“Screw the word into the minds of your hearers. A screw is the strongest of all mechanical powers . . . when it has been turned a few times, scarcely any power can pull it out” (Charles Simeon, as quoted in Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 226).
Meaning and Message
“To search for [Scripture’s] contemporary message without first wrestling with its original meaning is to attempt a forbidden short cut. It dishonours God (disregarding his chosen way of revealing himself in particular historical and cultural contexts), it misuses his Word (treating it like an almanac or book of magic spells) and it misleads his people …
Two Questions
“The preacher . . . addresses questions to his text, especially two. First, what does it mean? Perhaps better, what did it mean when first spoken or written . . . ‘a text means what its author meant’ . . . The second question to ask is what does it say? That is, what is …
The Need for Experience Not Absolute
“All of us have to preach on death before we have died” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 219).
The Son of My Enemy
INTRODUCTION:In the midst of court politics, and treachery, and intrigue, we find a shining and glorious example of covenant loyalty. Jonathan disappears from our narrative at this point, at least as a major character, but he departs in glory. One of the noblest sons of Scripture was the son, not of Eli, or Samuel, or …
Winging It Is Not How the Holy Ghost Flies
“The great preachers who have influenced their generation have all borne witness to the need for conscientious preparation” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, pp. 212-213).
Both of Which Are Easier Than Thinking
“I can always tell when the clergy have given up any serious attempt to read or think: it becomes obvious at about the age of forty-five. If a man is an Anglo-Catholic, he becomes a bigot; if he is an Evangelical, he becomes a sentimentalist” (Cyril Garbett, Bishop of Southwark, as quoted in Stott, Between …
Bounded Service
[Overworked pastors] “respond to every conceivable need, and feel guilty if they are not readily available to anybody at any time. One cannot fault their dedication, their enthusiasm or their commitment. And indeed the pastor is called to serve people, as Christ himself did. But they have forgotten that there were times when Jesus himself …
Grab n’ Go Study
“I have come to believe in the cumulative value of shorter periods of study” (Stott, Between Two Worlds, p. 202).
Saul Among the Prophets
INTRODUCTION:Although Saul continues his reign for some time after the incidents in this chapter, this chapter does mark the formal textual end of his reign. Call this definitive foreshadowing, as well as some sort of formal closure. Put another way, for Saul this is all over but the shouting. THE TEXT:“And Saul spake to Jonathan …