Resource Search Results

Congregations and Sermons: A Biblical Scholar's Vision for Imaginative, Communal Sermon Listening

Most of us consider the Bible more than an anthology or a textual repository for the ancient Israelites' and early Christians' religious traditions.

Audio | July 06, 2017

Strengthening Congregational Life by Engaging God's World

Cornelius Plantinga Jr. gives an opening plenary lecture at the 2017 Taking Your Church to College.

Video | July 05, 2017

Worship Resources for Creation Care

We confess that God created heaven and earth and everything in it. We sing that this is our Father’s world. Yet, billions of people suffer in places where so much is no longer bright and beautiful. This worship resource guide will help your community plan services that honor our Creator, who invites us to join in caring for the whole creation.

Resource Guide | June 14, 2017

Worship Resources for the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther posted his ninety-five theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church on October 31, 1517. This worship resource guide will help your community plan services of grace and truth as you commemorate the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation or plan worship for a Reformation Sunday.

Resource Guide | March 31, 2017

Bruce Theron on Word and Worship, a South African lectionary resource

Across cultures and denominations, South African churches are growing in unity—thanks to the nation’s first ecumenical sermon and worship resource written in English.

Conversation | March 16, 2017

The Challenges and Opportunities of Preaching Matthew

Each of the four gospels has its own flavor, themes, and overall character and so each requires different things of the preacher. Matthew’s Gospel presents a number of challenges, a few of which are peculiar to the present day when biblical literacy in most places has fallen off.

Audio | February 13, 2017

Scholars Suggest How to Remember the Reformation

Seven scholars, pastors and musicians discuss how Protestants and Catholics can and should together observe the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017.

Conversation | June 01, 2016

How the News Shapes Our Prayers and Preaching

If our public prayers and preaching are at all responsive to the needs of the world, then how we glean information about the world is crucial.

Video | May 02, 2016

Preaching to the Streets: Homiletics for Urban Ministry

How can the Bible speak to the hopes and fears of urban people who don’t know anything about the Christian life?

Video | April 21, 2016

Preaching to and with Millennials

Learn what Pastor Mary Hulst has discovered as a college chaplain and why she thinks the future of the North American church relies on preaching that engages this generation.

Audio | April 21, 2016

Wording the Sunday Sermon

One of the preacher’s big challenges is finding language for the Sunday sermon that will engage the most of her or his listeners. But what kind of language is that? What are some of its features?

Video | April 21, 2016

Sandra Van Opstal on Multicultural Preaching

A majority of U.S. Christians born before 1965 are white. However, the fastest growing groups in the U.S. as a whole and in its churches are people of color. Preaching must change to reflect this diversity so that all generations and nations can encounter God through the Word

Conversation | April 08, 2016

Solid Resources for Lively Preaching

Preachers know that unless they receive fresh input from good resources, sooner or later their weekly output in the sermon will get thinner and thinner. But where are the solid resources on which the preacher can rely? What best practices exist to enrich preaching?

Video | April 01, 2016

L. Gregory Jones on Traditioned Innovation in Worship

Worship conversations change when you choose to see tradition as a lively center from which to innovate. This provides common ground between those who fear change and those who overvalue change.

Conversation | March 11, 2016

The Promise and Peril of Preaching for Revival: Lessons from George Whitefield's Life and Ministry

Seasons of renewal are God's gift to the church. They are also occasions for controversy and division. Together we reflect on one of history's greatest revival preachers to understand not only how revivals come but what follows in their aftermath.

Audio | March 03, 2016

Jennifer Ackerman on Courageous Conversations among Pastors

The Micah Groups program brings together pastors from diverse denominational, theological and ethnic contexts, all who desire to become empowered wise preachers. They seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. Over time, they build enough trust to have courageous conversations about worship, preaching and justice.

Conversation | February 19, 2016

Karin Maag on Calvin’s Geneva and the 500th Protestant Reformation Anniversary

Whether you observe Halloween, All Saints’ Day or Reformation Sunday, you probably know that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door on October 31, 1517 and that John Calvin promoted the Reformation in Geneva, Switzerland. Here’s why that still matters.

Conversation | October 27, 2015

Calvin Institute of Christian Worship