“To put it in the symbolic fashion of Revelation 10:8-11, these men first ate the book containing God’s revelation, and then they prophesied . . . It must become a piece and parcel of our spiritual selves, so that, no matter to whom, when, or wheresoever, we preach, the sermon comes, yea verily from the …
And the Grape Juice of Therapeutic Entertainment Does Not
“The strong wine of Jesus Christ explodes the wineskins of professionalism” (Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, p. 3).
Preaching a Felt Christ
“The preacher worthy of the name, the preacher after God’s heart, then, must proclaim the written Word of God indeed; but he must preach it — and that precisely makes it preaching — as it has come to light in his own heart and mind” (Volbeda, The Pastoral Genius of Preaching, p. 27).
With the Exception of Their Own Religious Convictions, Serenely Above It All
“Once upon a time tolerance was the power that kept lovers of competing faiths from killing each other. It was the principle that put freedom above forced conversion. It was rooted in the truth that coerced conviction is no conviction. That is true tolerance. But now the new professional tolerance denies that there are any …
A Preacher Well Tuned
“Surely, that written Word of God is pastoral through and through in its message, spirit, and purpose. Therefore the spoken proclamation of that pastoral Word calls for an agent who is himself in heart and mind in perfect harmony with the pastoral Scriptures which he must preach . . . Before one can preach in …
A Preacher Well Tuned
“Surely, that written Word of God is pastoral through and through in its message, spirit, and purpose. Therefore the spoken proclamation of that pastoral Word calls for an agent who is himself in heart and mind in perfect harmony with the pastoral Scriptures which he must preach . . . Before one can preach in …
Forgiveness and Do-Overs
INTRODUCTION:The story in this chapter has many similarities to the story two chapters earlier, when David spared the life of Saul in the cave. In both instances, Saul was completely within David’s reach. In both cases, David was urged to take Saul’s life. In both situations, David took a token that would prove that Saul …
A Scandal That Is Both
“The closer you get to what makes Christianity ghastly, the closer you get to what makes it glorious” (Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, p. xi)
Sin and Grace as Fundamental Fact
“The intermediary of the pulpit, then, is due to sin, and is a part of the machinery of redemption. And this redemptive connotation of preaching is the index of the institution to such an extent, that preaching, as it is, fits in the picture only of a world in which sin and grace are the …
And Sometimes It Is a Carcase, Not a Body
“We preachers are in danger of being so occupied with the body and form of preaching that the soul or essence of preaching escapes us. A course in homiletics is likely to go no further than the body of preaching” (Volbeda, The Pastoral Genius of Preaching, pp. 21-22).