The apostle Paul does not talk about Hell by name, but we should not draw the wrong conclusions from that. The concept is certainly there. For example, in one place he talks about those who subscribe to magazines calle Me, Self, or Gimme (Rom. 2:8, ESV). They are self-absorbed and give themselves over to unrighteousness. …
Encouragement in God
INTRODUCTION:Harry Truman once said that if you want to find loyalty in Washington, then you should get a dog. In this chapter we see the reasons for thinking this way—the thin loyalty of Keilah and Ziph. But there is also an exception to this way of the world, and it is the staggering loyalty, the …
A Lazy Afternoon Full of Influence
[The wise preacher] “refuses to be like the angler who, responding to an enquiry, confessed that he had not caught any fish, though he thought he had ‘influenced’ a good many” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 249)
Preaching Through
“The Puritans were a notable example . . . I have been told (although I cannot find this expression anywhere in their writings) that they used to speak of the need to ‘preach through to the heart'” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 247).
The Sermonic Holding Pattern
“Conclusions are more difficult than introductions. Some preachers seem to be constitutionally incapable of concluding anything, let alone their sermons” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 245).
Illustration in the Right Amount
“A building without windows would be ‘a prison rather than a house . . . we dare say they [children] often wish that the sermon were all illustration even as the boy desired to have a cake made all of plums.’ But, of course, a cake cannot be all plums, any more than a house …
The Power of Sermonic Illustration
“We human beings find it very difficult to handle abstract concepts; we need to convetrt them either into symbols (as in mathematics) or into pictures. For the power of imagination is one of God’s best and most distinctive gifts to mankind . . . Illustrations transform the abstract into the concrete, the ancient into the …
A Grotesque Parody of Holy War
INTRODUCTION:In the Gospel of Mark, we read the account of Jesus feeding the five thousand (Mark 6), but this occurs immediately after John the Baptist’s head was brought before Herod, at a banquet, and it was brought out on a platter. There are two kinds of kings, two kinds of rulers—those who feed the people …
And In Color
“In addition to being simple, the preacher’s words should be vivid. That is, they should conjure up images in the mind” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 234).
The Sermonic KISS Principle
“A preacher’s words need to be as simple and clear as possible . . . preachers have to strive for simplicity and clarity. This will mean using not only straightforward words, but short sentences, with few if any subordinate clauses. One is obliged to do this when being translated into another language, which is good …