Category Archives: Preaching

A People Who Are His Very Own

Posted on October 8, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

I’ve spent quite a bit of teaching time on the scriptural picture of God wanting a people who are his very, a “chosen people” who will be his primary agents to extend his blessings to everyone else. This was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Discipleship, Ecclesiology, Preaching, Salvation, Stanley Hauerwas, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jesus vs the gods

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

I just finished a sermon series on Jesus vs the gods. The “gods” I referred to in the messages were names from the ancient world: Greco-Roman names plus one, Mammon, from the Semitic world. Those their names aren’t as much … Continue reading →

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AI & Pastoral Education?

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Richard Heyduck

I ran across this piece at Mere Orthodoxy today. As far as “AI Coming” for transmission of information, I’m sure he’s right. He’s also right that there needs to be more to pastoral education than transmission of information. But our … Continue reading →

Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Christianity, Discipleship, Education, Global Methodist Church, Preaching | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reading Isaianic Prophecies

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Richard Heyduck

In church this morning we looked at a few texts that Christians have traditionally taken to be prophecies of the coming Messiah, prophecies of Jesus. Most Christians, upon reading Isaiah 52:13 – 53:  see the text as descriptive of Jesus. … Continue reading →

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“If a brother sins (against you)…”

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Richard Heyduck

This Sunday I’ll be looking at Matthew 18, spiraling outward from v. 20. If you look at v. 15, chances are your Bible, assuming it’s a modern translation, likely has a footnote about a textual variant. What’s a textual variant, … Continue reading →

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The Moving Preacher

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Richard Heyduck

Anyone who has heard me preach knows that I usually don’t stand still. Sometimes I get comments on my constant movement. Some people like it, others not. I have two reasons for moving, the first isn’t really under my control … Continue reading →

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Jesus’ Stories

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Richard Heyduck

Jesus told stories to (a) show people what the Kingdom of God was like, and (b) move that Kingdom forward. Following his lead, we commonly call these stories parables. Each parable tells us something important about the Kingdom. That is pretty … Continue reading →

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Wesley on Preaching Law & Gospel

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

One of the books I’m reading is Fool’s Talk by Os Guinness. It’s a good book for those involved in the work of apologetics. I want to be a little picky, however. He says at one point, ‘As John Wesley … Continue reading →

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What Kind of Preaching Do We Need?

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

I’ve read/heard many admonitions over the years to keep sermons practical. People are having trouble in their marriages, in raising their kids, in dealing with work: they need wisdom. Now this is doubtless true. In a relativistic age ruled by … Continue reading →

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Vision or Memory

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Richard Heyduck

This morning’s preacher worked from Philippians 3 and urged us to “press on.” In his message he used a “preacher story” about a man who was faced with a major medical crisis. If he had the risky surgery, he might … Continue reading →

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