“It is better to preach a ragged and less than neat sermon in the power of the Holy Spirit, than to preach a neat and polished sermon without His unction” (Martin, Preaching in the Holy Spirit, p. 60).
The Missing Element
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast …
So Take It Straight
“The true and proper stimulant for the intellect is truth” (Shedd, Homiletics and Pastoral Theology, p. 129).
And Full of Something Else Instead
“The Holy Spirit is grieved when our sermons are not full of Christ” (Martin, Preaching in the Holy Spirit, p. 51).
Eye Has Not Seen
Introduction Mission is not something that the church is to do on the side. Mission is what the church is. Every Christian church is a mission church. Every Christian is in some sense, at some level, a missionary. But we must understand this rightly. We should not take it to mean that every Christian must …
Not Coldness
“The word translated ‘boldness,’ a noun sometimes used in verbal form, is the dominant word used to describe the quality of the preaching recorded throughout the book of Acts” (Martin, Preaching in the Holy Spirit, p. 23).
Bedrock Preparation
“We ought to be driven forth with abhorrence from the society of honest men for daring to speak in the name of the Lord if the Spirit of God rests not upon us . . . If we have not the Spirit which Jesus promised, we cannot perform the commission which Jesus gave” (Al Martin, …
Men Who Were Sent
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks” (Rev. 2:1). We have come to the introduction of the passage …
Surveying the Text: 1 Peter
Introduction There are three great themes in the epistle of 1 Peter. Those three themes are not unrelated—they tie together harmoniously. As you read through the epistle, meditate on these three things. The three things I have in mind are holy living, suffering, and the meaning of Christian baptism. Keep in mind that this letter …
Savior of the World #5
Introduction: In this series of messages we have been presenting what is, for many, a very different way of looking at the Scriptures. We have been talking about historical optimism, as opposed to the rampant historical pessimism of the modem evangelical world. But we must be careful in using phrases like “way of looking at …