“The application in a sermon is not merely an appendage to the discussion, or a subordinate part of it, but is the main thing to be done. Spurgeon says, ‘Where the application begins, there the sermon begins.’ We are not to speak before the people, but to them, and most earnestly strive to make them …
Reciprocating Study
“And indeed, this is a wonderful aspect of our Bibles: the more we read the whole, the easier we find it to understand the part; and the deeper we delve into the part, the more we are enabled to understand the whole” (Motyer, Preaching?, p. 44).
Like Something or Other Does
“A preacher should be constantly accumulating the materials of illustration” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 229).
Communion and the Love Feast
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #139 “Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order …
But . . .
“When I asked John Stott, long years ago, if he used commentaries much in preparation, he said, ‘Not really. I find they only confuse me.’ Well, yes, there are people like that, and also there are commentaries like that” (Motyer, Preaching?, p. 39).
Wish This Went Without Saying
“Preachers should continue through life the rapid but attentive reading of the whole Bible, that its facts and sayings may be kept fresh in their minds, and readily present themselves for use” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 228).
C.S. Lewis and Moose Tracks Ice Cream
Over the last few weeks, we have been discussing natural law — the good, the bad, and the ugly. Jim Jordan kicked things off by attacking The Calvinist International at the Auburn Avenue conference, and I wrote a few posts on the subject, including an outline of my own debt to C.S. Lewis, and my …
Pastors in Pale Pastel
I have noticed, on the Internet and elsewhere, that when a pastor says something angular, the kind of thing that provokes questions and/or consternation, a very common stock response emerges. That response is that such behavior is “not very pastoral.” Such a response initially seems to be thoughtful and wise, concerned for unity and love, …
Working on a Building II
Introduction A basic truism of modern design is that form follows function. This is self-evidently true, but the reason modern men have found themselves living, working, and worshiping in overgrown shoeboxes is that we have allowed ourselves to drift into a truncated and reductionist view of what our actual function as human beings truly is. …
Grace and Our Dearest Sin
There is an old adage that says we should not doubt in the dark what we knew in the light. This is quite true, but in this world of darkness a good bit of the dark comes to you in the guise of light. The world is not divided between those who say “I am …