“In the midst of all this clamor for fine writing and florid style, the preacher should be a resolute man, and dare to be a plain writer . . . This determination will affect his whole sermonizing . . . It will appear in the composition and manner, in a stripping, flaying hatred of circumlocutions, …
Surveying the Text/Micah
Introduction: Micah was a younger contemporary to the prophet Isaiah, and ministered across the reigns of Jotham (c. 740 B.C.) and Hezekiah of Judah (who died 687 B.C.). Other contemporaries would be Amos and Hosea, which accounts for similar themes—they were all confronting the same kinds of cultural problems. The two great ones were idolatry …
Hot Food or Cold
A popular salvation text is Rev. 3:20. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” But this is not the door of an unconverted man, deciding whether to ask Jesus …
Coolshame
Archimedes famously once said “Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world.” If the devil were to go in for such practical mechanics, where would he stand, what lever would he use, if he wanted to move a Christian? We are talking what it means to not …
Simply Plain
“The preacher should toil after this property of style, as he would toil after virtue itself. He should constantly strive, first of all, to exhibit his thoughts plainly. Whether he shall add force to plainness, and beauty to force, are matters to be considered afterwards. Let him in the first place begin at the beginning, …
A Plain as a Punch
“There is prodigious power in this plainness of presentation. It is the power of actual contact. A plain writer, or speaker, makes the truth and the mind impinge upon each other. When the style is plain, the mind of the hearer experiences the sensation of being touched; and this sensation is always impressive, for a …
Sunday Collection
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #195 “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, …
Plainer Than That
“There is no characteristic more important to the preacher than this, and none which ought to be more earnestly coveted by him. Sermons should be plain” (Shedd, Homiletics and Pastoral Theology, p. 63).
A CREC Declaration
A CREC Declaration | June 28, 2015 from Canon Wired on Vimeo.
A Window With a Defined Frame
“It is not enough that thoughts be seen through a clear medium; they must be seen in a distinct shape” (Shedd, Homiletics and Pastoral Theology, p. 61).