“A good shepherd’s care of his sheep is four-fold — feeding, guiding (because sheep go easily astray), guarding (against predatory wolves) and healing (binding up the wounds of the injured). And all four of these activities are aspects of the ministry of the Word” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 120).
Priests and Preachers
“Those with knowledge of the etymology of English words are aware that ‘priest’ is simply a contraction of ‘presbyter’, meaning ‘elder’. But it is also used to translate the Greek word hiereus, a sacrificing priest, which is never used of Christian ministers in the New Testament” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 117).
Seldom If Ever
“More often than we like to admit, the pew is a reflection of the pulpit. Seldom if ever can the pew rise higher than the pulpit” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 115).
Deaf Church Dead Church
“A deaf church is a dead church: that is an unalterable principle. God quickens, feeds, inspires and guides his people by his Word” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 113).
Three-Fold Filling
“My heart was filled with love, my eyes with tears, and my mouth with arguments” (John Wesley, as quoted in Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 106).
A Word Declared With Power
“Like a hammer it can break stony hearts, and like fire it can burn up rubbish. It illumines our path, shining like a lamp on a dark night, and like a mirror it shows us both what we are and what we should be. It is also likened to seed causing birth, and milk causing …
Not Where They Should Have Been
INTRODUCTION:God is sovereign and God is gracious, and this means that God takes you from where you are, and not from where you should have been. If we were standing around where we should have been, we wouldn’t need salvation. If we need salvation, we are not where we should have been. A godly response …
Anchored and Alive
“When once we have grasped the truth that ‘God still speaks through what he has spoken’, we shall be well protected against two opposite errors. The first is the belief that, though it was heard in ancient times, God’s voice is silent today. The second is the claim that God is indeed speaking today, but …
Alive Right Now
“For we give the impression that he who spoke centuries ago is silent today; and that the only word we can hear from him comes out of a book, a faint echo from the distant past, smelling strongly of the mould of libraries. But no, this is not at all what we believe. Scripture is …
Said and Done
“Other preachers are entirely faithful in their exposition of God’s Word, yet remain dull and academic because they have forgotten that the heart of the Bible is not what God has said, but what he has done for our salvation through Jesus Christ” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 100).