Resources by Charlie Wingard
Each preacher has to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of preaching without notes, with notes, or with a manuscript. In a letter to a young minister, Thomas Charles of Wales counsels: “You must be the best judge whether you had better preach extempore or not, as you find liberty and ease in the work. If you cannot deliver your thoughts distinctly, clearly, accurately and fluently, I think you had better read, or at least use notes.” Nevertheless, about the value of writing the sermon Charles is dogmatic: “As to writing your sermons, however you may deliver them, I think there can be no demur about that: and always write every sermon, or whatever else you may write, with all the care and…
Read MoreETERNAL GOD, the only author of all good things, since it hath pleased thee to receive us into the communion of thy well-beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, suffer us not in any wise to be overcome of our enemies. But grant that, his kingdom being established in the midst of us, we may triumphantly sing and magnify his praises, both now and evermore. AMEN. – Prayers on the Psalms from the Scottish Psalter of 1595 (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2010), 54.
Read MoreA secular Jew, the late Neil Postman nevertheless understood that historic Christianity requires careful attention to the reading and hearing of scripture. “I believe I am not mistaken in saying,” he contends, “that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.” A demanding and serious religion – if that’s the expectation, let’s do our best not to disappoint. _________ Source: Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin, 1985), 121)
Read MoreA single sin is not an isolated act. If unchecked by genuine repentance, a pattern of behavior is formed that propels toward ruin. Breaking a promise, for example, becomes a habit, a soul-destroying way of life. A pastor from a previous generation wisely warned: “The preservation of integrity should be superior to all other considerations, and it is a miserable confession of weakness that the love of life or limb has been stronger than the love of virtue . . . It cannot be too earnestly inculcated upon the young that to break a pledge is apt to be followed by the total ruin of one’s virtue. Transgression is not a transitory thing. The single act is soon done and over, but it leaves an influence behind, which,…
Read MoreI love serving with the RTS Jackson Student Cabinet. Tasked with strengthening campus life, the group possesses all the qualities of an exceptional team – innovative ideas, cooperation, hard work, and lots of laughter. Today’s meeting was our first of the new year. We meet twice monthly. (Around the table from the front right: Kelly Jackson (President), Tracey Thompson, Xavi Patino, Bentley Crawford, Anna Davis, Holly Ford, Latasha Allston, William Bondurant, Jessie Osborn, Reuben Antvelink, Will Nettleton, and Adam Parker.)
Read MoreBiographer T.H.L. Parker provides a good definition of expository preaching when he summarizes Calvin’s method: “Expository preaching consists in the explanation and application of a passage of Scripture. Without explanation it is not expository; without application it is not preaching.” – R. Albert Mohler Jr., “Expository Preaching: Center of Christian Worship” in Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship (ed. Philip Graham Ryken et al: Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2003), 112.
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