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Tuesday, December 31, 2019

10 New Year Resolutions for the Preacher


I will be as careful to empathically exegete people as I am to skillfully exegete the biblical text.

I will devote 25% of my sermon prep time to internalizing the sermon for delivery so that I preach to people not paper.

I will be more concerned with what people think of God than me because of my words.

I will be so focused that I can articulate the entire sermon in one compelling sentence before I preach it.

I will take creative risks in preaching the Gospel.

I will pray through the church directory as part of my weekly sermon preparation.

I will attach a memorable metaphor to my sermon focus.

I will conclude the sermon sooner than I want to finish.

I will practice preaching not as a rhetorical task but as spiritual discipline through which I love God and people.

I will trust God to use the so-so words of this so-so preacher to transform so-so people into disciples who transform the world.