“If it was narcissism and self-indulgence you were after, he could write like a bat out of the bad place.”
Bad Preaching Is Effective Also
“A low level of Christian living is due, more than anything else, to a low level of Christian preaching.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 22
Hypochondria Deluxe
“Robert P. Warner II had been the kind of boy in high school who managed his injuries as a mother hen hovers over her chicks. He was a master of communicating physical distress to others, but the nature of the injury and the nature of the distress he would subsequently manifest were not really in accord with the laws of logic first outlined in such a cogent way by Aristotle. One time, when he had been beaned in the forehead by a volleyball in Mr. Walker’s phys ed class, the injury, such as it was, resulted in a mild ringing in the ears. But this had translated, by the end of the period, into a clear limp; by the end of the day, into a striking limp; and by the next Monday morning, into a pair of crutches and a leg brace on the outside of his jeans.”
The Word Our Life
“It is the word of God that keeps the church alive, directs and sanctifies it, reforms it and renews it. Christ rules and feeds his church through the word of God.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 21
Ain’t What She Used to Be
“The sofa was of the old gray mare swayback school of design, and from somewhere within the cushions, de profundis, cam a groan from Robert P.”
As Opposed to Expecting Nothing and Getting It
“It can thus be said that ‘a true sermon is a real deed.’ We enter the pulpit with a word in our hands, heart and mouth, and this word has power. We should expect results.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 21
A Different Angle
“Even creeps have hopes, dreams, aspirations. Even creeps have a story and perhaps a brief moment in their toddler years when they were cute.”
A Word That Does
“The Bible presents many pictures of the power of God’s word. It describes it as sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating our mind and our conscience (Heb. 4:12). Like a hammer, it can break stony hearts; like fire it can burn up rubbish (Jer. 23:29). It lights our path, shining like a lamp on a dark night (Ps. 119:105). Like a mirror it shows us bother what we are and what we should be (James 1:22-25). It is compared to a seed leading to birth (James 1:18), to milk causing growth (1 Pet. 2:2), to grain that nourishes whereas straw does not (Jer. 23:28), to honest which sweetens and to gold which enriches its possessor (Ps. 19:10).”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 20
The Overshare Challenge
“Shannon thought her mother was shouting the word impotence and looked up at her second use of it to see that Chad the waiter was right there, right on time, to take their order. He stood there, looking as solemn as a judge, for which the girls were thoroughly grateful. He attended a small charismatic church in the area, and for him, dealing with overshare was a way of life, an art form.”
His Word Does
“When God speaks, he acts. His word does more than explain his action; it is active in itself. God achieves his purposes by his word (Is. 55:11).”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 19