“The application in a sermon is not merely an appendage to the discussion, or a subordinate part of it, but is the main thing to be done. Spurgeon says, ‘Where the application begins, there the sermon begins.’ We are not to speak before the people, but to them, and most earnestly strive to make them …
Reciprocating Study
“And indeed, this is a wonderful aspect of our Bibles: the more we read the whole, the easier we find it to understand the part; and the deeper we delve into the part, the more we are enabled to understand the whole” (Motyer, Preaching?, p. 44).
Like Something or Other Does
“A preacher should be constantly accumulating the materials of illustration” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 229).
But . . .
“When I asked John Stott, long years ago, if he used commentaries much in preparation, he said, ‘Not really. I find they only confuse me.’ Well, yes, there are people like that, and also there are commentaries like that” (Motyer, Preaching?, p. 39).
Wish This Went Without Saying
“Preachers should continue through life the rapid but attentive reading of the whole Bible, that its facts and sayings may be kept fresh in their minds, and readily present themselves for use” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 228).
Because Copying Is Not Personal
“Preaching is a very personal and individual exercise. We can learn from each other, but must not copy each other” (Motyer, Preaching?, p. 30).
If You Are Going to Err . . .
“A sermon had better have too much salt in it than too little” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 227).
Which Is No Fun
“We have all listened to preachers who, we felt, were more interested in blacking eyes than in comforting hearts and tenderly directing lives” (Motyer, Preaching?, p. 25).
Another Sourcebook
“The Pilgrim’s Progress with its strong sense and homely simplicity, its poetic charm and devotional sweetness, is so rich in the choicest illustration that every preacher ought to make himself thoroughly familiar with it, and to refresh his knowledge again and again through life” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, pp. 225-226).
Go Thou and Do Likewise
“Of the thirty-seven or so references [in Acts], six associate growth with the quality of church life and of Christian character, seven link growth with the evidence of ‘signs and wonders’, and twenty-four link growth with the preaching of the Word of God — indeed in 12:24 the growth of the Church is actually called …