Category: Engaging the Culture

“We have gotten to the point where we define vile behavior as any behavior that provokes someone else into behaving in a vile fashion. We look at rioters and blame the people who never riot.”

Mines of Difficulty, pp. 29-30

“Notice that there are two elements here that Paul is concerned about. The first is the trial itself, and the second is the devil’s interpretation of it. Having a toothache is bad enough, but the suggestion that it is happening because God hates you is much worse. The deeper concern is the second one, the spin the devil puts on any trial.”

Mines of Difficulty, p. 29

“Sermons are not sacraments, but I think it is fair to say that they are sacramentals. A sermon is not a lecture, or a talk. It is not a chat about the things of God. It is a declaration. But unless Christ picks it up and uses it for His intended purposes, a sermon makes the hollowest sound any mortal has ever heard. Christ speaks with authority, and not as the scribes (Matt. 7:29). But He has so much authority that he can even pick up a scribe and do wonderful things through him. Every mortal preacher is in this position, and needs to keep it in mind at all times. Remember how Paul once cried out in a holy despair: ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ (2 Cor. 2:6). The best preacher in the world is nothing more than a fifteen-dollar yard sale violin. But when Christ picks that thing up, He still astonishes the world with the music He can make.”

Mines of Difficulty, pp. 24-25

“The ministry is not to be used as a means of impressing the girls.”

Mines of Difficulty, p. 18

“When ministries go astray, it is very common for the problem to be located in one of three areas: glory, gold, and girls. And because sins are like grapes—they come in bunches—it is not unusual to find some ministries that shipwreck because of all three.”

Mines of Difficulty, p. 17