“We find that conservatives are biblical but not contemporary, while liberals and radicals are modern but not biblical.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 32
The Blackest of Eyes
“But of course the black eye would make him look that way [sullen] whether he was or not. It was a garish, overdone display, about a quarter of an acre, with deep magenta and black and a few isolated blue stripes. That is what had happened when Pastor John Mitchell had extended the right hand of fellowship forcefully to Chad’s left eye. Pastor Mitchell had laid hands on him in a way quite dissimilar to what had happened to Paul and Barnabas at Antioch, when relations between clergymen had been somewhat more amicable.”
Gunked
“Finally, after repeating several phrases unnecessarily (the sermonic equivalent of blinking fuel gauge), John decided that he had to wrap up. He didn’t feel any better. He felt like he had just tried to give a tar baby a bath in vegetable oil. Lester didn’t look any cleaner, and John just felt gunked.”
Irrelevant Relevance
“If we uncritically accept the world’s own self-understanding, we may find ourselves the servants of the latest trend instead of the servants of God. In our eagerness to be relevant, we may disregard God’s revealed truth.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 32
The Need to Touch Down
“Preachers who are theologically conservative tend to make the mistake of living only on the Bible side of the gulf. That is where we feel comfortable and safe. We believe the Bible, love the Bible, read the Bible, study the Bible and preach the Bible message. But we are not at home in the modern world on the other side of the gulf. It bewilders and threatens us. So our bridge is firmly rooted in the Bible but never reaches the other side”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 32.
Ain’t No Fun When the Rabbit’s Got the Gun
“Chad Lester was appalled by this dishonesty, as only a dishonest man can be. For those who have never seen this phenomenon in action, he was the kind of man who was entirely unaccustomed to looking at lies from this end of the barrel. He was now counting the rounds in their chambers. He could see their pointed, silvery tips. He licked his lips.”
So Logging Trucks Can Get Through
“The [next] metaphor presents the preacher as ‘a worker who does not need to be ashamed’ because he ‘handles the word of truth’ skillfully (2 Tim. 2:15). In other contexts, the Greek verb used here means ‘able to cut a straight path through country that is forested or difficult to pass through so that a traveller can go directly to his destination.’ This straight teaching contrasts with the false teaching of those who swerve from the truth (2 Tim. 2:18), ESV). Our exposition must be faithful and simple so that our hearers can understand and follow it easily.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 31
Like a Little Rubber Ball
“His sentence rolled to a stop against the wall and just sat there, abandoned.”
Exposition as a Treasury of Boldness
“Exposition gives us confidence to preach. If we were offering our own views or those of some imperfect fellow human being, we would do so hesitantly. But if we are honestly expounding God’s word, we can be very bold.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 29
Say Again?
“This was not because Cindi did not know how to handle her cousin Cherie, but rather because her husband was better than she was at deciphering code whenever Cherie was hysterical. And Cherie, on the other end, was speaking something like high-volume Navajo under stress.”