“Christian preachers must never assume that a mutually exclusive decision needs to be made between painstaking exegesis and reliance upon the Spirit” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 141).
And It Shouldn’t Be a .22 Plinker Either
“Preaching, in one sense, merely discharges the firearm that God has loaded in the silent place” (Calvin Miller, as quoted in Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 131).
Parish Life
INTRODUCTION:Over the years, we have seen many believers move here to the Palouse, and we have been greatly blessed by this. The reasons have obviously varied, but in countless conversations I have been a part of, the word that comes up over and over and over again is the word community. There is a reason …
Hobbled by Human Inability
“We must live with the painful possibility that the results produced by the Spirit may not be satisfying to us. Here, again, is the occupational vulnerability of preaching. It is to be possessed by a holy compulsion but hobbled by human inability. It be sure, there will be continuous pain for the man called to …
With Nothing Vague About It
“What is this ‘Spirit-filling’? . . . an instantaneous, sudden, and sovereign operation of the Spirit of God coming upon a man so that his proclamation of Jesus Christ might be attended by holy power” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 109).
Without That, Save Your Breath for Walking Up Hills
“Stated simply, the power of the Holy Spirit is the sine qua non of gospel preaching, the one thing without which nothing else matters” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 100).
As In, No Showboating
“This is not to diminish giftedness. This is not to justify indolence. This is not an excuse for a lack of exactness. It is to say that a preacher ought never to preach in a manner that consciously draws attention to himself” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 91).
Quite a Different Thing
“It must be understood that the preacher does not share, he declares” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 88).
Parenting Young People II
INTRODUCTION:The hardest thing to maintain in this unbalanced world is balance. We react, we pull away, we lurch, and we tumble. We do this in many ways. And, having heard the exhortation that we should teach our children to love the standard and, if they don’t, to lower the standard, what temptation will confront us? …
The Verb Kopiao
“When referring to elders worthy of double honor, Paul describes them as men who work to the point of exhaustion at ‘preaching and teaching’ (1 Tim. 5:17) (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 87).