Growth

This past week I spent about two hours rereading my sermons from 2007. On the one hand, I was pretty impressed with my clear big ideas, biblical exegesis, and illustrations. But I had to cringe with one major, consistent weakness in my preaching—the application and conclusion. My old sermons didn't exactly end with a bang. Instead, they often trailed off into lackluster generalizations. It certainly stings to see a glaring growth area, but then again, how else will I grow as a preacher?

How about you? Over the past year I've been asking preachers across the country a simple question: How are you growing as a preacher these days? The answers have been fascinating. This week we start sharing personal vignettes of preaching growth in our new skills articles series "Honing the Craft: 10 Takes from Behind the Pulpit."

This week we also offer a fabulous resource for your Holy Week preaching—"Jesus, Betrayed and Crucified" by Bible scholar Gary Millar. And make sure you keep checking the fresh new illustrations that provide powerful ways to help people "see" biblical truth. For starters, check out these new resources:

• Featured Illustration: Doctor Walks Six Miles to Save Patient
• Featured Sermon: Jesus, Betrayed and Crucified By Gary Millar
• Skills Article: Honing the Craft: 10 Takes from Behind the Pulpit
• Videos: Lent begins this week. Check out our Lent and Easter video store.

In Christ,

Matt Woodley
Managing Editor, PreachingToday.com
mwoodley@christianitytoday.com

Matt Woodley is the pastor of compassion ministries at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois.