Pastor, you really can have it all! You can achieve success, pursue comfort, please your people, and serve Christ. Well, maybe not. Actually, in this week's featured sermon—"The Heart of a Pastor"—Matthew D. Kim and Jim Singleton argue that the assurance of ministry comfort and success (on our terms) may be the biggest lie in the pastorate. "As I listen to pastors today and seminarians preparing for ministry,' write Kim and Singleton, "could it be that we want to be pastors but we also don't want to sacrifice or suffer too much?" They explore this theme in a unique sermon—a back-and-forth tag-team approach to sermon prep and delivery based on Philippians 2. And it works. I love the way a younger Korean-American and a (just a tad) older Caucasian guy work through this text together. Try this approach to preaching sometime. I think your people will love it.

At PreachingToday.com we also talk a lot about the big idea of biblical preaching. Most people in preaching circles point to Haddon Robinson as the main person behind this concept. Personally, I've found that writing that clear big idea has done more to focus my sermons than almost anything else. So in this week's skills article—"The Big Deal about the Big Idea"—I've written what I call the "everything you need to know in about 1,000 words" overview of the big idea in biblical preaching.

Also, check out these new resources:

• Featured Illustration: Two Brothers Give Their Lives to Bring the Gospel
• Featured Video: With You (I Feel Again): Set to One Republic's Single "Feel Again." A story reflecting on loneliness.
• Featured Sermon: "The Heart of a Pastor" by Matthew Kim and Jim Singleton

In Christ,

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

P.S. We’re only a few weeks away from the Gordon-Conwell National Preaching Conference where I’ll be teaching a few workshops! For registration and cost information, check out their website.

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