The Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary has provided pastors with resources for creative preaching for the past 15 years. Every week, a set of sermon ideas—four in English and one in Spanish—are posted online. These resources are archived and searchable so pastors can find fresh sermon ideas for almost any biblical text. The Center also provides suggestions for Bible commentaries, ideas for using movies for sermon illustrations, and sample sermons in print and in downloadable audio files.
This year the Center is offering a new resource: short, four- to five-minute teaching videos to provide refresher lessons and a bit of a tune-up on various facets of the preaching craft. The first dozen videos tackle topics such as “The Nature of Sermon Illustrations,” “Preaching Without Notes,” “Anointed Preaching” (preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit), “Imagination & Images,” and more. The teachers in these short videos include pastors and professors Mary Hulst, John Rottman, David Beelen, Peter Jonker, and Scott Hoezee.
The goal is to provide easy-to-watch, concentrated reflections on how to do some of the most basic—but also some of the most important—parts of preaching better. Preachers are busy people, so the Center intentionally keeps each video to under five minutes. The Center plans to add many more videos to build an online library for preachers looking for tips on almost any aspect of preaching.
We encourage all pastors to check out these new teaching videos and to spread the word to other colleagues. Visit cep.calvinseminary.edu and look for the “Fine-Tuning Your Preaching” link. The Center for Excellence in Preaching is dedicated to helping the preaching of God’s Word to be vibrant and fresh and fruitful, all to the glory of God.
About the Author
Rev. Scott Hoezee is director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching, Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Mich. He is the author of several books, including Grace Through Every Generation, an overview of the CRC’s history, particularly the past 50 years, as well as a peek ahead (available from Faith Alive: www.FaithAliveResources.org, 1-800-333-8300).