Category: The Church

“Calvin frequently said that it was useless for the preacher merely to declare the truths of the Bible and leave the congregation to accept them or not without more ado.”

Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 114

“Earlier we spoke of the expository preacher as a chameleon, taking his color from that of the passage on which he was alighted.”

Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 103

“Calvin believed in the universal relevance of Holy Scripture.”

Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 89

“Expository preaching consists in the explanation and application of a passage of Scripture. Without explanation it is not expository; without application it is not preaching.”

Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 79

“It follow that the congregation no less than the preacher have a responsibility towards what is taught . . . They, no less than the preacher, have a duty to see to it, so far as they can, that the message of the Bible shall alone be heard in their pulpit (for the pulpit is the pulpit of the whole Church, not merely of one member, the preacher.”

Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 51

“The assumption seems to be that, whereas the preacher is really doing something, the people have a passive role, like so many jugs waiting to be filled.”

Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 48

“They should consider that in the sermon God rules his Church by declaring his will . . . Their representative and leader, the preacher, has been the first to submit completely and unconditionally to the message of Holy Scripture. They can do no less when that message is passed on to them.”

Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 49

“Now, it is a strange fact that, although there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books written about the preacher, the hearers have been largely neglected.”

Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 48