We all love nailing a sermon. But what happens when your sermon falls flat? Or what happens when you hit a spectacular whiff, a bomb, a belly flop? If you preach long enough, you'll preach a few losers. In this week's edition from our "The Authentic Preacher" video series, Dr. Jeffrey Arthurs (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) talks about the worst sermon he's ever preached—a colossal flop right before Christmas. If you've ever preached a bad sermon (or maybe you have a friend who has), this video is for you (or your friend).

Speaking of belly flops, I sure hope this week's featured sermon "The Way of Embrace" isn't a flop—because it's my sermon. It wasn't an easy assignment. We were "speed preaching" through Romans and I got chapters 14-15. But the passage does hang together with one big exegetical idea—welcome people as Christ has welcomed you. Once I had that clear idea, boom, the rest was fairly simple—and gospel-centered. In this sermon I address what I call "the spirit of contempt and judgment that acts like a termite colony, quietly but effectively gnawing the church to shreds."

Also, check out these new resources:

Featured Illustration: Musical Magic Ruined by Cell Phone

Featured Video: Something Beautiful: This mini-movie illustrates how God accepts the rejected and the flawed and crafts them into his masterpiece, the redeemed church.

Featured Sermons: "The Way of Embrace," by Matt Woodley

Featured Skills Article: "The Authentic Preacher: Jeffrey Arthurs," by Jeffrey Arthurs

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

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