My last study went well; however, I know that if I shaved off 5 minutes of information, it would have hit the congregation better. I have a roadblock in my mind, that if I deliver a sermon under 30 minutes, I am not serving the people as well as I should. But I know that my last study, could have shaved off some details for clarity. I once looked down on the 25-minute sermon, but I am starting to learn, that may be the best pocket for me as a preacher/teacher. Anyone else struggle with this?

Hey everyone...I don't write much, but I try to read everything. Today, I thought I would make an exception because of something that happened a few weeks ago. An ah-ha moment. We have been preaching right through 1 Corinthians and are now into chapter 6. I open each sermon with the anchor illustration. Suddenly it hit me: "If people can connect the image of the anchor illustration, they could remember an outline for the entire book." I took a course a long time ago, some of you may have taken it, Dale Carnegie. I was about 20 and they taught us to remember things by stacking pictures or objects. By connecting pictures and objects from the anchor illustration, I have seen that my people remember everything we have talked about. ✉️ A birthday invitation: I Cor. 1:1-9 👨‍🚀 An Astronaut: I Cor. 1:10-17 🥳 A Court Fool: I Cor. 1:18-2:5 📒 A Locked Journal: I Cor. 2:6-16 🌳 An oak tree: 1 Cor. 3:5-9 🏠 A McMansions: 1 Cor. 1:10-17 👶 A Child: 1 Cor 4:8-16 🍞 A Loaf of Bread: 1 Cor. 5:1-12 Occasionally, I will now remind people of the images "Imagine an invitation to a birthday, with an astronaut bouncing on it, connected to his oxygen line is a court jester, but he is sad, in his hand is a journal he can't open, suddenly an oak tree grows from the journal..." Amazingly, this little exercise has allowed every person to remember what was happening in each passage and the core principle of each sermon. I am discovering that the anchor illustrations don't just tee up the sermons, they can create a map through the entire book. Just something worth thinking about.

What is your sermon text this week... and what's your keyword? Post in the comments. 👇

Many of you have noted on your membership applications that you want to improve sermon delivery. Your request is my demand! The focus of this coming Wednesday's workshop (Wed, March 25 at 11 AM ET) is sermon delivery! "Level Up Your Pulpit Presence: 8 Delivery Skills You Can Use This Sunday." 🚨 NOTE: Everyone is invited to attend! But replays are reserved for Premium and VIP Tier members. Here's the link to get it on your calendar with the video link: https://mckaycaston.tiny.us/level-up-pulpit-presence-workshop Feel free to share the link with friends, invite staff, ministry partners in networks, on social, etc.

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.