Leadership and Ministry Blog How to Preach Without a Manuscript Stephen Bedard, April 10, 2018April 2, 2021 For years I was convinced that I needed a full manuscript in front of me to preach. I don’t have a great memory and was not able to memorize the sermon no matter hard I tried. My wife tried to convince me to ditch the manuscript but I didn’t have… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog Questions to Ask When Using PowerPoint for Sermons Stephen Bedard, October 20, 2017April 20, 2019 I remember a time when no one used PowerPoint for sermons. In fact, I can remember when I first saw (and not just heard) a pastor preach using PowerPoint. I thought it was pretty amazing and couldn’t wait to try it myself. In those early days, it was quite the… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog The One Thing That Has Improved My Sermon Delivery More Than Anything Else Stephen Bedard, September 21, 2017September 21, 2018 I believe that good biblical content is the key to any sermon. However, if that content is not delivered effectively, the congregation will struggle to learn from the good teaching. There has been one thing that has improved my sermon delivery more than anything else. The good news is that… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog 5 Apologetics Topics Pastors Can Preach On Stephen Bedard, November 16, 2016May 11, 2020 I am both an apologist and a pastor. I do not see those as two different vocations, but rather two aspects of the same calling. I believe that it is important for pastors to integrate some apologetics into their pastoral ministry. This does not mean that every Sunday should be… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog 5 Different People That Pastors Preach To Stephen Bedard, September 20, 2016September 10, 2021 The challenge for preaching is that most churches don’t have a homogeneous congregation. The people who are listening to the message are coming from different backgrounds and perspectives. I think that its is a mistake to write a sermon that attempts to cover every group. It is better to find… Continue Reading
Bedard on Discipleship What is the Difference Between a Speech and a Sermon? Stephen Bedard, August 23, 2016March 19, 2022 I was asked today on Facebook about the difference between a speech and a sermon. I thought that was a good question and so I have decided to look more closely at it. What is a speech? According to one online dictionary, a speech (at least in the relevant context)… Continue Reading
Sermons Faith, Doubt and the Unexpected Stephen Bedard, May 2, 2016October 11, 2019 A sermon preached at Queen Street Baptist Church on Luke 7:18-28. Introduction Would you describe yourself as gullible or skeptical? I must confess that one of my guilty privileges is having fun with gullible people. I once convinced a lady that I had invented a solar-powered flashlight that unfortunately only… Continue Reading
Sermons I Believe. Yes, Sir! Stephen Bedard, April 25, 2016May 3, 2019 A message based on Luke 7:1-10 preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction What would it take to amaze you? Depending on your life experience, it might be difficult for you to be surprised or taken off guard. Others might be amazed on a daily basis by the things that happen…. Continue Reading
Sermons To Judge or Not to Judge Stephen Bedard, April 11, 2016April 26, 2019 A sermon based on Luke 6:37-42 preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction It has been observed that we live in a post-Christian society, where many people both inside and outside the church are not particularly biblically literate. The time of simply alluding to a Bible story and having most… Continue Reading
Sermons Tough Love: What Does It Mean To Love Our Enemies? Stephen Bedard, April 4, 2016May 21, 2020 A sermon based on Luke 6:27-36 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction I don’t think that I need to preach too hard on the importance of love. I’m sure that there are very few people who would argue that love is unimportant. A random search for quotes on love… Continue Reading
Sermons What is So Triumphal About the Triumphal Entry? Stephen Bedard, March 21, 2016April 11, 2019 A sermon based on Mark 11:1-11 preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction I have been stuck in traffic many times in my life. Once I was even an hour and a half late for church when I was commuting to Toronto. But there is one traffic jam that sticks… Continue Reading
Sermons Blessings and Woes in an Upside Down World Stephen Bedard, March 14, 2016May 15, 2020 A sermon that looks at the blessings and woes in Luke 6:17-26 preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction God bless you! When are you most likely to hear that? While we should hear it a lot in church, you probably hear it more when people sneeze. This tradition goes back… Continue Reading
Sermons What is a Baptist? Stephen Bedard, March 7, 2016August 13, 2019 This is a sermon that was preached at Queen Street Baptist Church as part of CBOQ Sunday. Introduction This is Queen Street Baptist Church. Queen Street BAPTIST Church. We belong to the Canadian BAPTISTS of Ontario and Quebec. What in the world is a Baptist? Many people think that Baptists… Continue Reading
Sermons Give It a Rest Stephen Bedard, February 29, 2016November 11, 2019 A sermon preached at Queen Street Baptist Church based on Luke 6:1-11. Introduction Having moved back to St. Catharines, it has brought back a lot of memories of the way things used to be. What has changed is not so much the different location but rather the different time. One… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog What I Use for Sermon Notes Stephen Bedard, February 28, 2016June 6, 2020 For a long time I would always bring a full manuscript with me to the pulpit. I would make notes in the margins, underline certain words or sentences and perhaps highlight main points. I was never happy with it. My wife strongly encouraged me to not use a manuscript but… Continue Reading
Sermons The Miracle Worker Stephen Bedard, February 22, 2016June 13, 2019 A sermon based on Luke 5:12-32 preached at Queen St Baptist Church. Introduction There have been a number of movies that have stuck with me as having a real impact. One of those movies was the 1962, The Miracle Worker. This is the true story of Ann Sullivan and Helen… Continue Reading
Sermons All You Need is Love Stephen Bedard, February 15, 2016May 22, 2020 A sermon preached at Queen Street Baptist Church based on 1 John 4:7-12. Introduction If we were to tune into a random radio station, how long do you think it would take for us to hear the word ‘love’? How long would it take for us to hear it a… Continue Reading
Sermons Caught in Jesus’ Net Stephen Bedard, February 8, 2016May 18, 2020 A sermon preached at Queen Street Baptist Church based on Luke 5:1-11. Introduction I have accomplished many things in my life that I never thought that I would. I never thought I would write a book. I never thought I would teach a college class. I never thought I would make… Continue Reading
Sermons So You Think You Know Jesus? Stephen Bedard, February 1, 2016April 30, 2022 A sermon I preached at Queen Street Baptist Church based on Luke 4:14-30. Introduction What we are going to be looking at today is the story of Jesus returning to his hometown of Nazareth and the people rejecting him because he was not who they thought he was. To explain what… Continue Reading
Sermons Trusting Like Jesus Stephen Bedard, January 25, 2016June 19, 2019 This is a sermon titled “Trusting Like Jesus” based on Luke 4:1-13 that I preached at Queen St Baptist Church. Introduction One of the things that I really love about the Bible is that there is nothing there by accident. The authors place everything in certain places to help us… Continue Reading
Sermons Repent! Stephen Bedard, January 18, 2016April 16, 2019 “Repent” is a sermon I preached at Queen Street Baptist Church based on Luke 3:1-14 Introduction A pastor colleague suggested that my first sermon as the pastor of QSBC should be on John the Baptist’s gentle rebuke of “You brood of vipers!” I know that is not appropriate for a… Continue Reading
Sermons A Gospel for Everyone Stephen Bedard, January 11, 2016October 16, 2019 Gospel of Luke: A Gospel for Everyone preached at Queen Street Baptist Church Acts 2:14-21 Introduction There are so many things that we as a Christian congregation could look at. We have 66 books of the Bible to study, with numerous biblical figures, topics and subjects that overlap with our daily… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Apologetics in the Real World Stephen Bedard, August 2, 2015April 17, 2019 1 Peter 3:13-16 Introduction I have many roles in my life of ministry. I am a guest preacher, a Bible college teacher, an army chaplain and a writer. One of the roles that I really enjoy is that of an apologist. An apologist? What in the world is that? Does… Continue Reading
Sermons Faith Test: Truth Stephen Bedard, July 26, 2015July 15, 2019 1 John 5:1-12 Introduction As we come to the end of our series on 1 John, we have seen that John expects certain things to go along with the faith. We are to take sin seriously. We are to love as God loves. We are to understand Jesus for… Continue Reading
Sermons Faith Test: Child of God Stephen Bedard, July 19, 2015November 22, 2019 1 John 2:28-3:10 Introduction One of the underlying themes in John’s letter, one that has influenced every part of the Faith Test, is that there should be a family resemblance in our relationship with God. Now we get to dig deeper into what that really means. First, we should ask… Continue Reading
Sermons Faith Test: Incarnation Stephen Bedard, July 12, 2015June 1, 2020 1 John 2:18-27, 4:1-3 Introduction We are going to be looking today at the doctrine of the incarnation, that is that God the Son became human in such a way that he was fully God and fully human. Are you bored yet? Who wants to hear about theology? This is… Continue Reading
Sermons The Lord is With You Stephen Bedard, June 30, 2015June 10, 2019 This is the sermon I preached for the 160th anniversary of Woodford Baptist Church. Judges 6:11-18 Introduction Of all the judges, Gideon is one of my favourites. Most of the other judges are fairly one-dimensional characters. But with the story of Gideon we are given, not just information about his… Continue Reading
Sermons Faith Test: The World Stephen Bedard, June 29, 2015November 28, 2019 A sermon based on 1 John 2:15-17 that was preached at Toronto Chinese Baptist Church. Introduction Flee from the things of the world! Avoid worldly influences! What does that even mean? When I was a new Christian, I attended a church that put a lot of emphasis on the difference between what… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog Faith Test: Sin Stephen Bedard, June 10, 2015May 27, 2019 1 John 1:5-2:2 Introduction What does it mean to be a Christian? Well, that is easy, you just believe in Jesus. Yes, faith in Christ is the foundation of the protestant church. People become Christians by faith alone. Read through Romans, the Apostle Paul goes through it over and over… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog 5 Things You Can Do While Your Pastor is Preaching Stephen Bedard, June 8, 2015August 14, 2020 What do you do when your pastor preaches? Do you zone out? Do you play with your phone (text, Facebook, etc.)? Do your try and listen? Listening to a sermon does not have to be a completely passive experience. Here are five things that you could be doing. 1. Take… Continue Reading
Sermons I’ve Got the Power! Stephen Bedard, May 30, 2015July 3, 2019 A sermon I preached at Toronto Chinese Baptist Church. Genesis 45:1-11 Introduction I need to make a confession about one of the most satisfying experiences that I had as a teenager. As a child, I was always one of the smallest students in my class. Most often, all the boys… Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog Getting the Big Job Stephen Bedard, May 25, 2015July 10, 2019 The following is a sermon that I preached at Toronto Chinese Baptist Church. Genesis 41:41-46 Introduction When I was a child, the thing that was most interesting to me was the army. I am not sure exactly where that came from. I didn’t have, at that time anyway, any close… Continue Reading
Sermons Watch Your Tongue Stephen Bedard, February 22, 2015September 4, 2020 A message based on James 3:1-12. Introduction I love to have opportunities to preach. It is such an honour to be able to dig into the Scriptures and to build bridges between the original context and our present setting. And yet what passage am I assigned? I get to preach… 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 Andy Stanley on How to Give a Talk Stephen Bedard, September 23, 2014December 3, 2020 Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog 5 Things to Do If You Do Not “Feel Fed” at Church Stephen Bedard, September 17, 2014September 17, 2022 I often hear people complaining that they do not feel fed at church. By this they usually mean they do not like the pastor’s sermons. I will admit that I have been there before. So what should you do if you feel this way? Here are five suggestions. 1. Get over… Continue Reading
Sermons How Do You Recognize a Good Church? Stephen Bedard, August 5, 2014April 22, 2019 A sermon preached at First Baptist Church based on Acts 4:32-35. Introduction Sometimes we have preconceived ideas about what something looks like. I remember the first time I met Mike Allen, the former padre in Meaford. He had read Unmasking the Pagan Christ before we met. The first thing he… Continue Reading
Sermons Beware the Grasshoppers Stephen Bedard, July 26, 2014July 15, 2019 A sermon based on Numbers 13:1-3, 25-33 preached at First Baptist Church Meaford. Introduction Can you remember doing something for the first time and feeling inadequate? There are so many times that I can’t even count them. Getting married. How would Amanda and I blend our personalities to make a healthy family?… Continue Reading
Sermons What are You Made Of? Stephen Bedard, July 6, 2014December 9, 2019 This is my sermon from this morning at Queensway Baptist Church. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 Introduction Change is not something that comes easily. I have sometimes joked that I don’t mind change as long as it is the same kind of change that I have always had. I enjoy the familiar…. Continue Reading
Sermons What Noise Are You Making? Stephen Bedard, June 1, 2014June 27, 2019 This is a sermon that I preached at the 161st anniversary service at First Baptist Church, Owen Sound. Ezra 3:10-13 Introduction Anniversaries are special events for churches, something that not every tradition understands. An anniversary is a time for us to celebrate the past and to prepare for the future…. Continue Reading
Leadership and Ministry Blog Ministry Reflection Eight Stephen Bedard, April 29, 2011April 14, 2020 Christian leaders need to learn to take a compliment. Early on I picked up on the assumption that pastors are supposed to reject all compliments. If someone tells you they enjoyed your sermon/Bible study/article, quickly reject the compliment and give the glory to God. I understand the principles behind this… Continue Reading
Sermons Six Surprises of Easter Stephen Bedard, April 25, 2011December 31, 2019 Introduction Some surprises are good and some are bad. I remember some bad ones. I remember biting into what I thought was a chocolate donut and finding out it was a pumpernickel bagel or what I thought was a nice sweet grape and finding out it was a black olive. … Continue Reading
Sermons Did Jesus Die on the Cross and Rise Again? Stephen Bedard, June 8, 2009June 29, 2019 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, 15:12-17 Introduction Have you ever been in some sort of sales transaction or contract? All sorts of details are being presented and the other person goes on and on and on. As you are listening to all the talking, you begin lose patience. What is the bottom… Continue Reading