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You wake up one night in a cold sweat. You have had the most horrible nightmare! You dreamt that the new preaching rota at church had you down to preach a series on the Book of Revelation! You get up, drink some water, and go back to sleep. Then the next morning you check the … Continue Reading
Is it possible to explain the Trinity in a sermon in words of one syllable? Mike Higton, who is Professor of Theology and Ministry at the University of Durham, attempted just that in a sermon on a previous Trinity Sunday, and here is his sermon. At the end he offers some brief reflections on the … Continue Reading
The two big questions that a lot of people have been asking in the time of the pandemic are: What does this mean for society, and what will the ‘new normal ‘ look like? and What does this mean for the church—how can we rethink what we do? But I think there is a bigger … Continue Reading
In what ways is preaching online to a virtual congregation different from preaching in a physically gathered church? How might we need to adapt to this new situation? Before answering this question, it is worth pausing to reflect on why we need to address it. First, we are likely to be in this situation for … Continue Reading
My previous post, questioning whether monologue preaching was really effective and sustainable, provoked and interesting range of responses and discussion—which both highlights the wide range of views, and demonstrates that dialogue on important issues can be rather helpful! Some agreed enthusiastically: monologues are used by ministers as an exercise in power and control. Monologue sermons … Continue Reading
Some time ago, early on a Sunday morning, I had a phone call. The person preaching at the service in two hours’ time was unwell, and would not be able to preach. I was leading the service; what should I do about the sermon? My first thought was: what a great opportunity to do some … Continue Reading
Reading the nativity account in Luke 2 carefully highlights the way that the tradition of the stable is nowhere present. That’s all very well for scholars, people say, but how does that work in the practice of preaching? The answer is: rather well! This is what I said last time I preached on what Luke … Continue Reading
We appear to be in a cultural moment where conflict dominates every aspect of life. It is not just the green benches of Parliament, laid out in opposition to one another on two ‘sides’, that communicate this—though the discussions about Europe (and just about every other political issue) seem to exemplify this. Social media has … Continue Reading
Once more we come to Trinity Sunday. With the various debates about this on social media over the last few years, I dare to hope that the preaching on this Sunday is now better than it used to be—but I worry that I am mistaken here. It is worth reminding ourselves of some key things … Continue Reading
Is Christian faith about an affective encounter with God, or about becoming convinced about the case for Christianity? You will immediately be crying ‘False dichotomy!’—but it is worth reflecting on the balance between these two ideas in contemporary expressions of faith. There was a time when the tradition of rational enquiry was most influential, but … Continue Reading
What would you say is the single most important thing in preaching—either as the person preaching or as someone who listens? I guess many people would suggest clarity of delivery, or humour, or connecting with the congregation, or being based in Scripture. All of these are of great importance, though of course all are open … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Adjunct Professor, Fuller Theological Seminary; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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