All Posts (Page 46)
Serious Preaching
I have been considering for some time the desperate condition of preaching in the West. I have even toyed with the idea of writing a booklet entitled Serious Preaching. Such preaching is out of vogue, but I still believe in it. Please know that I’m not talking about serious sweating. It used to be said that if a man didn’t fill his hanky with sweat, make himself hoarse with screaming and wind up walking on about two inches of his…
The New Gospel: Appealing But not Revealing
It cannot be overstated that the most pressing issue in the American church at present is the prevalence of unregenerate church members within our ranks. When the current surveys of American life place those who call themselves believers in Christ about the seventieth percentile and climbing, conservative Christians ought to finally awaken to the immensity of the problem. Deception is pandemic. It is as if a modern Constantine christianized the masses while we were asleep. Spurgeon said, “Everyone has a…
The Sensitivity of True Worship
We don’t have to look far to discover how sensitively God measures the worship of Himself. Cain, firstborn son to the progenitor of all man’s sin, was rejected by God and turned over to his degenerate and murderous heart all because his worship was wrong—in motive and in method. A bit further we find Nadab and Abihu severely judged with instant death for offering “strange fire” at the altar—an offense so serious to God He did not allow their father…
Dull Preachers
“Dull preachers make the best martyrs,” said Spurgeon. “They are so dry they burn well.” Well said. My contention is that dullness in preaching is not so much in a scarcity of speaking ability of the preacher as it is in they dry-as-dust heart of the same. Ross Perot was not heard because he could speak like Charlton Heston, but because you at least knew that he believed and was exercised by what he believed enough to unload the burden.…
An Argument for Learning
One of the immense edifices on the skyline of Christian history over the last hundred years was the eminent leader, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981). He is noteworthy not only because he was a great preacher and the pastor of Westminster Chapel of London, but also because of his zest for learning. Having begun as a physician of exceptional quality, he carried over into his Christianity and ministry this unceasing hunger to know more. From a delightful little book entitled…