more about GRACEFUL PREACHING

fluid movements ... Paul Scott Wilson emphasizes the need for us to start with and fully establish the bad news so that we can then move exclusively and solely into the good news. "Proclaim God's amazing nurture and saving acts without further putting the burden of action on the congregation. We proclaim God's faithful and redeeming love without hesitation, reserve, or condition."

utilize active-verbs ... Alyce McKenzie writes: "When we use active verbs rather than passive verbs, listeners can see the actions in their mind's eye, not just be told about them conceptually." Grace should never be left as an abstract concept in our preaching, but a vivid experienced reality.

sensory descriptions ... Frank Thomas says that if we want people to be able to experience the grace of God rather than just hear about the grace of God: "we must construct sermons that help people see, taste, hear, touch, and feel the gospel."

live grace ... Kennon Callahan reminds us that we as preachers need to embrace the concept of grace in our own lives before we can fully proclaim it. "Live grace. The more you live a life of grace, not law, the more readily your sermons will help people discover grace."

a needed balm ... John Rottman reminds us that people come into our churches tired, bloodied, and bandaged many Sundays. They are not looking for additional to-do list items in order to become a better Christian, they are looking for God's grace to help keep them going as Christians. We need to practice Graceful Preaching, because "doing anything less is pastoral malpractice." 

focus & structure ... You need to have a clear vision for what you want to convey and you need a concise plan for how you can best convey that. Kristin Linklater writes: "Muddy thinking is the fundamental obstacle to clear articulation." Graceful Preaching is neither vague nor haphazard.

emphasize narrative ... the grace of God does not enter people's lives through bullet points or rhyming lists, God's grace enters into the story of their life. Eugene Lowry puts it succinctly and encourages us to think of all preaching (especially Graceful Preaching) in these terms: "Preaching is storytelling."

God-active language ... Gennifer Brooks encourages the use of God-active language, which "gives the assurance that God is always working for the ultimate good of the people of God." There is a subtle, yet significant difference between "we have God's grace" and "God gifts us grace" in terms of agency, activity, and theology.