Introduction We see here in this passage that God is always sovereign, and His Word always comes to pass—regardless of who seems to be in power, and who seems to be powerless. Shrewd counsel is disregarded, and bad counsel followed, and why? Because God determines the movements of men. The Text: “Moreover Ahithophel said unto …
Straight Up
“Of about ninety-seven verbs used in the New Testament for communicating God’s truth — preaching in the broadest sense of the word — at least fifty-six are declarative . . . Our primary task is to make truth plain” (Motyer, Preaching?, p. 103).
Don’t Overpreach
“Who was it who said ‘we are called to give people to drink of the well of the water of life, but we are not called to make them drink from the bucket or chew the rope’?” (Motyer, Preaching? p. 99).
Which Means Preachers Must Plead
“The chief part of what we commonly call application is persuasion” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 232).
Led and Misled
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #140 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking …
Working on a Building III
Introduction Water brings life, and living water more so. We have spoken before on the importance of “assuming the center,” and one of the central ways to do this is to create a place where living water can flow. Water is a gathering force. The Text: “Afterward he brought me again unto the door of …
Assembly Required
“The art of preaching is presentation . . . We would never put the ingredients of the cake on the table for our guests, but I have heard sermons like that” (Motyer, Preaching?, p. 89).
Application, Not Aiming At
“It is never judicious to make an application to any particular individual, and very rarely to a small and well-defined class. What is popularly called ‘hitting at’ some person or few persons will almost always do more harm than good” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 231).
On Not Preaching Switchbacks and Hairpins
[On “rightly dividing” in 2 Tim. 2:15] “Orthotomeo is a compound of ‘straightness’ and ‘cutting’. It only occurs elsewhere in the Bible in the Greek translation of Proverbs 3:6 and 11:5, in both places associated with the word hodos/”road”: to cut a straight road, like the Romans did, and like our motorways attempt! But however …
Pressing It Home
“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 …