“There is all the difference in the world between preaching merely from human understanding and energy, and preaching in the conscious smile of God” (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, as quoted in Tony Sargent, The Sacred Anointing, p. 79)
Righteousness, Peace and Joy
INTRODUCTION:The apostle spends quite a bit of time and energy on this question, and this is why we are doing the same thing. What will distract us from those things on which God places great value? It will be those things on which we try to place high value, and all on our own authority …
In Such a Way as to Catch Fire Itself
“‘Preaching,’ exclaimed Lloyd-Jones, ‘is theology coming through a man who is on fire'” (Sargent, The Sacred Anointing, p. 62).
How Can the Spirit be Missing . . . and No One Notices?
“Most books on preaching stress the need for preparation, for programmes and working to a clearly defined timetable. A random reading of modern contributions confirms the point. If reference is made to unction and dependence on the Spirit in the act of preaching, it tends to be incidental, a secondary feature for consideration. Lloyd-Jones would …
Powder Puff Pulpits
“Is there a place in your preaching for such strong language? . . . In brief, in Scripture such language is designed to elicit from the hearer or reader an emotional reaction — laughter, revulsion, terror, etc. — which corresponds to the spiritual nature of the thing being described . . . Such language is …
For To This End . . .
INTRODUCTION: We are continuing on the same theme so that we might remember the importance of loving our brothers and sisters in the faith, but doing so in a very spacious context. Learning the extent of that context will be what enables us to live rightly with one another in close quarters.
Types of Preaching
Preachers need to remember that the way to the heart is through the head, but the preacher is to take that route and drive toward the heart without stopping. Too many turn aside at the head to eat bread and drink water, and that is why a lion kills them (1 Kings 13:9-10). Too many …
Paul is the Key
When something gets off kilter, and we react to it, we generally fix it wrong. Previous reaction fixes are probably the reason things are off kilter now, and a new reaction fix is just rearranging the problem furniture — and not fixing the problem furniture. I have been preaching in Romans for over a year, …
Fully Persuaded
INTRODUCTION: As we work through this chapter of Romans, we will find ourselves reinforcing the same principle over and over—love your brother, while keeping the big deals big, the middle deals middle, and the small deals small. Keep a sense of proportion—and as you monitor these things, look to your own sense of proportion first …
A Potent Place
“Indeed, if you preach well, a great deal of counseling, and even church discipline, goes on from the pulpit” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 298).