The Case for Preaching the Passion on Palm Sunday & Good Friday
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
2w ago
The Case for Preaching the Passion on Palm Sunday & Good Friday Some preachers feel it is not necessary to preach on Palm Sunday or Good Friday. The Passion speaks for itself, the thinking goes. The story is so rich, so full of awe, so packed with meaning—there is simply nothing we could say to add to its profundity. I appreciate the humility in that perspective, because it can feel that anything we add to the story is anti-climactic at best. However, I encourage preachers to offer a homily on Palm Sunday and Good Friday for three reasons. 1) We can’t assume listeners know the context Bibl ..read more
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The Key to an Inspired Palm Sunday Sermon (or Any Sermon)
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
3w ago
Leonardo da Vinci was a genius. Painter, sculptor, inventor… If he imagined it, he created it. But how did he get to imagining his creations? By getting curious and asking questions about his subject. Consider just a few of the qualities he examined/questioned in his notebooks as he prepared to draw a river, as Twyla Tharp shares in her book, The Creative Habit: Learn and Use It for Life (Kindle edition, pp. 175-176): Of the different rates of speed of currents from the surface of the water to the bottom. Of the different cross slants between the surface and the bottom. Of the different dept ..read more
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5 Biggest Blocks to Effective, Creative Sermon Prep
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
1M ago
5 Biggest Blocks to Effective, Creative Sermon Prep How we set ourselves up for sermon prep makes all the difference in our experience of preaching. Below are five common mistakes preachers make that block effective, efficient sermon prep. When we overcome these obstacles, our creativity expands and we craft sermons we believe in and are excited to offer. And the process more often happens when we want (e.g., not during our personal time!), so we stay motivated and excited to share the Good News. Block #1: Preaching out of obligation  This block is a risk any time we take a well-loved pa ..read more
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The Freedom that Comes from Preaching Growth
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
1M ago
Why does preaching growth matter? What is the purpose of improving skills, honing our craft, and learning new techniques? Ultimately, improving our sermon craft results in more compelling preaching, which of course benefits our listeners who hear Good News and experience freedom from the sin, shame, legalism, or pain of living in this imperfect world with imperfect humans. But growth in our preaching craft provides freedom for us, the preacher, too. The more skilled we become, the freer we become to execute the preaching vision in our head—even if that vision is risky, unfamiliar, or challeng ..read more
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Lenten Quotes for Preaching & Reflection (2024)
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
2M ago
My niece, Mara, and I used to get deep into competitive rounds of "Go Fish." As a Spanish native who spent a year in the US when she was eight, Mara didn’t know the exact word for "excited" when she sensed victory was near, but she knew how to describe exactly what "excited" felt like: "I am feeling very hot and nervous!" Thanks to Mara, "hot and nervous" is now part of my family’s lexicon—but not always to describe a happy feeling of excitement. We also use it to describe when we’re feeling anxious, worried, or on edge. I confess I feel hot and nervous this Lent—and not in a good way—wit ..read more
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Beyond Candles & Icons: 5 Items to Inspire Your Sermon Prep
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
2M ago
Preachers often seek sources of inspiration. We want to remember why we preach and invite the Holy Spirit into our midst to see new insights in familiar texts and glean new messages from the Spirit that our people need to hear. Towards this end, many of us keep religious icons on our desks or light candles as we begin our prep. However, if you want to find continuous inspiration and creativity, there are additional objects you may want to add. These items help us to be more mindful of the Spirit’s presence, remind us that our preaching really does make a difference, widen our creative pipelin ..read more
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How to hone your Powers of Observation for More Engaging Sermons
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
2M ago
We want to hold the listener’s attention when we preach.  If their attention turns away and they don’t hear what we say, they miss hearing the Good News in our message. Moreover, we don’t just want them to hear the Good News, we want listeners to experience it for themselves so that they are transformed. One important aspect of holding the listener’s attention and creating an experience is by including sensory details that convey emotions and a story. However, we often don’t include such details because scripture doesn’t provide those details to offer, and we don’t know how to find detai ..read more
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How to enrich your understanding of biblical characters for more compelling sermons
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
2M ago
At an online writing retreat I attended last fall, Anne Lamott, the author of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, discussed this passage of her book: “Whatever your characters do or say will be born out of who they are, so you need to set out to get to know each one as well as possible” (p. 43).  Lamott was writing about the creation of fictional characters, but getting to know biblical characters in detail also helps sermon crafting—providing new insights for sermon messages and helping us understand how people might have lived and moved with each other and God. In th ..read more
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The Preacher's Trust: A Practice for Becoming a Better Preacher
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
3M ago
Photo by Courtney Prather on Unsplash If you wanted to become a better golfer—even if you'd never played golf in your life—you'd know you have to "practice." You'd probably ask for help from advanced golfers who know the steps needed to grow your game. They'd probably advise: head to the driving range and hit a lot of balls learn the mechanics of a good golf swing take lessons from a golf pro watch golf tournaments and learn by observing the "greats" and that's barely the start As preachers, most of us want to become "better." But how?" What are the steps? What should pr ..read more
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Free, At-Home Christmas Retreat, 2023
Backstory Preaching
by Lisa Cressman
3M ago
It's an understatement to say it has been quite a year. The stress of violence and tragedies in Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, and elsewhere… The frustrations and bewilderment caused by the myopic foolishness of self-interest… The growing threat of the climate crisis… Plus staring at the US elections in 2024… 2023 has left many of us exhausted and wondering how we’ll manage another year. The idea of starting 2024 raises emotions from antipathy and numbness, to anticipatory dread, to hope and conviction that a new day is surely coming. This quote by Dr. Howard Thurman from 1961 seems a ..read more
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