Quite a few pastors use Post-it notes in their Bibles as preaching aids. If you are one of those pastors, you will probably enjoy 3M’s new Post-it Notes in sheer colors. They are transparent and allow you to make notes while still being able to read text underneath.
I could not find any online retailers who sell these transparent Post-it notes, so perhaps they are not yet available.
[via Cool Hunting]
Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) has been a pioneer in sermon branding for years. Not only are their sermon titles and messages creative, but their sermon series graphics are also a great source of inspiration. Here are 36 well-designed sermon series graphics Fellowship Church has created over the past several years. Enjoy!
(1) Wholly Holy & (2) The Big D
(3) Betrayal & (4) Right Christmas
(5) Flavor & (6) Off the Chain
(9) Re-Thinking Jesus & (10) iGod
(13) Best Seat in the House & (14) Larger Than Life
(15) The Divine & (16) Comfortable
(17) If the Shoe Fits & (18) Sexual Revolution
(19) Rutbuster & (20) The Me in Mommy
(21) Cantaloupe & (22) Lessons from Hell
(23) Good N’ Angry & (24) Pronoun
(25) White Noise & (26) Love Affair
(27) Authority Issues & (28) Thread
(29) Night Shift & (30) Retro
(31) Multiple Choice & (32) Just Lust
(33) The Games We Play & (34) Forget About It
(35) Crispus Cremus & (36) Praying for Keeps
If you want to be a great graphic designer, study great graphic design. If you want to be a creative preacher, study creative preaching. What you put in comes out.
LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) is doing a sermon series this upcoming June called One Prayer. But they are not the only church doing it. In fact, over 25 other churches have already signed up to preach the sermon series, as well.
What’s it all about?
Well, Craig Groeschel does a good job summing it up in this video:
Each pastor will preach one week from his church about what one prayer he would pray if God would answer one prayer for the Church at large. And then the participating churches will share video teaching from other participating churches in the following weeks. For example, Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) will be preaching “Make Us One.” And Ed Young of Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) will be preaching “Make Us Creative.”
But that is not all. Aside from the sermon series, each church is encouraged to participate by:
Some participating churches include:
For more information about One Prayer, visit www.lifechurch.tv/one-prayer.
This January, Church of the Resurrection (Leawood, KS) is beginning a new sermon series called “Seeing Gray.” Pastor Adam Hamilton will be searching for insight to some complex gray areas of faith, morality, and politics by studying the Bible and Christ’s example.
They are also taking the discussion from the pulpit to YouTube, and they are looking to hear your thoughts, opinions, and questions on each topic that will be discussed over the first five weeks of 2008.
Liberal or conservative? Republican or Democrat? Is there a right answer? What would Jesus say?
Here is the sermon series trailer:
Here is the YouTube question for week one of the series:
I appreciate this fresh approach to getting the congregation and others to join in discussion around each topic in the sermon series. To join the dialogue, visit their YouTube page.
Tony Morgan recently shared 6 communication lessons that he has learned from Perry Noble while working at NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC).
And do not forget to read Tony’s post for the extended, full-scope of Perry’s wisdom.
Harold Davis, the elementary children’s pastor at Church on the Move (Tulsa, OK), makes this distinction between information and communication:
Information and communication are often interchanges, but they have two distinctly different meanings.
- Information is giving out.
- Communication is getting through.
Just because your sermon gives quality information does not mean it is getting through to your congregation. If you want to preach more effectively, you must purpose to become a better communicator.
Igniter Media Group recently released Igniter Videos Volume 5, which offers five short videos that you can use as sermon illustrations. They have been done extremely well. To preview one, click any one of the five titles listed below.
Best of all, if you would like to buy Volume 5 for your church, you can get a 20% discount by using crblog07 as your promotional code. The special offer expires on May 31st.
Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) has ten cautions and encouragements for preachers. Some of my favorites are:
1. Read the biographies of great preachers.
In reading these, we can learn about their family life, devotional life, study habits, etc.
7. Preach Jesus.
Jesus’ name should be spoken repeatedly throughout a sermon so that it is clear which God you are speaking of. Jesus should be the hero of every sermon, the answer to every question, and the hope for every person. Jesus promised that if He is lifted up He would draw people and the key to church growth is the exaltation of Jesus.
8. Learn from the feedback of your people without being defensive.
Certainly there are always neatniks and critics, but listening to the questions and disagreements of people always helps you improve.
9. Give your sermons away.
The web is the new front door and many people will visit your church through your website long before they attend a church event. By giving the sermon away for free, a preacher’s ministry can continue for years into the future to a much broader audience than they have on a Sunday. Â
10. After you’ve preached, let it go and sleep like a Calvinist.
Don’t listen to your sermons over and over beating yourself up. Once you’ve preached a sermon, let it be a finished work and move on. Passion, courage, and boldness are keys to preaching that simply cannot exist in someone who is too analytical or critical of themselves, so lighten up, have fun, and let it fly in Jesus’ name.
And do not forget to read all ten.
In summary, keep God first and do everything you can to effectively and relevantly communicate the timeless message of the gospel and scripture to the unique audiences you are called to reach.
[via Monday Morning Insight]
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