Author: Tim Challies

I recently encountered a poem I enjoyed and wanted to share with you. LeRoy Tate Newland was an American pastor, a missionary to Korea, and a poet. Among his poems is this brief reflection on the death of a Christian (which, appropriately, is titled “A Christian’s Death”). I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. And what is death? A sudden stopping of the breathThat one may breathe a rarer airWhere all is fair. You say he died.Can life be greater glorifiedThan to unclose pain-wearied eyesIn Paradise? Is this the end? He has but gone to meet a FriendAnd, dying, found a wayTo endless day. Found at Log College Press.See AlsoWhat Becomes Of All Our Dreams?Forgive Our Dry EyesThe Cross He Bore – Man of Sorrows

Though every sermon necessarily needs a beginning, it does not necessarily need a formal introduction. Though it has to begin somewhere, there is no rule that it must begin with some kind of story or illustration. A preacher can jump straight into his text if he so desires. Some do.See AlsoThe Rules for AlliterationHow I Prepare a SermonDon’t Tweet that Sermon!