“One reason why people sometimes doubt the abiding value of God-centered preaching is because they have never heard any” (Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching, p. 21).
Walking By Faith
“The true usefulness of our preaching will not be known to us until each fruit on all the branches on all the trees that have sprung up from all the seeds we’ve sown has fully ripened in the sunshine of eternity . . . God will hide from you much of the fruit he causes …
Foundational Ministry
“Accordingly, preachers of the Word are not so much teachers who afford intellectual satisfaction or orators who delight the people after an artistic fashion, as shepherds who see to it that the sheep have food and drink to sustain their life” (Volbeda, The Pastoral Genius of Preaching, p. 68).
Christ Vocal in the Assembly
“So the preacher’s voice is, in effect, Christ’s voice; that is, the voice of Him who came to save and gather and feed and protect His father’s sheep and lambs and to bring them to the heavenly fold eventually. On this score, too, preaching is a thoroughly pastoral function: it is the work of the …
God as Shepherd
“The whole task of preaching is, after all has been said and done, His own personal affair . . . Preaching, it is evident, can be a pastoral function only if God, who speaks through the preacher, exercises pastoral care over His people. And this He most certainly does” (Volbeda, The Pastoral Genius of Preaching, …
The Pastoral Relation
“Preaching is speaking to God’s people for Him through the administration to them of His written Word. We draw two conclusions from this finding. First, God must be pastorally related to His people; and second, the Scriptures must be a pastoral book” (Volbeda, The Pastoral Genius of Preaching, p. 60).
Prophetic Ministry Today
“The prophetic ministry is continued indefinitely until Christ returns. From the death of the apostles on, the ministers of the Word are the incumbents of this prophetic office, assisted by the elders and the deacons of the church . . .” (Volbeda, The Pastoral Genius of Preaching, p. 57).
Suffering as Means
“Suffering is not an accidental result of obedience. It is an ordained means of penetrating the peoples and the hearts of the lost” (Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, p. 195).
When Relativism Hardens
“Therefore, speaking the truth is service to Christ and love to others, even if they consider themselves your adversaries . . . [but charges of arrogance are] “true now in the less-than-tolerant American public square, where relativism no longer means: Your claim to truth is no more valid than mine; but now means: You may …
Two Ways to the Same Place
“For the legalist, morality serves the same function that immorality does for the anitnomian or the progressive — namely, as the expression of self-reliance and self-assertion” (Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, p. 153).