Struggling with application in your sermons?

A number of years ago I had the privilege of hearing American pastor and author Gordon MacDonald speak about application in preaching.

At the time Gordon would have been in his eighties, and had been a pastor for many decades. He encouraged preachers to think about the different seasons of life and their accompanying challenges, and what this means for the application of their sermons. Here are some of the things he drew out related to the different seasons of life:

1. Children and teens
   We’re starting to work out the "furniture" of our belief system and what it means. We need help to understand the basics. We’re developing our identity – who we are and who we want to be. We’ll have hopes and dreams. We’ll be struggling with peer pressure, wanting to fit in, and navigating the technologies around us.