The Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17–49)

C. D. "Jimmy" Agan III has a nice post here on the less well known Sermon on the Plain.

Psalm 2

Steve Walton has made his slides from a recent sermon on Psalm 2 available here.

Preaching the Psalms

Phillip Howell makes some good points here about preaching the Psalms here.

Don't Preach a Commentary

Amen and amen to this article on preaching by Michael C. Lyons.

HT: Tim Challies

Biblical Theology and the Sermon

Gregory Goswell and Andreas Köstenberger talk about it here.

Greek in Sermons

Mark Ward is spot on in these cautions associated with using Greek (or Hebrew) in one's sermons.

Podcast: How Greek Influences Your Preaching

You can access David Allen's discussion here.

Attentive Sermon Listening

J. J. Routley has some good suggestions here.

Is Sermon Preparation Spiritual?

Peter Mead asks and answers the question here.

EBook on Sermon Plagiarism

David Allen is offering the free eBook, Keys to Avoid Plagiarism in Preaching here.

Creating Sermon Conclusions

Here are some thoughts on creating sermon conclusions.

1. Be in prayer about it.
2. Create your conclusion with real people in mind.
3. Make sure you have the message nailed down and then bring your conclusion in alignment with it.
4. Know yourself, be yourself, but be open to stretching yourself.
5. Understand that conclusions also involve non-verbal communication.
6. Keep it brief and tight and convey the appropriate tone.
7. Write it down and talk it through.
8. Write, rewrite, and rewrite again.
9. If possible, preview it with a spouse, friend, fellow preacher, etc.
10. Nail it down (if short enough, memorize it).
11. Wait until you are well into the sermon writing process before you do your conclusion.
12. Make sure to address both believers and unbelievers.

Collaborative Sermon Writing

Paul Taylor suggests five ways that it can help here. I have found it helpful to be able to discuss my messages with others.

Sermongate

When The New York Times is reporting about it, you realize that sermon plagiarism is an issue. If nothing else, this high profile case has generated some much needed discussion on the matter.

How Long Does it Take to Prepare a Sermon?

The answer to this question varies and it really does come down to a number of different factors. Peter Mead does a good job of outlining some of those factors in this post.

When Sermon Points Go Awry

HT: Ron Allen

Questioning Your Illustrations

The temptation of a nice illustration is using it without giving thought to whether it really works best with the message at hand. So, I appreciate Peter Mead's six questions to ask here.

Acts 28:1-6

Phil Long does a nice job explaining these verses here. I enjoyed preaching on this passage some years ago. Here is a simple alliterated outline.

I.   God’s Providential Preservation (v. 1)
II.  God’s Providential Provision (v. 2)
III. God’s Providential Protection (vv. 3-6)

The Cost of a Good Sermon

David Mathis here asks and answers the question, "What does a good sermon cost?" 

Listening and Applying the Sermon

Mahlon Smith has a good post here on listening and applying a sermon. In essence, the recipient of the message participates in the message with an attitude of obedience and expectation of life change. Ultimately, application is a collaborative effort between the Spirit, Text, preacher/sermon, and recipient.

Responding to Less than Spectacular Sermons or Lessons

Many of us have been there. Chuck Lawless has some good advice here on how to respond to less than spectacular sermons or lessons.

HT: Trevin Wax