“A lukewarm sermon sickens every healthy mind . . . Fire has never yet learned moderation . . . A live coal from off the altar is our need . . . Everything gives way before fire . . . Like the priests at the altar, we can do nothing without fire . . . …
Two Kinds of Light/Amos 10
INTRODUCTION: We have finished working through the book of Amos passage by passage, and we need to take a week to look at the structure and message of the book as a whole. Next week, Lord willing, we will come to some detailed applications. THE TEXT: “Hear ye this word which I take up against …
Buried Within His Argument, Deep Calls Unto Deep
“Talleyrand defines a metaphysician as a man who is very clever in drawing black lines upon a black ground. I should like to draw black lines upon a white ground, or else white lines on a black ground, so that they could be seen; but certain preachers are so profound that no one understands them” …
A Little Reformational Cheer
“Let not this light be only that of knowledge, but seek for the light of joy and cheerfulness. There is power in a happy ministry. A lugubrious face, a mournful voice, a languor of manner, — none of these things commend us to our hearers; especially do they fail to attract the young. Certain strange …
Yesterday’s Newspaper Exegesis
“The beast of the Revelation was reported to be Napoleon I, and then the creature suddently reappeared in his nephew, Napoleon III. By-and-by, the deadly wound was healed, and the Prince Imperial wore the dreadful honours of the prophetic book; but the prince is now dead, and it will be needful for the seers to …
A Wing and a Prayer Is All Very Well, but You Need Two Wings
“I have heard of a brother who trusts in the Lord, and does not study; but I have also heard that his people do not trust in him; in fact, I am informed that they wish him to go elsewhere with his inspired discourses, for they say that, when he did study, his talk was …
Downwind from Apostasy
“Faith in the old orthodox creed is not a matter of choice with me now. I am frequently told that I ought to examine at length the various new views which are so continually presented. I decline the invitation; I can smell them, and that satisfies me” (Charles Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry, p. 125).
Lie A-Soak in the Text
“I always find I can preach best when I can manage to lie a-soak in my text. I like to get a text, and find out its meaning and bearings, and so on; and then, after I have bathed in it, I delight to lie down in it, and let it soak into me. It …
For He Is Small/Amos 8
INTRODUCTION: When we come to chapter seven of Amos, we shift from poetry to prose, from woe-oracles to narrative. The theme and the message are the same as throughout the rest of the book, but the form in which it comes is quite different. In the first six chapters, Yahweh has been the main speaker; …
Some Preachers Have Marvelous Skill in Missing
“We must preach as men to men, not as divines before the clergy and nobility. Preach straight at them. It is of no use to fire your rifle into the sky when your object is to pierce men’s hearts. To flourish your sabre finely is a thing which has been done so often that you …