The following articles have been selected because they are informative, instructive, entertaining, or simply interesting. Articles appearing in Your Friday Five do not represent an endorsement.
The Why and the What of Sermon Writing, By Timoithy Merrill
Everyone except the preacher seems to agree that a good sermon’s most appealing attribute is brevity. Hands down. The late comedian George Burns once said, cigar in hand, that “the secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible.” It’s a sentiment shared by Mark Twain who believed that “no sinner is ever saved after the first twenty minutes of a sermon.”
First Person: Be a believer who believes!, By David Jeremiah
EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) – Macy’s annual Believe campaign has become a successful annual event. Each Christmas, children of all ages write letters to “Santa Claus” and post them in mailboxes at Macy’s stores. For every letter, Macy’s donates a dollar to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In addition, one day each December is set aside as National Believe Day. For every letter received on that day, Macy’s donates two dollars. The results are tracked on Macy’s Believe Meter; and every year more than $1 million dollars is raised, leading to the slogan: A Million Reasons to Believe.
How to Use Resources to Preach Well (and Avoid Plagiarism), By Chris Colquitt
Preaching is a complex art form—at once creative, communal, and constrained. A preacher must do his own work, but always in conversation with Christ’s church and subject to God’s Word. This unique dynamic, together with our finitude and flesh, create openings for pastors to stray into plagiarism, taking another’s work as their own without proper attribution.
Shepherding is a Two-Way Street, By Mark Hallock
One of the great joys of being a pastor is shepherding God’s people—knowing, feeding, leading, and protecting them by God’s grace and power, as Scripture teaches. It is hard, difficult work, but it is a true blessing and humbling privilege. As imperfect as I am as a shepherd pastor (and I am very imperfect), there is nothing I would rather give my life to.
Book Reviews: Preachers N Sneakers, By Ben Kirby
Over the last couple of years, one of the most fun, or infuriating, Instagram accounts to follow has been @PreachersNSneakers. For the uninitiated or the slightly less active on Instagram, PreachersNSneakers is an account that mainly posts pictures of preachers in their expensive sneakers alongside information about the market value of those shoes. These photos are usually taken from the preachers’ own social media accounts, but they “hit different” when you realize that it might take over $900 to get kicks as fly as Steven Furtick. PreachersNSneakers started posting in 2019 and became something of an overnight hit, both in evangelical and sneaker circles. Immediately attention-grabbing, the account was also immediately controversial. Some people were excited to see what they perceived as takedowns of famous preachers and about half of Hillsong. Other people were distressed by what they perceived as encouraging division in the church. The account hit 100,000 followers very quickly and became a phenomenon (with merch) before the public even knew the person behind it.