Author: Kevin

I am a follower of Jesus, husband, pastor, author, and caffeine addict. Please follow me on Facebook or Twitter. You may also want to consider subscribing to the RSS feed.

Preaching for Life (My New Book)

I’m excited to announce the publication of my new book!

The title is Preaching for Life: A Pastor’s Journey of Biblical Proclamation.

Preaching for life cover

As with any project, this has been a team effort. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed and helped make this happen. I want give special shout-outs to my friends Mary Ann Fortner for proofreading and Erwin Cabalang for the cover design (more names are in the Acknowledgements section at the end of the book).

I’d also like to thank PublishingServices.com for the excellent formatting work.

Here’s the book description:

What do I wish I knew about preaching when I was first called into ministry years ago? What advice would I give to someone who has just begun preaching? How can you be sure you’ll have something to preach on every Sunday? I answer these and other questions in Preaching for Life. I pray this book will help you start well and finish strong in your ministry of biblical proclamation.

Topics include:

  • Preaching by the Book
  • Using Illustrations
  • Using Humor
  • Preaching Holidays
  • Preaching Funerals
  • Preaching Authentically
  • G-rated Preaching in an X-Rated World
  • Addressing Political and Social Issues

Also Included:

  • Three Sermon Summaries
  • Six Devotionals for Pastors

How to Order

This book is available through Amazon in both Kindle and hard copy formats.

How you can help

  • Pray that this book would be used to equip and encourage preachers.
  • Order the book if you are a interested in the topic.
  • Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you think it deserves it.
  • Last but not least, please share this post on your social media accounts or invite me to podcasts/Youtube interviews.

To God be the glory!

J.I. Packer on the Struggle with Sin

I ran across a devotional book at Dad’s house during our Christmas vacation. It is entitled Knowing and Doing the Will of God by J.I. Packer. I’m not sure how it ended up in his basement, but I grabbed it and decided to make it my 2025 devotional. This devotional is a compilation from other books put into a daily format (a paragraph or two for each date). I’ve enjoyed reading it and have been posting lines from it to my social media accounts like my Facebook page and my X account.

I’ve been thinking about one page/entry for a few days: Packer’s thoughts on Matthew 18:8 and the struggle with habitual or “besetting” sins (March 24, page 95). I’ll quote the whole entry:

While surrendering sins into which you drift casually is not so hard, mortifying what the Puritans called “besetting” sins–dispositional sins to which your temperament inclines you, and habitual sins that have become addictive and defiant–is regularly a long-draw-out, bruising struggle. No one who is a spiritual realist will ever pretend otherwise. It is a matter of negating, wishing dead, and laboring to thwart the inclinations, cravings, and habits that have been in you for a long time. Pain and grief, moans and groans, will certainly be involved, for your sin does not want to die, nor will it enjoy the killing process. Jesus told us, very vividly, that mortifying a sing could well feel like plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand or foot, in other words, self-mutilation. You will feel you are saying good-bye to something that is so much a part of you that without it you cannot live.

-J.I. Packer

The original source of this quote is from his book entitled Rediscovering Holiness.

I pray these thoughts will encourage you if you are struggling to let go of besetting sins.