2 Samuel 23:2 - The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.
Acts 5:20 - Go and speak the whole word of Life. (Philippians 2:16)
Second Helvetic Confession, 1566
The preaching of the word of God is the word of God.
Westminster Assembly The Directory for Public Worship, 1644
Preaching of the Word, being the power of God unto salvation, and one of the greatest and most excellent works belonging to the ministry of the Gospel, should be so performed, that the workman need not be ashamed, but may save himself and those that hear him.
J.C. Ryle
Old Paths
Let it never be forgotten that the chief object of a minister of the Gospel is to set forward the salvation of souls. I lay it down as a certain fact that he is no true minister who does not feel this. If the saving of souls is not the grand interest - the ruling passion - the absorbing thought of his heart, he is no true minister of the Gospel: he is a hireling, and not a shepherd. Congregations may have called him, but he is not called by the Holy Ghost, Bishops may have ordained him, but not Christ.
We are "sent to turn men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God" (Acts 26:18). We are sent to persuade men to flee from the wrath to come. We are sent to draw men from the service of the world to the service of God, to awaken the sleeping (Romans11:13), to arouse the careless, and "by all means to save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22).
We want to see manifest work of the Spirit among people, an evident sense of sin, a lively faith in Christ, a decided change of heart, a distinct separation from the world, a holy walk with God. In one word, we want to see souls saved; and we are fools and impostors, blind leaders of the blind, if we rest satisfied with anything less.
Would you like to know what we ministers of the Gospel are ordained to do? We are not set apart for no other end than to read services, and administer sacraments, and marry people, and bury the dead. We are not meant to do nothing more than show you the church, or ourselves, or our party. We are set for the work of showing men the "blood of Christ"; and except we are continually showing it, we are no true ministers of the Gospel.
The right hand of a Christian minister is the doctrine of free forgiveness through faith in Christ. Give us this doctrine, and we have power: we will never despair of doing good to men’s souls.
Christian Leaders of the 18th Century
The spiritual reformers of the 18th century...told them plainly that they were dead, and must be made alive again; that they were guilty, lost, helpless, and hopeless, and in imminent danger of eternal ruin. Strange and paradoxical as it may seem to some, their first step towards making men good was to show them that they were utterly bad; and their primary argument in persuading men to do something for their souls was to convince them that they could do nothing at all.
They loved Christ's person; they rejoiced in Christ's promises; they urged men to walk after Christ's example. But the one subject, above all others, concerning Christ was the atoning blood which Christ shed for us on the cross...the only satisfaction for man's sin.
Robert Traill “By What Means May Ministers Best Win Souls?”, 1682 on 1 Timothy 4:16
http://www.the-highway.com/winsouls_Traill.html
To be workers together with God in so great a business, is no small honour. The great value of men’s souls, the greatness of the misery they are delivered from, and of the happiness they are advanced to, with the manifold glory of God shining in all, makes the work of saving men great and excellent.
Cotton Mather, in the Preface of "Student and Preacher", “Directions for a Candidate of the Ministry”
The great design and intention of the office of a Christian preacher are to restore the throne and dominion of God in the souls of men; to display in the most lively colours, and proclaim in the clearest language, the wonderful perfections, offices and graces of the Son of God; and to attract the souls of men into a state of everlasting friendship with Him.
C.H. Spurgeon “Robbers Of God”
https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/robbers-of-god/#flipbook/
The Lord sends his servants to speak the truth in all its plainness, to denounce sin with all fidelity, and to publish God’s sentence of condemnation against those who continue in their iniquity. Men’s souls are to be dealt with honestly, and, if need be, sternly. God’s truth is to be handled with vigorous plainness; for the Lord hath said, “He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully.” (Jeremiah 23:28)
Jeremiah 1:9 (ESV)
The Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth."
Jeremiah 3:15
I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.
Jeremiah 26:2b
Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word.
Malachi 2:7
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.
Nehemiah 8:7-8
The Levites instructed the people in the Law...they read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand...
Acts 20:26b-27
I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
Colossians 1:28 (HCSB)
We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
1 Timothy 4:13
Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
(NLT) Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
2 Timothy 4:17b
The Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed...
1 Thessalonians 2:4
We speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
Titus 2:7-8a (ESV)
Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned.
WARNING - Have you been called by God? When preaching, can you proclaim "Thus saith the LORD"?
(Not "Thus saith me in my talent, intellectual brilliance, elocution, and entertainment.")
“How do I know I’m called?” C.H. Spurgeon and the Call to Pastoral Ministry
C.H. Spurgeon, “Feed My Sheep”. A sermon to ministers and students delivered at the Pastor’s College Conference, 1877
https://www.spurgeongems.org/sermon/chs3211.pdf
Our Lord does not admit any to the oversight of His flock without first of all questioning them as to their inner condition, neither should any man dare to accept such an office without great self-examination and searching of heart. Many questions should be put to our hearts, and answered as in the sight of God, for no man rightly takes this honor upon himself but he that is called thereunto, neither is every man fitted for the work, but he alone who is anointed of the Lord.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers
It was Mr. Spurgeon, I believe, who used to say to young men – “If you can do anything else do it. If you can stay out of the ministry, stay out of the ministry.” I would certainly say that without any hesitation whatsoever. I would say that the only man who is called to preach is the man who cannot do anything else, in the sense that he is not satisfied with anything else. This call to preach is so put upon him, and such pressure comes to bear upon him that he says, “I can do nothing else, I must preach.”
A man who feels that he is competent, and that he can do this easily, and so rushes to preach without any sense of fear or trembling, or any hesitation whatsoever, is a man who is proclaiming that he has never been called to be a preacher.
Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet…
Galatians 1:15, Romans 1:1, 1 Corinthians 1:1, 2 Timothy 1:11
God set me apart from birth and called me by his grace...
Jeremiah 23:32
Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD.
Deuteronomy 18:20-21
The LORD said "I will raise up for them a prophet...I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."
1 Kings 13:33-34
Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.
Ezekiel 22: 26-28, 34:1-10
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I will hold the shepherds accountable for my flock."
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Parson of Canterbury
Christ's own lore, and His apostles' twelve
He taught, but first he followed it himselve.
C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David on Psalm 111:1
Our preaching, if it is to carry weight and conviction, must be backed and exemplified by our conduct; that we need never expect to persuade others by arguments which are too weak to influence ourselves.
Martin Luther
When you are going to preach, first pray and say: ‘Dear Lord, I would preach for Your glory; though I can do nothing good of myself, I pray that You will make it good.’
Table Talk
A good preacher should have these properties and virtues: one, he should teach systematically; two, he should have quickness of mind; three, he should be eloquent; four, he should have a good voice; five, a good memory; six, he should know when to stop; seven, he should be sure of what he teaches; eight, he should venture and engage body and blood, wealth and honour, in the Word; and nine, he should be ready to be mocked and jeered by everyone.
We ought to direct ourselves in preaching according to the condition of our hearers, but most preachers commonly fail in this; they preach what brings little edification to poor simple people. To preach plainly and simply is a great art.
“The Life of Martin Luther” by Rev. Erasmus Middleton in Luther’s A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians 1807 Ed.
Three things make a divine; meditation, prayer, and temptation. And three things are to be remembered by a minister; turn over and over the Bible; pray devoutly; and be never above learning.
John Calvin
Sermon on Titus 1:1-4
Because people today are as much consumed by stupid curiosity as ever they were, let us be careful to recall what Paul teaches us here: when we read God’s word and when we come to church, may our sole aim be to be taught sound doctrine—doctrine, that is, which advances our salvation so that we may continually grow in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, being certain of the salvation which he has won for us and trusting in the grace which he has brought us.
Commentary on Galatians 3:1
Let those who seek to minister the gospel as they should learn not only to speak and declaim but also to pierce the conscience to its core, so that it sees Christ crucified and feels the shedding of his blood.
Thomas Brooks The Unsearchable Riches of Christ "Do not judge a minister"
https://www.gracegems.org/2019/03/Do%20not%20judge%20a%20minister.html
He is the best preacher, not that tickles the ear, but that breaks the heart.
Do not judge a minister . . .
by his voice, nor
by the multitude who follow him, nor
by his affected tone, nor
by his rhetoric and flashes of wit;
but by the holiness, heavenliness, and spiritualness of his teaching!
Thomas Boston
How wilt thou get a word from God if thou do not seek it? And how canst thou seek it but by earnest prayer? If otherwise, thou mayest get something that is the product of thy empty head to mumble over before the people, and spend a little time with them in the church. But O, it is a miserable preaching where the preacher cannot say, "Thus saith the Lord" (Isaiah 44:6).
James Philip
The message of Christ crucified can be preached effectively only by a crucified man.
Andrew Murray The Secret of The Cross
When the death of Christ works with power in the preacher, then Christ's life will be known among the people.
Robert Murray M‘Cheyne in Andrew Bonar's Memoir and Remains
It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.
Two things he seems never to have ceased from,—the cultivation of personal holiness, and the most anxious efforts to save souls.
In a letter to Rev. W.C. Burns who was covering his pulpit, from Palestine, March 22, 1839
Take heed to thyself. Your own soul is your first and greatest care. You know a sound body alone can work with power; much more a healthy soul. Keep a clear conscience through the blood of the Lamb. Keep up close communion with God. Study likeness to Him in all things. Read the Bible for your own growth first, then for your people. Expound much; it is through the truth that souls are to be sanctified, not through essays upon the truth.
Richard Baxter
The Reformed Pastor
https://ccel.org/ccel/b/baxter/pastor/cache/pastor.pdf
I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.
Pastoral Ministry
Our whole work must be carried on under a deep sense of our own insufficiency, and of our entire dependence on Christ.
John Owen
Gospel Ministry
https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/church-ministry/gospel-ministry/
The first requirement (of Gospel preaching) is spiritual wisdom in understanding the mysteries of the gospel, so that we might be able to declare the whole counsel of God and the riches and treasures of the grace of Christ, to the souls of men. (See Acts 20:27; 1 Corinthians 2:1-4; Ephesians 3:7-9)
"The Duty of a Pastor"
http://themelios.thegospelcoalition.org/article/duty-of-a-pastor-john-owen-feeding-the-flock
A man preacheth that sermon only well to others, which preacheth itself in his own soul...If the word do not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.
A minister may fill his pews, his communion roll, the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more.
Thomas Shepherd
I have never preached a sermon to others, that I have not first preached to my own soul.
John Flavel, “The Character of a Complete Evangelical Pastor, Drawn by Christ”
https://books.google.com/books?id=1b9jAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA15&lpg
We must fight in defense of the truths we preach, as well as study them to paleness, and preach them unto faintness; but well-spent head, heart, lungs, and all; welcome pained breasts, aching backs and trembling legs; if we can by all but approve ourselves
Christ’s faithful servants, and hear that joyful voice from his mouth, ‘Well done, good and faithful servants.’
All our reading, studying, and preaching, is but trifling hypocrisy, till the things read, studied, and preached are felt in some degree upon our own hearts.
Lewis Allen in the introduction to All Things Made New, John Flavel for the Christian Life
Ministry experience and qualifications mean very little if the preacher doesn’t know what it feels like to have a broken heart, a tempted heart, or what it is like to live with spiritual depression.
John Bunyan
I preached what I felt, what smartlingly I did feel, even that under which my poor soul did groan and tremble to astonishment. I went myself in chains to preach to them in chains, and carried that fire in my own conscience, that I persuaded them to be aware of.
“On a Believer’s Frames”
2 Corinthians 12:7 “There was given to me a thorn in the flesh … lest I should be exalted above measure.”
As you intimate, that you are in the main favoured with liberty and usefulness in the pulpit, give me leave to ask you, what you would do if you did not find yourself occasionally poor, insufficient, and, as you express it, stupid, at other times? Are you aware of what might be the possible, the probable, the almost certain consequences, if you always found your spirit enlarged, and your frames lively and comfortable? Would you not be in great danger of being puffed up with spiritual pride? Would you not be less sensible of your absolute dependence upon the power of Christ, and of your continual need of his blood, pardon, and intercession? Would you not be quite at a loss to speak suitably and feelingly to the case of many gracious souls, who are groaning under those effects of a depraved nature, from which, upon that supposition, you would be exempted?
How could you speak properly upon the deceitfulness of the heart, if you did not feel the deceitfulness of your own; or adapt yourself to the changing experiences through which your hearers pass, if you yourself were always alike, or nearly so? Or how could you speak pertinently of the inward warfare, the contrary principles of flesh and spirit fighting one against another, if your own spiritual desires were always vigorous and successful, and met with little opposition?
Jonathan Edwards
“Some Thoughts Concerning The Present Revival of Religion in New England”
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/works1.ix.iv.html
I should think myself in the way of my duty, to raise the affections of my hearers as high as possibly I can, provided that they are affected with nothing but truth, and with affections that are not disagreeable to the nature of the subject. I know it has long been fashionable to despise a very earnest and pathetical way of preaching; and they only have been valued as preachers, who have shown the greatest extent of learning, strength of reason, and correctness of method and language. But I humbly conceive it has been for want of understanding or duly considering human nature, that such preaching has been thought to have the greatest tendency to answer the ends of preaching; and the experience of the present and past ages abundantly confirms the same. Though, as I said before, clearness of distinction, illustration, and strength of reason, and a good method in the doctrinal handling of the truths of religion, is in many ways needful and profitable, and not to be neglected; yet an increase in speculative knowledge in divinity is not what is so much needed by our people as something else. Men may abound in this sort of light and have no heat. How much has there been of this sort of know ledge, in the Christian world, in this age! Was there ever an age, wherein strength and penetration of reason, extent of learning, exactness of distinction, correctness of style, and clearness of expression, did so abound? And yet, was there ever an age, wherein there has been so little sense of the evil of sin, so little love to God, heavenly-mindedness, and holiness of life, among the professors of the true religion? Our people do not so much need to have their heads stored, as to have their hearts touched; and they stand in the greatest need of that sort of preaching which has the greatest tendency to do this.
Edwards’ Funeral Sermon for David Brainerd
https://ccel.org/ccel/edwards/works2/works2/Page_26.html
How much is there, in particular, in the things that have been observed of this eminent minister of Christ, to excite us, who are called to the same great work of the gospel-ministry, to earnest care and endeavors, that we may be in like manner faithful in our work; that we maybe filled with the same spirit, animated with the like pure and fervent flame of love to God, and the like earnest concern to advance the kingdom and glory of our Lord and Master, and the prosperity of Zion! How amiable did these principles render this servant of Christ in his life, and how blessed in his end! The time will soon come, when we also must leave our earthly tabernacles, and go to our Lord that sent us to labor in his harvest, to render an account of ourselves to him. Oh how does it concern us so to run as not uncertainly; so to fight, not as those that beat the air! And should not what we have heard excite us to depend on God for his help and assistance in our great work, and to be much in seeking the influences of his Spirit, and success in our labors, by fasting and prayer; in which the (Spirit) was abundant?
Oh that the things that were seen and heard in this extraordinary person, his holiness, heavenliness, labor, and self-denial in his life, his so remarkably devoting himself and his all, in heart and practice to the glory of God, and the wonderful frame of mind manifested in so steadfast a manner, under the expectation of death, and the pains and agonies that brought it on, may excite in us all, both ministers and people, a due sense of the greatness of the work we have to do in the world, the excellency and amiableness of thorough religion in experience and practice, and the blessedness of the end of such a life, and the infinite value of their eternal reward, when absent from the body and present with the Lord; and effectually stir us up to endeavors that, in the way of such a holy life, we may at last come to so blessed an end.
Charles Bridges, The Christian Ministry, with an Inquiry into the Causes of Its Inefficiency, 1830
Our people want their hearts, as well as their understandings, to be addressed. They want words flowing from the heart, giving power to argument by their piercing heat and penetrating force, and compassionate entreaty.
Archibald G. Brown (successor to C.H. Spurgeon)
Renounce all the policy of the age. Trample on Saul's armour. Grasp the book of God. Trust the Spirit who wrote its pages. Fight with this weapon only and always. Cease to amuse, and seek to arouse. Shun the clap of a delighted audience, and listen for the sobs of a convicted one.
Professor Flint of Edinburgh Scotsman, Nov. 13, 1888
(Great preachers) form themselves before they form their style of preaching. Substance with them precedes appearance, instead of appearance being a substitute for substance. They learn to know truth before they think of presenting it. They acquire a solid basis for the manifestation of their love of souls through a loving, comprehensive, absorbing study of the truth which saves souls.
Horatius Bonar Words to Winners of Souls
https://www.monergism.com/words-winners-souls-ebook
It is not opinions that man needs; it is TRUTH. It is not theology; it is God. It is not religion; it is Christ. It is not literature and science; but the knowledge of the free love of God in the gift of His only-begotten Son.
The question, therefore, which each of us has to answer to his own conscience is, "Has it been the end of my ministry, has it been the desire of my heart to save the lost and guide the saved? Is this my aim in every sermon I preach, in every visit I pay? Is it under the influence of this feeling that I continually live and walk and speak? Is it for this I pray and toil and fast and weep? Is it for this I spend and am spent, counting it, next to the salvation of my own soul, my chiefest joy to be the instrument of saving others? Is it for this that I exist? To accomplish this would I gladly die? Have I seen the pleasure of the Lord prospering in my hand? Have I seen souls converted under my ministry? Have God's people found refreshment from my lips and gone upon their way rejoicing, or have I seen no fruit of my labours, and yet am content to remain unblest? Am I satisfied to preach, and yet not know of one saving impression made, one sinner awakened?”
A.W. Pink Studies in the Scriptures, “Experimental Preaching”, July, 1937
https://books.google.com/books?id=TLvsuX8-6EYC&pg=PA205
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached at Westminster Chapel 3 times on weekends; Friday night was primarily word-for-word exposition of Scripture (he preached 372 sermons on Romans October 1955 to March 1968 ending at Romans 14:17 and 260 sermons on Ephesians, October 1954 until July 1962). Sunday morning was typically more topical and doctrinal directed toward believing church members. "Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure" sermons was delivered Sunday morning in 1954. His series on the Sermon on the Mount was delivered Sunday morning 1959 - 1960 and he preached 32 sermons from the Gospel of John Chapter 1 on successive Sunday mornings October 1962 to June 1963. On Sunday evenings, students from all over London came to hear his messages (including J.I. Packer as a 22 year old in 1948) which were primarily evangelistic. He typically travelled throughout England and Wales by train visiting churches and preaching once every week, and used the time travelling to prepare messages and return correspondence.
His lectures on "Preaching and Preachers" to students at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia in 1969 are available on the MLJ Trust Sermon website
"The chief thing is the love of God, the love of souls, a knowledge of the Truth, and the Holy Spirit within you."
Preaching Sermons | Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust (mljtrust.org)
“A Gospel of Power” on 1 Thessalonians 1:5, March 13, 1960 at Westminster Chapel
https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons/gospel/a-gospel-of-power/
Concluding statement:
“Let us go on preaching the truth, but let us at the same time pray unto God to open the window of heaven and to baptise us anew and afresh with the power of the Holy Ghost.”
“Not In Word Only” on 1 Thessalonians 1:5. Knox Presbyterian Church, Toronto, 1967
CAUTION
We are as responsible to God as the Reformers were, or as any Puritans were, and it is our business to interpret Scripture, as much as it was their duty to do so. We are not merely to be gramophone records of anyone who has lived in the past however august he may have been.
(In sermon preparation ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as to the message, from Scripture, that the Lord has for these people, in this place, at this time.)
A.W. Tozer
The Set of the Sail
A closed mouth before God and a silent heart are indispensable for the reception of certain kinds of truth. No man is qualified to speak who has not first listened.
To add to the pastors burden is the knowledge that in each service there will likely be a few lost sons who should come home, some who never loved God at all, and some who lost the love they had. So he must call sinners to repentance, warn the unruly, comfort the feebleminded, instruct, reprove, rebuke, encourage, console and exhort all at the same time, or at least on the same day.
Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts
The curse of modern Christian leadership is the pattern of looking around and taking our spiritual bearing from what we see, rather than from what the Lord has said.
As a Christian minister, I have no right to preach to people I have not prayed for.
John of Salisbury Metalogicon (1159)
Bernard of Chartres used to say that we are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their (great stature).
William Cowper “The Task”, Book 2
https://books.google.com/books?id=MFECAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA131&lpg
Would I describe a preacher...
I would express him simple, grave, sincere;
In doctrine uncorrupt; in language plain;
And plain in manner; decent, solemn, chaste,
And natural in gesture; much impressed
Himself, as conscious of his awful charge,
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds
May feel it too; affectionate in look,
And tender in address, as well becomes
A messenger of grace to guilty men.
Charles Wesley
Give me the faith which can remove
And sink the mountain to a plain;
Give me the childlike praying love,
Which longs to build Thy house again;
Thy love, let it my heart o’er-power,
And all my simple soul devour.
I would the precious time redeem,
And longer live for this alone,
To spend and to be spent for them
Who have not yet my Saviour known;
Fully on these my mission prove,
And only breathe, to breathe Thy love.
My talents, gifts, and graces, Lord,
Into Thy blessed hands receive;
And let me live to preach Thy word,
And let me to Thy glory live;
My every sacred moment spend
In publishing the sinner’s Friend.
Enlarge, inflame, and fill my heart
With boundless charity divine,
So shall I all my strength exert,
And love them with a zeal like Thine,
And lead them to Thy open side,
The sheep for whom the Shepherd died.
1 Corinthians 3:13
''His work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.''
(Please note there is no mention of quantity.)
John Kennedy, D.D. minister of the Free Church of Scotland in Dingwall on Matthew 25:21,23
It is not “Well done, good, and successful servant” but “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
John Knox in Thomas M‘Crie, The Life of John Knox
Whatever influenced me to utter whatever the Lord put into my mouth so boldly, and without respect of persons, was a reverential fear of my God, who called and of his grace appointed me to be a steward of divine mysteries, and a belief that he will demand an account of the manner in which I have discharged the trust committed to me, when I shall stand at last before his tribunal.
John Newton quoted in The Thought of the Evangelical Leaders. Notes of the Discussions of the Eclectic Society London during the years 1798–1814, in response to the question “What constitutes what is termed effect in preaching?”
Effect, I believe, has been produced in my preaching by a solemn determination to bring forth JESUS CHRIST as the GREAT SUBJECT in all my discourses.
I try, moreover, to leave this impression on the people—that I wish them well.
Andrew Bonar's Diary
Saw today the blessed effects of preaching Christ distinctly, fully, fervently, and that it is praying much that makes preaching felt. I see that I should get my texts directly from the Lord, and never preach without having got something that shows me His counsel in the matter.
Inscription over Phillips Brooks' tomb
A preacher of righteousness and hope...rejoicing in the truth, unhampered by the bonds of church or state, he brought by his life and doctrine fresh faith to a people, fresh meanings to ancient creeds.
Howell Harris said of William Williams, Welsh Calvinistic Methodist theologian, evangelist and hymn writer of Pantycelyn
Hell trembles when he comes and souls are taken daily in the Gospel net…He is eminently owned by his heavenly Master in His service; he is indeed a flaming instrument in his hands.
John Piper on 1 Peter 1:3
Preaching is worshipful exposition of glorious biblical reality.
CAUTION
Beautiful Thoughts from Henry Drummond, 1893
Whenever you attempt a good work you will find other men doing the same kind of work, and probably doing it better. Envy them not. Envy is a feeling of ill-will to those who are in the same line as ourselves, a spirit of covetousness and detraction. How little even Christian work is a protection against unchristian feeling!
That most despicable of all the unworthy moods which cloud a Christian’s soul assuredly waits for us on the threshold of every work, unless we are fortified with this grace of magnanimity.
George Whitefield during his preaching tour of New England in 1739
I am verily persuaded the generality of preachers talk of an unknown and unfelt Christ; and the reasons why congregations have been so dead is, because they have had dead men preaching to them.
E.M. Bounds on Prayer, “Power Through Prayer. Our Sufficiency Is of God”
The great hindrance is in the preacher himself … his inner life is not a great highway for the transmission of God’s message, God’s power. Somehow self and not God rules in the holy of holies. Somewhere, all unconscious to himself, some spiritual non-conductor has touched his inner being, and the divine current has been arrested. His inner being has never felt its thorough spiritual bankruptcy, its utter powerlessness; he has never learned to cry out with the ineffable cry of self-despair and self-helplessness, till God’s power and God’s fire come in and fill, purify and empower. Self-esteem, self-ability in some pernicious shape has defamed and violated the temple which should be held sacred for God. Life-giving preaching costs the preacher much—death to self, crucifixion to the world, the travail of his own soul.
Crucified preaching only can give life. Crucified preaching can come only from a crucified man.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Preachers and Preaching
A man who imagines that because he has a head full of knowledge that he is sufficient for these things had better start learning again. ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ What are you doing? You are not simply imparting information, you are dealing with souls, you are dealing with pilgrims on the way to eternity, you are dealing with matters not only of life and death in this world, but with eternal destiny.
Our preaching should be equal parts heat and light.