Preaching with impact

August 25, 2012 Christianity and Culture, Preaching Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

Preaching doesn’t need to be flashy or entertaining to be effective. Here are some thoughts on which preachers have made an impact on me and why.

How can we coexist?

This is the 20th post in the Sermon on the Mount Series. “Give peace a chance” “Coexist” You’ve probably seen bumper stickers with similar sentiments. The problem is that evil is a reality that must be dealt with. Some men (or women) will seek to dominate others through force or intimidation. Even a casual investigation into the […]

On the pursuit of relevance

So while I think there is nothing inherently wrong with wailing guitar solos and smoke machines as part of the worship experience, perhaps we should pump the brakes on the drive to make worship like a rock concert and the sermon like a motivational seminar.

The Goal of Christian Teaching – Love From a Pure Heart

Confused About the Goal In Matthew 22:37-39 and Mark 12:29-31, Jesus tells us that the two great commands are to love God with our entire being and love our neighbors. The concept is simple but the execution is difficult. Only two commands and if we’re honest, we admit that we cannot keep either one of […]

Remember the real enemy – it may not be who you think

1 Peter 5:8 tells us that our real enemy is the devil who prowls around looking for those he can devour. Unfortunately we, as church members, sometimes aid him in his devouring.

Christianity’s Image Problem

This morning I read an article entitled Christianity’s Image Problem which prompted some thoughts. Because we live out the Christian life imperfectly, we give non-believers plenty of opportunities to criticize our hypocrisy. Matt Appling, the author of the article, brings this out in his post. Christianity has an image problem because of Christians. This is […]

Why do we make church so complicated?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Why then do we make church so complicated? We have programs and activities that would make the average cruise ship activities director envious. We have men’s groups, women’s groups, singles groups, youth groups, coffee shops, concerts, ministry days, outreach […]