“Within limit, my brethren, do not be afraid to spiritualize, or to take singular texts. Continue to look out passages of Scripture, and not only give their plain meaning, as you are bound to do, but also draw from them meanings which may not lie upon their surface. Take the advice for what it is …
That Princely Sum!
In this oracle, we have seen the conquests of Alexander, the great contrast with the humility of Christ, and the success of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid dynasty. We come now to the next stage of redemptive history — the apostasy of the Jews and God’s judgment against them in the time of the …
Prepare the Preacher, Not Just the Sermon
“Read also good suggestive books, and get your mind aroused by them . . . Your pulpit preparations are your first business . . . I have no belief in that ministry which ignores laborious preparation” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 93).
Prayer for the Latter Rain
Recall that we are in the midst of the first great oracle in the latter portion of Zechariah. In this oracle thus far we have considered the rise of Alexander, the contrast of that evil man with Christ, and the triumph of the Maccabean resistance to Greek oppression. In this portion we see how the …
And That Means Preaching Through Leviticus
“We would give every portion of Scripture its fair share in our heart and head. Doctrine, precept, history, type, psalm, proverb, experience, warning, promise, invitation, threatening, or rebuke — we would include the whole of inspired truth within the circle of our teachings. Let us abhor all one-sidedness, all exaggeration of one truth and disparagement …
The Lord Against the Greeks
The prophet has given us a glimpse of the conquest of Alexander. In the midst of this vision, he jumps ahead so that we might see the character of another kind of conqueror, our Lord Jesus Christ. And then in this portion of Scripture, he returns to the scene established by the wars of Alexander, …
Taking Aim From the Pulpit
“God’s truth is searching: leave it to search the hearts of men without offensive additions from yourself. He is a mere bungler in portrait painting who nees to write the name under the picture when it is hung up in the family parlour where the person himself is sitting. Compel your hearers to perceive that …
Humility Reigns
Recall that the last section of Zechariah consists of two great prophetic oracles. The first is found in chapters 9-11, and the second is 12-14. We come now to a glorious prophecy of the coming Christ. “The burden of the word of the Lord against the land of Hadrach . . .”(Zech. 9:1-10). The human …
Sermons Should Be Tailor-Made, Not Fetched Off the Rack
“Consider what sins appear to be most rife in the church and congregation — worldliness, covetousness, prayerlessness, wrath, pride, want of brotherly love, slander, and such like evils. Take into account, affectionately, the trials of your people, and seek for a balm for their wounds” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 87).
Pre-Selected Texts
“It must be burdensome to some, and very easy to others, I should imagine, to find their subject, as they do whose lot is cast in the Episcopal establishment, where the preacher usually refers to the gospel or the epistle, or the lesson for the day, and feels himself bound — not by any law, …