Steve Luxa

while you prepare a sermon God prepares a preacher. Sure, on one level, all that sermon prep work is for others. It's your labor of love, your spiritual offering to the Lord for the transformation of your listeners. But during the entire process of preparing and delivering a sermon, God is also intensely interested in transforming someone else—you, the preacher. This week, new PreachingToday.com contributor Steve Luxa urges us to focus not just on the product but also on the process of our sermon prep—namely, how God wants to change us. As Luxa reminds us, the process of sermon prep is a powerful spiritual discipline. So open yourself up to the Lord as you pray for God to open and transform your listeners.

Mark Dever

You probably know the longest chapter in the Bible—Psalm 119. Honestly, it's never been in my top 10 (or 20 or 100 favorite Psalm). It's all about the law and the commandments, right? Well, sort of, but Psalm 119 also has plenty to say about love, prayer, and communication with a God who has revealed himself to us. That's the thrust of Mark Dever's sermon "Pray for God's Help," part three in his series on Psalm 119. As Dever says in this sermon, "[Psalm 119] is a long treatment of exactly this topic: the individual believer's relationship with God." So let God captivate you with his love through this majestic psalm—all 176 verses.

Also, check out these new resources:

• Featured Illustration: Poll Reveals Our Six-Part 'New Moral Code'
• Featured Video: Blur: This mini-movie reminds us that with Christ as our priority, life will finally come into focus.
• Featured Sermon: "Pray for God's Help" by Mark Dever
• Featured Skills Article: "The Spiritual Discipline of Sermon Prep" by Steve Luxa

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

P.S. "He who preaches with love, preaches effectively."—Francis de Sales

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