Joel C. Gregory

It's the one word that changes everything. The most important word in all of history. Really, one word that does all of that? Indeed, it's the word tetelestai—or as it's translated in English, "It is finished!" Of course that was Jesus' mighty, triumphant, world-changing, heaven opening cry from the Cross on Good Friday. In this week's featured sermon, master preacher and homiletics professor Dr. Joel C. Gregory says, "When Jesus said, 'It is finished,' it was as if he took the 39 books of the old covenant and wrote across them the name 'Messiah,' 'Christ,' finished." Fellow preachers, this is a beautiful, biblical, powerful, and simple sermon. Please read it for your own growth as a preacher and as a follower of the crucified and risen Christ.

Bert Crabbe

At PreachingToday.com we're a little crazy about expository preaching, but we're also aware that topical sermon series have their place. So this week we feature Bert Crabbe, an amazingly creative guy working in the spiritual tundra of Long Island, on "The Case for a Topical Sermon Series." (Next week's article is titled "The Case for Expository Sermon Series.") I love hanging out with Bert and talking about preaching because he has some of the most interesting series ideas that I've ever seen. But check out this quote and you'll see why I really like this guy: "The beginning of being an effective preacher is having a quiet heart. Walking slowly, honoring the Sabbath, and operating from a peaceful, non-anxious place. If I'm stressed and hurried, I possess a stunning proclivity toward cluelessness."

Also, check out these new resources:

• Featured Illustration: The Upside Down Shift in Global Missions
• Featured Video: May the LORD Bless You and Keep You: Inspired by the Levitical Blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26, this video beautifully illustrates the words of God to walk in his blessing.
• Featured Sermon: "It Is Finished" by Joel C. Gregory
• Featured Skills Article: "The Case for a Topical Sermon Series" by Bert Crabbe

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

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