“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).
Clumsy Ecclesiastics
“It is a colossal understatement to suggest that preaching and preachers have fallen on hard times in recent years . . . I am convinced that preaching is held in such low esteem today because a great many preachers are so utterly inept at the task” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 86).
But It Must Be the Assigned Foolish Method
“Thus, it is evident that an apostolic ministry is characterized, not only by a determination to proclaim a foolish message, but a determination to appropriate a foolish method” (Azurdia, Spirit Empowered Preaching, p. 83).
The Oil of Anointing Doesn’t Make You Slick
“It must be acknowledged that our reservation concerning many of these novel ministry methodologies has nothing to do with preferring a traditional style of ministry over against a more contemporary emphasis. Contemporaneity is not the issue. Effectual Christianity will always prove contemporary to the unique mission-field given to it by Jesus Christ. Rather, the issue …
Clean Contentment
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).