It is a singular blessing for the pastor to be authorized to proclaim the Word of God in purity and truth before a congregation of God's people. Few Christians are blessed with the opportunity and training necessary to carry out this task. However, often the routine of preaching becomes arduous. The rigmarole of pastoral responsibilities threatens the time needed to adequately prepare for a sermon. What the preparation process looks like may be open to interpretation, but some part of the sermon production process suffers. More often than not, the part of the sermon production process that suffers is not the doctrinal fidelity, or even the textual exegesis, but the one thing that makes a sermon a sermon: the public delivery itself.
Read MoreWhat the world expects and what God has given to preach- ers to preach are at odds. The art of preaching involves, in part, a fundamental understanding of the distinction between the world governed by its prince, the devil, and the church, whose head is Christ. Yet there is tension. Why? Because preachers live in the world. That is how God set up the preaching office.
Read MoreSeven minutes. That’s it. That’s all a preacher gets nowadays. After that hands fidget, minds wander, and bodies are restless. Yes, 420 seconds is all that’s left of the average attention span. That means seven short minutes is all that the average person is willing to listen to a sermon.
Read MoreFrom the Review: "Pless is faithful to Luther’s theology of preaching and pastoral care of the terrified soul. This little book is essential for every pastor because it is nothing if not practical for a variety of pastoral needs. . . . This book will make you a better theologian and a better preacher because it draws you closer to Luther, the Confession, and our Lord Christ Himself as you study Holy Scripture."
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