So Leave the Pots and Pans in the Kitchen

“The preaching of the Word is the testimony of God and the profession of the knowledge of Christ, not of human skill. Furthermore, the hearers ought not to ascribe their faith to the gifts of men, but to the power of God’s Word (1 Cor. 2:1, 2, 5). But this does not mean that pulpits will be marked by a lack of knowledge and educating. The minister may, and in fact must, privately make free use of the general arts and of philosophy as well as employ a wide variety of reading while he is preparing his sermon. But in public exposition these should be hidden from the congregation, not ostentatiously paraded before them” (Perkins, The Art of Prophesying, p. 71).