TIP of the day: Sermon Starter Guide part 3 - sermons and preaching resources

MJ. Smith
MJ. Smith Member, MVP Posts: 53,043 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited November 20 in English Forum

1. The Sermon section of the Sermon Starter Guide is identical to the Sermon section in the Topic Guide when the SSG is invoked by a Preaching Theme.

2. As you can see from the Sermon Label data, the sermons are selected by the term "creation" not by scriptural reference.

3. All the selected sermons have the word "creation" somewhere in their title.

4.When invoked by scripture passage, the Sermon section of the Sermon Starter Guide matches that of the Passage Guide. Here the sermons are selected by scripture reference not topic.

5. Note that passage reference is overlapping subsets so that a sermon on the Psalms in general will appear for any particular psalm.

6. Don't forget that hovering on the sermon title brings up a preview - a good way to skim the list and determine which deserve further consideration.

7. When invoked by a Preaching Theme, the Sermon Starter Guide has a Preaching Resources section. The resources are listed in alphabetic order which, given the variety of resources shown, I don't consider to be the most helpful approach. I would also like to see a parallel section on Worship Resources which might take a bit of the pressure off this section e.g. hymns. Note this section is curated by the Faithlife Research Team and draws from the Preaching Themes database.

8.The remainder of this post simply shows the preview box for each type of resource that appears here. The first category is quotations and illustrations. In other settings illustrations have their own section.

9. Yes, even mobile ed source material appears here. I suspect it is selected by heading text containing the word "creation".

10. Calendar Devotionals may appear.

11. The Dictionary of Bible Themes appears.

12. The Logos Hymnal appears.

13. Resources specifically designed to assist the preacher in building a sermon appear - some with ideas, some with outlines, some with complete sermons.

14. Sermons may appear including patristic sermons. These generally do not overlap the contents of the sermon section.

Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."