We have repeated examples in the Bible of how God’s people raised money for various needs. We learn many things from these examples, but one of the most striking is how unlike this fundraising is from the kind of fundraising we are accustomed to. Some of the principles appear in more than one passage, and …
A Pitiable Lot
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #180 “Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1 Corinthians 15:18–19). If the dead are not raised, then …
Yeah, Imagine That
“Imagine being asked to stand before a grand gathering of the good and the wise and being asked to make a speech about goodness, beauty, the meaning of life, the point of history, the nature of Almighty God, or some such high subject and having no material at your disposal but an account of a …
Veiled Pulpit Arrogance
“False humility in preaching is a kind of veiled arrogance that proudly asserts its own vaunted humanity and refuses to bend one’s life in service to the Word” (Willimon, Proclamation and Theology, p. 61).
The Difference Between Salad and Garbage is Timing
“Ministers must use great wisdom and discretion in managing their public discourses . . . They must preach necessary and seasonable truths” (Foxcroft, The Gospel Ministry, p. 27).
Surveying the Text: Ecclesiastes
Introduction: Most cheerfulness in the world is superficial and shallow. Much deep thinking is melancholy. This great Hebrew philosopher calls us to joy—but joy which thinks deeply. Our word profound comes from the Latin profundus, which means deep, and so we are invited to profound joy, not joy that skims along the surface of things. …
A High Table for the Low Hearted
One of the great blessings of the covenant is that when we come to the Table of the Lord, the Lord is dealing with us. We partake of Christ in a special way here, and there is no way to partake of Christ with nothing happening. Christ is present here and He deals with us. …
Rendezvous With the Resources
Hudson Taylor once said that God’s work done in God’s way will not lack for God’s supply. What this means is that we, if we are walking in the will of God, are never short. We always have the resources for doing what we are supposed to be doing. If we don’t have the resources …
You Have to Think About This One for a Minute
“Any preacher who does not fail, and fail dramatically and often, to communicate the good news is not communicating the good news that is Jesus Christ” (Willimon, Proclamation and Theology, p. 53).
Working in a Thick Medium
“To be a biblical preacher is to relish the delight of working so thick, demanding, and resourceful a medium as Holy Scripture” (Willimon, Proclamation and Theology, p. 49).