Of the seven statements that Jesus makes from the cross, the most bland appears to be "I am thirsty" (John 19:28-29). It sits among others such as "Father, forgive them" and "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This last weekend I had the privilege of preaching on this text. In these three words, we are reminded of a great truth: Jesus was human, too. I'm glad, because I get thirsty, too. And tired, and weary, and worn out. I understand what Jesus meant when he said the "spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Our thirst will either kill us or motivate us. Thanks to Jesus, it can actually move us closer to God.
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This past weekend, I spoke about how through Jesus we can approach God with confidence (Hebrews 4:14-16). To open my message, I shared a story from my freshman year of high school. I was stopped in the hallway one day by a senior football player. My first thought: he's going to stuff me in a locker. Instead, he asked me, "Is your name Ken Hensley?" My second thought: what have I done? Before I could answer, he asked me a second question: "Is your dad the lead singer of Uriah Heep? His name is Ken Hensley." For those of you who don't know, Uriah Heep was a popular band in the 1970's and the lead singer was in fact Ken Hensley (see picture below -- total resemblance). I had two choices: lie and be popular for about a week ... until he found out the truth and then he'd stuff…
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"Boredom is a preview of death if not itself a form of death." - Fred Craddock A couple of times a year, I will go back and reread certain books on preaching. Right now I'm working my way through Fred Craddock's first book on preaching: "Overhearing the Gospel." It was originally delivered as part of the Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale University (1978). One of the early points Craddock makes is about boredom -- it's not good. He argues against those that think the only thing that matters is content. As he would say, some are only concerned about the "what" and not the "how." In some opinions, to be concerned about the "how" is to reduce the sacredness of preaching. Craddock would say, to ignore the "how" reduces the sacredness of the content ... because people won't hear it. They'll be asleep, fidgeting, passing notes, thinking about…
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In 1866, part of the Hawaiian island of Molokai was designated as a leper's colony. Seven years later, a Catholic priest from Belgium, Father Damien, arrived. Father Damien did more than simply administrate the colony. During his time there, he built homes and churches for those who had been ostracized from society. Over his sixteen years there, Father Damien built 2,000 coffins by hand so that, when they died, the lepers could be buried with dignity. Father Damien lived among those he served. He ate with them, shared belongings with them. In fact, he didn't always wash his hands after attending to their open sores. For his willingness to get close to them, the people loved him. It has been said that during the time he served the leper colony that it went from being a place where one was sent to die to becoming a place to live. Then one day he stood…
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At the Yale Lectures on Preaching in 1877, Phillips Brooks offered a definition of preaching that has stood the test of time. He defined preaching as "the communication of truth through personality." There are two parts to this definition. Preaching speaks truth. Preaching is delivered through a preacher. Assuming that the content of a sermon is true, that it is communicating truth, then the second part of the definition becomes critical. The impact of a message increases or decreases depending upon the human connection the audience feels with the preacher. This is not about being boring or relevant; it is about being human. Your audience wants to hear a word from God. They want to hear what is true. But -- and this is important -- they have chosen to hear it from you. Here are a few quick tips when it comes to forming a human connection with your audience:…
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