“Most books on preaching stress the need for preparation, for programmes and working to a clearly defined timetable. A random reading of modern contributions confirms the point. If reference is made to unction and dependence on the Spirit in the act of preaching, it tends to be incidental, a secondary feature for consideration. Lloyd-Jones would …
Powder Puff Pulpits
“Is there a place in your preaching for such strong language? . . . In brief, in Scripture such language is designed to elicit from the hearer or reader an emotional reaction — laughter, revulsion, terror, etc. — which corresponds to the spiritual nature of the thing being described . . . Such language is …
Types of Preaching
Preachers need to remember that the way to the heart is through the head, but the preacher is to take that route and drive toward the heart without stopping. Too many turn aside at the head to eat bread and drink water, and that is why a lion kills them (1 Kings 13:9-10). Too many …
Paul is the Key
When something gets off kilter, and we react to it, we generally fix it wrong. Previous reaction fixes are probably the reason things are off kilter now, and a new reaction fix is just rearranging the problem furniture — and not fixing the problem furniture. I have been preaching in Romans for over a year, …
A Potent Place
“Indeed, if you preach well, a great deal of counseling, and even church discipline, goes on from the pulpit” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 298).
Imperfect Students of an Imperfect Book
“You must study your congregation with the same diligence you use in searching the Scriptures” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 289).
Direct Appeal
“The point to note and remember is that direct, personal appeals in preaching will evoke a response from your audience. As we have argued, if you never use that approach you will miss a very important element in effective preaching” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 271).
Continuity Preaching
“Discipleship preaching is ‘continuity preaching’ — moving from the familiar to the unfamiliar, from the routine to the challenging, from immaturity to maturity” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 230).
Hearing Is a Duty
“While God holds his ministers accountable for their preaching, he also expects his people to admit and deal with their own deficiencies in listening and responding to God’s Word” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p 209).
The Saturday Night Cram
“I’m convinced that so much preaching is so ‘thin’ because the preacher simply cannot bring a rich understanding of Scripture to his work of sermon preparation, and he cannot ‘cram’ sufficiently in a week to compensate for his underlying ignorance” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 195).