“Earnestness goes one step beyond sincerity. To be sincere is to mean what we say and to do what we say; to be earnest is, in addition, to feel what we say” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 273).
Credentials That Bleed
“One of the chief evidences of authenticity is a willingness to suffer for what we believe. Paul spoke of his afflictions as his credentials” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 271).
Sincerity in Two Places
“The sincerity of a preacher has two aspects: he means what he says when in the pulpit, and he practices what he preaches when out of it” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 262).
War on an Empty Wineskin
INTRODUCTION:In this story, when Nabal was done with his drinking bout, it says that “the wine was gone out of” him (v. 7). The Hebrew word for wineskin (what wine goes out of) is nebel. Nabal is a nebel, a deflated wineskin. God deals with him after David refrains from taking matters into his own …
Or Lets Fly, As the Case May Be
“First, I reads myself full, next I thinks myself clear, next I prays myself hot, and then I lets go” (as quoted by Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 258).
Which Not All Preachers Want to Do
“Writing is a most salutary discipline. First, it obliges us to think straight” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 255).
Three Kinds of Servants
In my reading this morning, I noticed an oddity in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It began with seeing that the older brother in effects identifies himself as his father’s slave. When the younger brother came to his senses, and says that he should be treated as one of his fathers “hired servants” (misthios). …
As a Pink Comet
“There seems to be a consensus that we should avoid the two extremes of complete improvisation on the one hand and slavery to a script on the other. Good extempore preaching is very rare” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 254).
The Intersection of Application
“The precise application of our sermon depends, however, on two variables, namely the character of our text and the composition of our congregation” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 251).
The Divided Robe
INTRODUCTION:God has made it plain in many diverse ways that Saul has lost it, and what Saul has lost, David has been given. But all Saul does is double down in his disobedience. The irony is that, even after the Spirit had departed from him, and come upon David, the Spirit was still there at …