INTRODUCTION: One of the running temptations we encounter in this world is the temptation to come up with makeshift forms of holiness. We think we know what God wants, and we bustle around to come up with some form of that on our own. But then we discover later, to our dismay, that this is …
Indicatives and Imperatives
“Christian preaching, on the other hand, grounds the ethical imperatives in redemptive indicatives” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 75).
Three-Fold Ministry
“At this vital point, three essential principles of apostolic ministry converge: the message, method, and means for ministry ordained by Jesus Christ. The divine message? Jesus Christ. The divine method? Authoritative proclamation. The divine means? The power of the Spirit of God” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 63).
A Lot Like Sardis
“Powerlessness prevails among us. And yet it must be said that this condition is not unique to us. It has been endemic to every moment of evangelical history. What is unique to our time is the extent of our failure to recognize this powerlessness” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 31).
Orthodusty
“The greatest deficiency in contemporary expositional ministry is powerlessness; in other words, preaching that is devoid of the vitality of the Holy Spirit” (Arturo Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 12).
So Let’s Try Multi-Media!
“Strangely enough, a generation after Cicero was taken out of the curriculum of the typical American school our preachers began to have a hard time holding the attention of a congregation” (Hughes Oliphant Old, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures, Vol. II, p. 396).
Parenting Young People I
INTRODUCTION:When it comes to parenting, you have often heard me say that our parental responsibility does not consist in getting young people to grit their teeth and conform to the standard. The task before us is to bring up our children in such a way as to love the standard. This is not possible to …
If It’s Not Baroque . . .
“For a Christian rhetoric, perspicuity is the foundation of al the canons of style. Clarity of thought must always be the preacher’s aim. Clarity is the basic beauty of eloquent oratory and the driving power that persuades one’s listeners. The beauty of teaching is making clear the truth, for it is in the truth itself, …
Quickly or Not at All
“That is something the conscientious Christian preacher needs to learn, but the place to learn it is in the schools. On the other hand, the art of public speaking is a talent; some people have a natural inclination for it and some do not. Augustine quotes a saying of Cicero’s that people learn rhetoric quickly …
Education for the Pulpit
“On the authority of Augustine the liberal arts education would be revived by the universities of the High Middle Ages. When the preaching orders, notably the Franciscans and Dominicans, began to think about how preachers were to be trained, they carefully studied Augustine’s De doctrina christiana and tried to give their young friars exactly this …