There was a time when churches held weeklong revival services. An evangelist preached sermons to save the lost and sanctify the church. Church members invited the unsaved, unchurched, and unrepentant to the revival. They even had special seating: The Mourners’ Bench. The mourner’s bench was created by John Wesley, the father of Methodism. There are biblical reasons to reject Wesley’s theology and methodology. But his premise was right: contrition is the key to conversion.  The second beatitude clarifies two misunderstandings about the Christian life.  Being a Christian is not about being sad. Matthew 6:16 says, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.” The hypocrite looked gloomy, assuming this is what it meant...

Welcome to The On Preaching Podcast, The Podcast dedicated to helping you to preach faithfully, clearly, and better. In this episode, H.B. discusses four targets of gospel application in your preaching. A biblical sermon should include explanation, application, and illustration. Throughout the body of the sermon, you should explain the text, apply the text, and illustrate the text. For many, effective application is difficult to develop. But this principle might be helpful: Think about the who before you think about the how. Who are you trying to apply the text to should come before thoughts about how to make that...