Leadership and Ministry Blog Experimenting With Preaching Stephen Bedard, March 5, 2020March 5, 2020 Preachers sometimes joke that sermons are “three points and a poem.” That is an exaggeration but we can easily get into a rut. I will confess that I prefer a teaching model, where I exegete the text and present and an application that arises from the text. Expository sermons should… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog How to Preach Topical Sermons Stephen Bedard, September 25, 2019 I know that there are some preachers that are very against topical sermons. It is expository or nothing. While I’m sympathetic to this, I don’t fully agree. I think there are times when a topical sermon is needed. Your community might be struggling with mental illness. Perhaps a cult or… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog 31 Days to Become a Better Pastor: Invest in Your Preaching Stephen Bedard, March 12, 2018February 10, 2021 In smaller churches, pastors are equated with preachers. But even in larger churches, many pastors have preaching as one of their responsibilities, although perhaps not every week. After preaching for a number of years, it is is easy to get complacent when it comes to sermon preparation and delivery. It… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog Preaching With Cultural Intelligence – Review Stephen Bedard, October 18, 2017January 6, 2020 As a pastor of a local church who preaches weekly, I’m always looking to improve my craft. This includes reading books on preaching. But how many ways can someone tell you to find the meaning in a text and communicate it in a relevant and engaging manner? I often fear… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog Four Ways That I Structure Sermons Stephen Bedard, October 10, 2017December 25, 2019 One of my favourite activities as a pastor is the writing and preaching of sermons. I love finding the intersection between biblical truth and the real needs of my congregation. But what should a sermon look like? How many points should there be? My homiletics professor in seminary suggested that… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog 5 Things I Do For Sermon Preparation Stephen Bedard, September 25, 2016June 20, 2019 When I met with one of the faculty as I began my studies at McMaster Divinity College twenty years ago, I made it clear that I wanted to be a pastor but I didn’t want to preach. Ironically, writing and preaching sermons are now one my favourite activities as a… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog A Vision for Preaching Stephen Bedard, March 1, 2016July 10, 2020 Now that I am back in pastoral ministry, I am doing some more reading in the area of preaching. One of the books that came my way was A Vision for Preaching: Understanding the Heart of Pastoral Ministry by Abraham Kuruvilla. Kuruvilla organizes this book around his definition of preaching,… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog How to Write a Sermon Stephen Bedard, November 28, 2014August 29, 2019 Ideally a preacher will have had time to formally study preaching/homiletics in a Bible college or seminary before presenting their first sermon. That should include practice with feedback from the teacher and/or class. Mentoring by an experienced pastor is also very helpful. Having said that, I know that the ideal… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog 4 Things for a Preacher to Remember Stephen Bedard, March 15, 2014November 22, 2021 Pulpit ministry is both a tremendous privilege and responsibility. For many people in the congregation, it is their only interaction with the Bible. A pastor cannot take this lightly. It is not enough to just throw something together and fill up a chunk of time during a Sunday service. Here… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog Rick Warren on How to Conclude a Sermon Stephen Bedard, February 19, 2014August 23, 2019 Many preachers put their time into the body of their sermon. They may even put some time into a catchy introduction. But what about the conclusion? By the time you get to the conclusion, it seems like all the work is done. But it is far from done. Rick Warren… Continue Reading