One of the topics in youth ministry I’m very passionate about, is the topic of preaching. Soon after starting out in youth ministry as a volunteer, I discovered I had a gift for preaching. Not only did I love doing this, it became clear that I connected with the students when giving a message and my sermons had impact. It was awesome to realize God wanted to use me this way. Over the years, I have spoken at many youth services, retreats and ‘normal’ Sunday morning services.
In the series on ‘Preaching for youth’ on Youth Leaders Academy I want to share my knowledge and experience with you, in the hopes and prayers that you will become more and more effective at communicating with youth. Because I’m convinced that every sermon is an opportunity to reach students for Christ!
If you’re looking for ideas for topics for youth sermons, check out our Youth Sermon Topics page where new youth sermon topics are added regularly!
Here’s what I’ve written in the Preaching for Youth series so far:
- Preaching for youth: What to preach about
- What’s your point? (and please, do make one)
- Four risks of making your sermon too practical
- Preaching for youth: language my dear, language
- Preaching for youth: how long should your sermon be
- Preaching for youth: the importance of making it personal
- Preaching for youth: using stories in your sermon
- Keeping your audience’s attention: 8 things you can do in advance
- Keeping your audience’s attention: 5 things you can do while preaching
- Using personal testimonies in preaching
- How not to start a sermon: 8 starts to avoid
- Preaching for youth: the purpose of an introduction
- How to end your sermon well
- 6 powerful ways to end your sermon
- ‘Why wasn’t I taught this? Zac Gandara on spiritual disciplines and preaching
- Tailoring your message to youth’s spiritual journey
- How to know if you have the gift of preaching
- Preaching for youth: how to find topics to preach on
- Do you preach the rules or the relationship?
- The role of prayer in sermon preparation
- How to prepare your sermon
- Altar calls for this postmodern generation of youth
- 6 reasons why I still write out my sermons
- What preaching seeker-sensitive is NOT
- Preaching for youth: How to be seeker-sensitive
- Preaching for youth: finding topics for sermons
- Preaching for youth: painting the bigger picture
- Finding your key message in a Bible passage
- How paragraphs can help you structure your sermon better
- Preaching for youth: the tone of your message
- What is the Gospel: preaching the Gospel
- 5 ways to discredit yourself as a speaker
- How to ‘read’ your audience
- Six crucial elements of a sticky message: simplicity
- Six crucial elements of a sticky message: unexpectedness
- Six crucial elements of a sticky message: concreteness
- Six crucial elements of a sticky message: credibility
- Six crucial elements of a sticky message: emotion
- Six crucial elements of a sticky message: stories
- What to do with your hands when you’re preaching
- 7 elements of an attractive sermon delivery
- 7 rhetorical devices to spice up your sermon
- Dealing with nerves when giving a talk
- Dealing with disruptions when giving a talk
- How to pray during a sermon
- 4 risks of repeated use of the same verses
- Captivating your audience by using your voice effectively
- Using your voice effectively to captivate your audience
Preaching for youth is a topic that’s very close to my heart. I believe in the power of effective Spirit-led preaching!
Upcoming topics include:
- Creating openness in your audience
- Body language
- Preaching from a mindmap
- Preaching for a postmodern generation
- Making beautiful transitions
- How to preach relational
- Being an effective preacher
and much more!
If you have any questions about preaching you’d like to see answered, just leave a comment here or at any post on Preaching for youth, and I’ll discuss it in a post. If you prefer, you can also shoot me an email via rachel (at) youthleadersacademy (dot) com.
