When you accidentally open the Preach360 Gem to estimate fuel cost for a trip. Relentlessly stacking logs 😆

An elder commented to me recently. I learn more from bible studies than sermons. He told me not to take it personally. On reflection I think this is right. We want people to learn things but we should want heart change to be the primary purpose. If they can remember stuff, brilliant, but that's a secondary outcome. I wonder therefore do we need to change what people expect to happen when listening. You don't primarily come to learn (but I hope you do). You come to be changed. Bible study however as thoughts are proposed and discussed should lead to more learning. What do you think?

What are the 3-5 top areas where you invest the most time during the week? - Sermon prep/devotion/prayer? - Event attendance? - Care and counseling (visitation, hospital, crisis, etc.)? - Meetings/appointments? - Planning/vision (for seasons, series, events)? - Admin & communication (email, social media, testing, phone, etc.)? - Professional development (reading, workshops, coaching)? - Other?

Rejoice with us!! This Sunday, as we gather for our Particularization service, we are stepping into a moment that is both a culmination and a consecration. For six and a half years, this church plant has been a shared and sustained effort of praying, waiting, working, sweating, befriending, sharing, counseling, listening, and so much more. We have been longing to see God establish a local expression of His kingdom here in Morristown and the Lakeway area—not for our name, but for His glory alone. There is a profound, and often overlooked, beauty and goodness in the slow work of God. We live in a world that prizes the immediate and the efficient. Church planting is not that. Instead, it is a patient work of "growing down" before we "grow out." It is a realization that the Gospel is not merely the gate through which we enter the Christian life, but the very air we breathe and the path we re-learn to walk every day. To be a "particular" church is to commit ourselves to prizing the Gospel as our greatest treasure. It is the announcement that because Jesus lived the life we should have lived and died the death we deserved, we are now fully reconciled and truly free. This isn't just a theological abstract; it is a reality that aims for the heart. We do not seek to perform surface-level religious behavior, but long for God to bring a deep, interior renewal where our fears and loves are met by the mercy of Jesus. In a culture of flash, clicks and likes, our neighbors long for something authentic and genuine and the Gospel is the only solution to every heart’s greatest need. We long for this renewal to spill over into how we treat one another. We want to exemplify a friendship and hospitality that views people not as interruptions or projects, but as precious image-bearers of God. In a world marked by isolation and transient roots, we are learning to open our hearts, our lives, our homes and our tables because we were once strangers whom Christ has now welcomed all the way in. We are cultivating a life with God, together, leaning into the ancient rhythms of Scripture, prayer, baptism and the Table, knowing that the Christian life is not a private journey but a long pilgrimage best shared in the company of His people.

With a thousand different ways to outline the text, I used to rewrite my outline 10 to 15 times before I landed on a final version. I think I spent more time re-outlining than actually working on sermon content. Everything changed when I decided to toss my conventional main point outline and narrow everything down to one word. I called it a keyword. Not a phrase. Not two words. One word. I was stunned. It not only provided expository focus but also led to homiletical clarity. My study was far more profitable, and my message was far more focused. Here’s how it works. Once you have your keyword, use it in the answer to these questions: 1. What is true? 2. Why do we resist what is true? 3. How does Jesus redeem our resistance? 4. In union with Jesus, what change is now possible? Suddenly, the sermon writes itself. Your exegesis has a target. Your applications become "get to’s" instead of "have to’s." But here's the best part. Your people start to see the same gospel pattern every week. They begin asking these four questions on their own. Your preaching becomes a discipleship tool, not just a Sunday event. Now, I know what some may be thinking. "Won't this be too limiting?" "What if my text has multiple themes?" "Doesn't this oversimplify Scripture?" Here's what I discovered. A single keyword doesn't limit your sermon. It focuses it. You're not ignoring the richness of the text. You're tethering it to one central idea. Think about it. When someone asks a congregation member on Monday, "What was the sermon about?" they're not going to recite three points and multiple sub-points. They're going to say one word. Or maybe a short phrase. So why not give them that word from the start? Why not make it easy on your listener—and on yourself? 🙂 COMMUNITY QUESIONS TO DISCUSS: How have you experienced using the keyword as you build PPGR sermons? How has it helped? Where have you run into challenges? BONUS: Watch on YouTube and share: https://youtu.be/B8P2eAN2k3o