Research conducted by Thom Ranier As Orthodox Christians, we have #2 (Doctrines) nailed tight. #3 is a 50/50 for visitors, but 9 out of 10 is #1 – and that is us and our preaching. It is the one thing we have absolute control over! The next time you meet a clergyman who says preaching isn’t […]
The Sermon Series: A Crash Course
by John Anderson I (Peck) have been a proponent of taking preaching seriously for many years. Advancing in homiletics skill also means advancing in homiletics planning, and the sermon series has real value to the congregation whose needs are known by their priest. John Anderson gives an excellent introduction to this important pastoral tool for […]
What A Holy Greek Preacher Asked For When He Preached
“I came to your village and I preached to you. It is thus just for you to pay me for my effort. With money perhaps? What would I do with it? My payment is for you to put the words of God in your hearts, that you may gain eternal life.” – Saint Kosmas the […]
If The World Had No Preachers: The Necessity of Preaching
by Humbert of Romans CHAPTER ONE II. Its Necessity To know how much preaching is necessary to the world, we should remember that the souls of the Saints in heaven lift their voices before the Lord in never-ending complaint of “those who dwell on the earth” (Rev. 6:11). This cry, according to the commentators, is […]
The Pulpit Is Responsible
Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.
Sermons and Snickers Bars
by Fr. John A. Peck This little article recounts an important object lesson, given at a St. Herman Seminary homiletics class in 1996. I attended St. Herman Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska. At that distant outpost of theological instruction, we took homiletics very seriously, as we knew that on any given day or week, we might […]
The Preaching Pyramid
By Fr. John A. Peck We all know sermon preparation is important, but this article answers the specific questions: “What kind?” “How much?” This article was originally published by Preachers Institute in June of 2009, but remains a regular favorite, according to the traffic we get. We are reprinting it here, to be followed by […]
Fear and Loathing in Preaching
The following has been excerpted from an article by Fr. Aris Metrakos, entitled, On The Priesthood, and published in 2002 by Orthodoxytoday.org. The more we pray, the better we preach. Why? Because it frees the Holy Spirit to guide the thoughts and words of the homilist. At the same time, preparing and delivering sermons is […]