Read more