Craft of Preaching

Theology and Interpretation
Preaching On Ash Wednesday

As ashes are applied to the forehead on Ash Wednesday, a Biblical phrase is said [...]

Worship
Preaching During Lent

Preaching during Lent may be a little more challenging than usual because this year, Easter falls on [...]

Columnist
Diapers, Ninja Turtles and Creativity

Most of what I know about creativity, I learned while [...]

Columnist
A Disruptive Message

The first miracles were anything but sentimental schlock. When Lazarus was summoned from the tomb, when Jesus [...]

Theology and Interpretation
One Text or All?

Should the preacher of any given Sunday in a lectionary-using congregation focus his or her work on [...]

Theology and Interpretation
One Text at a Time, Please
Sermon Development
The Four Ds: Discovery

There may be as many ways to get from text to sermon as there are preachers making [...]

Sermon Development
The Four Ds: Development

When asked how many points a sermon should have, my colleague, Michael Rogness, is fond of saying, [...]

Sermon Development
The Four Ds: Design

Talking about how to develop an idea toward a sermon, I suggested that the preacher explore what [...]

Sermon Development
The Four Ds: Delivery

One of the happy outcomes of good sermon preparation is that, when preachers are confident of their [...]