“It is very important that we determine what the text meant when it was first spoken or written. E.D. Hirsch is right to emphasize that ‘a text means what its author meant.’”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 55
What’s His Name?
Two pastors, friends from seminary, were having their monthly visit over lunch. They ministered on opposite sides of the same city and were in the same denomination, and both found it helpful. On this visit, Martin brought up his most recent pastoral challenge, which was the sad drift of a young woman in his congregation …
Which Limits Personal Anecdotes
“And all of us have to preach on death before we have died.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 54
And With a Look of Stern Admonition
“The best sermons we ever preach to others are those we have first preached to ourselves.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 54
Like a Duck on a Placid Pond, Paddling Furiously Below
“Good preachers prepare conscientiously. They study the text, try to explain it clearly, look for examples and apply it to their listeners’ situation. Their sermons may look effortless, yet behind each sermons lies a lifetime of discipline and hard work.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 52
Until Everyone Sees It
“The ultimate obstacle to study is, frankly, laziness. Was it Ralph Waldo Emerson who said that people are as lazy as they dare to be? It is true. And we pastors can be as guilty as anyone else because our work is usually unsupervised. We have few set tasks and no set times to do them, and are left to organize our own schedules. So it is possible for us to fritter our days away until our lives sink into indiscipline and laziness becomes painfully obvious to others”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 50.
Psalm 113/Praise Jah!
The Twelfth Decade of Psalms: Introduction: This particular psalm begins the section of the psalter that is known as the Hallel Psalms. This section is Ps. 113 through 118. It was the custom of Jews to recite this section verbatim on festival occasions of praise. The word hallel means praise, and so when we are …
But Blue Highlighters are the Best
“Every reader of books develops his own practice of marking, underlining or note-taking”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 48
The Controversy Clause
Faith Memorial was an older, established church, and so it was kind of surprising to everyone when they found themselves in the midst of a controversy. That occurred because one of the assistant pastors had been speaking at a city council hearing about the expansion of a parking lot at a mall near his home, …
Know the Congregation
“The best preachers are always diligent pastors, who know their congregations and the people of their area.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 45