Subscribe!

Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass, made a curious statement a few days ago in a response to critics of his book and the soon-to-be-released film based on it. According to a BBC News story earlier this week, Pullman dismissed accusations that his film promotes atheism and denigrates Christianity by claiming: “I am a story teller. If wanted to send a message I would have written a sermon.” Are you kidding me? As a preacher who prepares a sermon every week, I am shocked by this statement!

The Golden Compass, a movie based on Phillip Pullman’s book by the same title, opens in theaters on December 7, 2007. It’s creating a stir because Pullman, claims Laura Miller in The New Yorker, “is one of Britain’s most outspoken atheists.” Two years ago, BBC News reported Pullman’s criticisms of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe – the first movie in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ series by C. S. Lewis. According to BBC News, Pullman’s own trilogy, ‘His Dark Materials,’ “tells us of a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow God.” The Golden Compass is the first book – and now movie – in this trilogy.

Should pastors address this movie in their preaching? My answer is, “Yes, but.” Let me explain.

Here's one of the ten illustrations we have to offer this week to members of PreachingToday. After you've taken a moment to read it, please brainstorm with us in the comments section. How would you use this story in a sermon?

Philosopher J. P. Moreland's Healing

The Sunday evening service on February 20, 2005, had just ended and I wanted to get home. I was frustrated. …The previous Thursday a virus landed in my chest and throat, and in a period of less than three hours I went from being normal to having the worst case of laryngitis in the thirty-five years since college. On Friday I went to our walk-in clinic and received the bad news. The doctor warned that this virus was going around, she had seen several cases of it in the last few weeks, and there was nothing that could be done about it. I just had to wait it out. The laryngitis would last seven to ten days.

I recently ran across a helpful way of describing preaching. It’s in an essay by D. A. Carson in Preach the Word: Essays on Expository Preaching in Honor of R. Kent Hughes (Crossway, 2007). In his essay, “Challenges for the Twenty-first-century Pulpit,” Carson encourages preachers to think of preaching in terms of “re-revelation.”

Our church has a Thanksgiving Eve service, and I will deliver a brief meditation on the topic of “thanksgiving” (of course!). As I’ve been preparing, it occurs to me that American believers may confuse our culture’s way of expressing thanks with the biblical way of expressing thanks.

Here's one of the ten illustrations we have to offer this week to members of PreachingToday. After you've taken a moment to read it, please brainstorm with us in the comments section. How would you use this story in a sermon?

Experiencing Emmanuel in Prison

Locked behind the razor-wire fences of a Florida prison is no place to spend a holiday. I'd spent 15 Christmases under these less-than-festive conditions, but this year my situation looked even bleaker. I was stuck in confinement—a prison inside a prison where the supposed troublemakers are sent. In reality, anyone can find himself in the hole by irritating the wrong person.

This Sunday I’ll preach the final sermon in an expository series on Ephesians. The text is Ephesians 6:10-24, the classic passage on spiritual warfare. Here are five suggestions for preaching on this text and other texts which develop the topic of spiritual warfare.

David Jackman, veteran preacher and President of The Proclamation Trust in London, England, made this statement last week in a preaching lecture in Chicago: “Life transformation takes time. So preach over the long haul. You are a long distance runner.”

Here's one of the ten illustrations we have to offer this week to members of PreachingToday. After you've taken a moment to read it, please brainstorm with us in the comments section. How would you use this story in a sermon?

Holding All Things in Common

I had been praying regularly with the deacons for one of our members. His wife, Pat, attended our small congregation faithfully, but John hadn't been to church in years. So every Sunday afternoon before the evening service, we prayed for ways to communicate our commitment to John and his family.

How do you draw your sermon preparation to a close? My friend, David Hansen, prays a simple prayer over and over on each Friday before he preaches. His prayer may be simple, but it’s profound. This is what David prays . . .

My friend, David Hansen, has only one rule for sermon preparation on Tuesdays. This is the day he begins studying for Sunday’s sermon. David’s rule is “Do not rush.” David insists on “spending unhurried, inefficient time with the text.”

Here's one of the ten illustrations we have to offer this week to members of PreachingToday. After you've taken a moment to read it, please brainstorm with us in the comments section. How would you use this story in a sermon?

Bad Relationships Are Bad for Your Health

Researchers from the University of Utah found there's a price to pay when couples don't get along. Videotapes recorded 150 husbands and wives discussing sensitive issues (how money is managed or doing household chores) and found the following:

Women who buried anger rather than speaking out were more likely to succumb to heart disease than wives who were vocal, the study found. And when women became domineering and controlling, rather than seeking consensus, damage was done to husbands' coronary health.

I’ve been thinking this morning about some of the books which have ministered the most to my soul over the years. Here is a partial list which I limited to ten. None of these books can take the place of Scripture. But each one of them, in its own way, has nurtured me and shaped me as a follower of Christ. By enriching my soul, these books have enriched my preaching.