“They confuse those whom they ought to confirm, and stagger those whom they should establish. Bishop Blomfield tells us that a certain verger said to him, ‘Do you know I have been verger of this church fifty years, and though I have heard all the great sermons preached in this place I am still a …
But He Usually Doesn’t Mind
“At this time, when God raises up a man of original mind who strikes out a course for himself and follows it with success, it is usual to charge him with being eccentric” (Spurgeon, Eccentric Preachers, p. 14).
Mere Chips in the Porridge
“In all generations useful preachers of the gospel have been objected to by a portion of the community. Mere chips in the porridge may escape censure and mildly win the tolerance of indifference, but decided worth will be surrounded with warm friends and red hot foes. He who hopes to preach so as to please …
And Not for a Head Nod
“Preach for a verdict” (G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, p. 140).
Making It Sharp
“The thoughts of ordinary men on most things not connected with their own profession, are very indifferent. Large numbers of persons who have been accustomed to read the Bible, and to listen to preaching all their lives, have the loosest possible acquaintance with the details of Biblical history, and their concepts of doctrinal truths are …
All on Fire
“I want to say something about the use of the imagination. That is, in my judgment, the supreme work of preparation . . . Perception is the grasp of the actual, memory preserves it, suggestion reproduces it, comparison weighs it, reason balances it, imagination sets it all on fire” (G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, pp. 101-102).
The Fresh Test
“If we think of any minister who has maintained his virility and his freshness through long years, especially at one centre, I think I am right in saying that his ministry has been Biblical. The freshness of the Bible is eternal” (G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, p. 63).
The Text and I
“There was a man who gave out his text and said: ‘That is my text. I am now going to preach. Maybe we’ll meet again the text and I, and maybe not.’ He was not going to preach at all; he was just going to talk” (G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, p. 63).
Hard to Amble With Power and Authority
“A text gives definiteness to the message. Limitation creates power. The fact that we are only taking that paragraph, verse, statement, perhaps phrase, gives this limitation. In preaching there is a tendency to generalisation and discursiveness. That is checked when a sermon is really true to its text” (G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, p. 62).
Provided the Man is Not on a JumboTron
“Read a book, and we have the truth, perhaps, but in preaching you have the truth plus the man” (G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, p. 57).