“The preacher’s purpose is directed first of all towards God. He preaches in order that God may be glorified. The very act of declaring the Gospel is a praising and exalting of God in his mighty acts.”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 46
And That on the High End
“In time the amorphous aim will dwindle until neither truth nor personality remain and the sermon will become what it all too often is today, the third-rate conveyance of fourth-rate opinions.”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 45
The Deep Feels
“This poor woman’s poetry . . . was the kind of poetry that focused on how the poet felt. True, there was not much here to distinguish it from the vast watery sea of how all the other poets felt, but Taki-Smith had a peculiar genius for it. Her volume of verse that had won the Pulitzer Prize was not titled The Pale Parabola of Joy, but it might as well have been.”
Dereliction, Not Humility
“A proper humility before God and modesty concerning himself and his capabilities are not to hinder the preacher from the bold assertion of the authority of the message he has to deliver. Indeed, it is a dereliction of his duty if he does not claim that authority.”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 44
About Twenty Yards Wide, to be Exact
“His grandfather was a revival preacher named Stump Hutchins from the Tupelo old school, and was capable, whenever he got going good, of preaching a pretty wide swath of blue ruin.”
So Turn the Key
“The Reformers all interpreted the power of the keys as the Church’s preaching.”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 43
Deadly, But Hard to See
“If that conversation had been the North Atlantic just several generations back, there would have been U-boats everywhere.” Flags Out Front, p. 117 ...
How God Extends the Scepter
“This is why Calvin calls the pulpit the throne of God: voila the pulpit, which is the throne (le siege) of God, from which he wills to govern our souls.”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 42
Priced to Move
“Maria could see at a glance that Willow must have settled in on some peculiar kind of feminasty revenge and that she needed to be near Tom to do it. Her outfit was like a sale at Macy’s—forty percent off—and Maria started to fume, but then checked herself. No need, no need.”
Calvin on Courage
“The preacher needs courage — not courage to believe but courage to proclaim the truth, however unpalatable, and to rebuke where rebukes are necessary. It is inevitable that he will arouse opposition. ‘They that intend to serve God faithfully and to proclaim his Word will never lack enemies.’”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 40