Wednesday 26 February 2014
Ask Doug: What are your thoughts on youth groups?
Yes! And amen. Everything is based on what 'ministry' means. Drawing a crowd or growing disciples? Plugging up the Xbox or opening up the Bible? Supporting Christian parents in Christian homes trying to raise Christian kids, or supplanting them? Preparing teenagers to be grown ups in the church, for church life that's not all about them, where they sing and give and listen and pray? Or guaranteeing that the next generation of churches will look just like adult youth groups. Or even more like them than many currently do. Were that possible.
Monday 24 February 2014
Tip Your Sacred Cows
First off, take about eight minutes to watch this beautifully shot, and compelling odd, film, Venom and Fire.
Like i said, odd huh? But i'm not trying to make fun of these people or the things they believe. When we finally know as we are known, there are probably things i do, and believe, that will make running around the auditorium with a molotov cocktail seem pretty mundane. And there's no doubt that these people sincerely believe what they're doing is within the boundaries of Biblical Christianity. That makes them sincerely wrong of course, but in many ways it makes them preferable to whatever the latest megachurch craze is by the time you're reading this!
There are sacred cows in every church, every movement, every denomination. And we need to find them, and tip them over.
We find them, first of all, by looking to the Bible. Protestants are people of the book. We're Protestants basically because we believe that the Word forms the Church, not the other way around. It's not just as simple as that, but i think that's a decent summary. We're not saved by handling snakes, or wearing a tie, or reading the King James, but by trusting Christ for salvation, as it tells us in the Bible. Would that guy go to Hell if he stopped handling snakes? No! Will your church be Ichabod if you try something new this weekend? No! But we all have this golden calfs that we can't see beyond. The subjects of this film's are fairly obvious, but only because they're not the same as ours.
We're all like Solomon, we don't know how to come in or how to go out. We all need the wisdom that's from above. And we need protecting from extra Biblical practices, because what we practice is what we believe. We need to know the Bible well enough so that we don't think that just because Paul handled a snake in Malta, we all do. It's the same thing that leads to advocates of homosexuality pulling random verses out of Leviticus to argue with. They could save time by simply tweeting, 'i don't understand how the Bible works.' But we, people of the book, should. Practice like this should drive us back to our Bibles, humble and childlike, making sure we are the people of the book we say we are.
'People say, if I come to your church you'll throw a snake on me.' Well that would put me off! But what extra Biblical expectations put people off coming to your church or to mine? What they have to wear? What they have to do? We may not handle snakes, but if there's something outside the Gospel that puts visitors off, what can we do about it? What sacred cows must we tip? Where are our snake boxes and flaming bottles?
Like i said, odd huh? But i'm not trying to make fun of these people or the things they believe. When we finally know as we are known, there are probably things i do, and believe, that will make running around the auditorium with a molotov cocktail seem pretty mundane. And there's no doubt that these people sincerely believe what they're doing is within the boundaries of Biblical Christianity. That makes them sincerely wrong of course, but in many ways it makes them preferable to whatever the latest megachurch craze is by the time you're reading this!
There are sacred cows in every church, every movement, every denomination. And we need to find them, and tip them over.
We find them, first of all, by looking to the Bible. Protestants are people of the book. We're Protestants basically because we believe that the Word forms the Church, not the other way around. It's not just as simple as that, but i think that's a decent summary. We're not saved by handling snakes, or wearing a tie, or reading the King James, but by trusting Christ for salvation, as it tells us in the Bible. Would that guy go to Hell if he stopped handling snakes? No! Will your church be Ichabod if you try something new this weekend? No! But we all have this golden calfs that we can't see beyond. The subjects of this film's are fairly obvious, but only because they're not the same as ours.
We're all like Solomon, we don't know how to come in or how to go out. We all need the wisdom that's from above. And we need protecting from extra Biblical practices, because what we practice is what we believe. We need to know the Bible well enough so that we don't think that just because Paul handled a snake in Malta, we all do. It's the same thing that leads to advocates of homosexuality pulling random verses out of Leviticus to argue with. They could save time by simply tweeting, 'i don't understand how the Bible works.' But we, people of the book, should. Practice like this should drive us back to our Bibles, humble and childlike, making sure we are the people of the book we say we are.
'People say, if I come to your church you'll throw a snake on me.' Well that would put me off! But what extra Biblical expectations put people off coming to your church or to mine? What they have to wear? What they have to do? We may not handle snakes, but if there's something outside the Gospel that puts visitors off, what can we do about it? What sacred cows must we tip? Where are our snake boxes and flaming bottles?
Friday 21 February 2014
A Birthday Prayer
O Lord,
Length of days does not profit me,
except the days that are passed in your presence,
in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that i may not be one moment apart from thee,
but i may rely on they Spirit,
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire to show forth thy faith;
testify to thy love,
advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my habour,
thee O Son at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ears open to thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.
Give me thy grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer,
thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear by my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.
Length of days does not profit me,
except the days that are passed in your presence,
in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that i may not be one moment apart from thee,
but i may rely on they Spirit,
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire to show forth thy faith;
testify to thy love,
advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my habour,
thee O Son at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ears open to thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.
Give me thy grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer,
thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear by my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.
A New Year, Valley of Vision. Pp206-207
Tuesday 18 February 2014
Run To Jesus
Run!
That's the command at the start of Hebrews 12.
Run!
Run for your life. Not because you're being chased by a man eating lion, but because you're being chased by a much worse adversary. Run! Run from your sin. Running is one of the themes of Hebrews. We're told not to neglect our salvation, but run hard towards it, we're told not to harden our hearts but to stay the course, and then we're told at the end to run to Jesus, outside the camp.
As we run we are encouraged by the saints who have gone before us. We hear their stories, and we're encouraged that the God who did extraordinary things with ordinary us is the God who can do the extraordinary with us. We're encouraged to look at their example, and see their witness that Jesus is better than the wealth of Israel and the gods of foreign women. Run! Cast off the sin that entangles you. When you crouch on the starters block, don't have your legs tied, don't wear running shoes of concrete, cast off what holds you back. Stop asking, 'is this a sin,' and ask 'does this help me run?' Not, what's wrong with X, but what's right with it.
Run, don't meander or walk, run, and run towards Jesus.
Look to Jesus, says the author in verse 2. When you look at A you look away from B. When i looked to Rachel in marriage i looked away from every other women. When you looked to Jesus for salvation you looked away from every other religion, every other philosophy, every other salvation scheme. Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus in your local church, as you sing, and hear God's Word preached, and celebrate communion. Look to Jesus as you read the Bible for yourself, ten verses a day, ten chapters a day, it's not important, just look. Look to Jesus as you pray. As your innermost desires and despairs are given vent to a good God.
So look to Jesus today. This looking and delighting in Jesus is the foundation of our faith, that Christ is to us, the chief among ten thousand, and ten thousand thousand. As we look at Jesus, as we are captivated by His goodness, and stunned that He would be good to us, 'the things of the world will grow strangely dim,' and we'll desire nothing more than to be His, more and more.
That's the command at the start of Hebrews 12.
Run!
Run for your life. Not because you're being chased by a man eating lion, but because you're being chased by a much worse adversary. Run! Run from your sin. Running is one of the themes of Hebrews. We're told not to neglect our salvation, but run hard towards it, we're told not to harden our hearts but to stay the course, and then we're told at the end to run to Jesus, outside the camp.
As we run we are encouraged by the saints who have gone before us. We hear their stories, and we're encouraged that the God who did extraordinary things with ordinary us is the God who can do the extraordinary with us. We're encouraged to look at their example, and see their witness that Jesus is better than the wealth of Israel and the gods of foreign women. Run! Cast off the sin that entangles you. When you crouch on the starters block, don't have your legs tied, don't wear running shoes of concrete, cast off what holds you back. Stop asking, 'is this a sin,' and ask 'does this help me run?' Not, what's wrong with X, but what's right with it.
Run, don't meander or walk, run, and run towards Jesus.
Look to Jesus, says the author in verse 2. When you look at A you look away from B. When i looked to Rachel in marriage i looked away from every other women. When you looked to Jesus for salvation you looked away from every other religion, every other philosophy, every other salvation scheme. Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus in your local church, as you sing, and hear God's Word preached, and celebrate communion. Look to Jesus as you read the Bible for yourself, ten verses a day, ten chapters a day, it's not important, just look. Look to Jesus as you pray. As your innermost desires and despairs are given vent to a good God.
So look to Jesus today. This looking and delighting in Jesus is the foundation of our faith, that Christ is to us, the chief among ten thousand, and ten thousand thousand. As we look at Jesus, as we are captivated by His goodness, and stunned that He would be good to us, 'the things of the world will grow strangely dim,' and we'll desire nothing more than to be His, more and more.
Friday 14 February 2014
How Can I Be Happy?
I found this in an old John Wesley devotional book i was given this week.
Happy is He that has the God of Jehovah for his help, whose hope is in the Lord His God
Psalm 146:5
As there is but one God in Heaven above and on Earth beneath, so there is only one happiness for created beings, either in Heaven or Earth. This one God made our heart for Himself, and we can not rest, until we rest in Him. It is true that while we are in the vigor of youth and health; while our blood dances in our veins, while the world smiles upon us and we have all the conveniences, yea, superfluities of life, we frequently have pleasing dreams and enjoy a kind of happiness. But it can not continue, it flies away like a shadow, and even while it does it is not solid or substantial; it does not satisfy the soul. We still pant after something else, something that we have not. Give a man everything that this world can give and yet amidst our plenty something still to me, to thee to him is wanting. That something is neither more, nor less than the knowledge and love of God, without which no spirit can be happy, in Heaven or on Earth.
Devotions and Prayers of John Wesley, P38
Thursday 13 February 2014
A Man Of Rest
In 1 Chronicles 22:9, The LORD promises David that a son will be born to him who will give his people rest. In fact, he will be a man of rest, and will give peace to Israel all of his days. This son was Solomon, who ruled Israel during it's most peaceful and prosperous days. I love the section of Chronicles that tell us about the golden years of Solomon's reign. Peace on all sides and every man under his own fig tree, it's a brilliant picture of the future for God's people.
Solomon is David's son, a man of peace. Just like Jesus, a man of peace, the Son of David, the head son, the king son, the Son. All God's promises are yes and amen in Him, and so every promise made by God to His people in the Old Testament is a promise made to us, and 'amened' in Jesus. So Jesus is the man of rest who will give us rest. He came to give us peace.
He came to give us peace with each other. No wars in Heaven. No cross words caused by the million faces of pride, no marriages in strife. Because Jesus is a man of peace and He brings peace to all who are in Him. In His Kingdom there will be no broken hearts, no tears shed. We'll have peace with each other.
What's the source of our restlessness with other people? Our restlessness within ourselves. No one ever fell out with someone needlessly because they were perfectly happy with their own hearts. How often are our frustrations with others actually just reflections of the restlessness in our own hearts. Our sins are wracked by sin. They are ruined by our pursuit of self. Follow your heart has to be the worst advice you can possibly be given, because your restless heart will lead you astray. But in Christ's Kingdom, when we're face to face with the man of peace, our hearts will be full of Him, and there'll be no room for ourselves in there. And what a day that will be...
And the reason we don't have peace within ourselves, and with others? Is because we do not have peace with God. That's what we were made for, that's who were made for. The Kingdom of Israel was made for peace, made to be a light to the nations, but they turned their hearts and worshipped other Gods. They ripped themselves away from the source of all their peace, and were sent away, but not forever. We've been sent away too, but not forever. One came out of the wilderness and across the water, He fought the devil in the desert and prevailed. He has borne our sorrows and our trials. And our restlessness, and our lack of peace. He died under the weight of it and left it in the grave. And only in union with peace Himself can we find peace ourselves.
1 Chronicles 22:9 calls us to look beyond Solomon, because we know how his story ended. Beyond a son of David, to the Son of david, and find rest in Him.
Solomon is David's son, a man of peace. Just like Jesus, a man of peace, the Son of David, the head son, the king son, the Son. All God's promises are yes and amen in Him, and so every promise made by God to His people in the Old Testament is a promise made to us, and 'amened' in Jesus. So Jesus is the man of rest who will give us rest. He came to give us peace.
He came to give us peace with each other. No wars in Heaven. No cross words caused by the million faces of pride, no marriages in strife. Because Jesus is a man of peace and He brings peace to all who are in Him. In His Kingdom there will be no broken hearts, no tears shed. We'll have peace with each other.
What's the source of our restlessness with other people? Our restlessness within ourselves. No one ever fell out with someone needlessly because they were perfectly happy with their own hearts. How often are our frustrations with others actually just reflections of the restlessness in our own hearts. Our sins are wracked by sin. They are ruined by our pursuit of self. Follow your heart has to be the worst advice you can possibly be given, because your restless heart will lead you astray. But in Christ's Kingdom, when we're face to face with the man of peace, our hearts will be full of Him, and there'll be no room for ourselves in there. And what a day that will be...
And the reason we don't have peace within ourselves, and with others? Is because we do not have peace with God. That's what we were made for, that's who were made for. The Kingdom of Israel was made for peace, made to be a light to the nations, but they turned their hearts and worshipped other Gods. They ripped themselves away from the source of all their peace, and were sent away, but not forever. We've been sent away too, but not forever. One came out of the wilderness and across the water, He fought the devil in the desert and prevailed. He has borne our sorrows and our trials. And our restlessness, and our lack of peace. He died under the weight of it and left it in the grave. And only in union with peace Himself can we find peace ourselves.
1 Chronicles 22:9 calls us to look beyond Solomon, because we know how his story ended. Beyond a son of David, to the Son of david, and find rest in Him.
Friday 7 February 2014
How Faith Lives. Hebrews 11:13-29
In verses 13-16 we see that faith lives by looking to the promises of God. Isn’t verse 16 wonderful. God was not ashamed to be their God! Wow. How do we make God say that about us, how can we make God proud of us? Well verse 13 tells us that these men saw promises that they did not receive. They understood that God had made promises that would be fulfilled thousands of years after they were born, but because they saw and believed this promise they became wanderers and exiles. Christianity has often been called a long walk in the same direction, and for these men and women, it was literally. These men and women were faithful to death. The author wants us to see that we might not get everything God promises us in this life, but we will eventually. Now Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Jacob have received what God promised them.
How will you get up tomorrow morning if you don’t believe His promises? How will you face trouble and heartbreak if you don’t know His promises? You won’t.
Secondly we see that faith lives by trusting the plan of God, in verses 17-23. This is the second part of looking at the promises. When you trust the promises, you know the plan is good. What was God’s plan in the OT? To have His people, in His place living in His presence. That’s why there are so many genealogies in the first 5 books, because we’re supposed to be seeing God’s plan working as His people grow. That’s why there are lists of places in Joshua, because God’s plan is working. All the men mentioned in this paragraph trusted in God’s plan, even to death.
Abraham trusted God’s plan even when he was called to sacrifice Isaac. Because he trusted the plan, he passed the test of his faith. At the end of his life Isaac blessed his two sons, Jacob and Esau and demonstrated his hope for the future. When Joseph died he promised that God would rescue His people from slavery in deliver them to the promised land, he even told the Hebrews what to do with his bones when they got here. Because Moses parents trusted the plan they kept Moses alive defying the kings order to kill him.
See what trusting God’s plan does? It makes you faithful, brave, and fills you with hope. God’s plan for you is good, and to do good to you. When you’ve had a bad day, or week, or semester, remember that, that God is working it all for good. When things happen in your life that you can’t understand, remember that God is working them together for your good, and trust in His plan.
In verses 24 an 25 we see that faith lives by rejecting the world. Moses was given up by his parents, they put him in a basket and floated him down the river, where he was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh. Moses grew up not as the son of a slave, but as the son of the most powerful man in the world. But he rejected it all, because of his faith. Verse 24 tells us he rejected the prestige that the world had to offer, refusing to be called Pharaoh’s daughter. He had everything in the world he could have imagined, and more, but Jesus was more important to him. Verse 25 tells us he gave up the pleasures of the world. With more money comes more opportunity, and the young Moses, prince in the household, could have had anything he wanted. Any sinful pleasure that you could imagine was on offer, but he gave it up, preferring to be mistreated with, identified with, suffer with God, that to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
Only by faith can we reject sin and live for God. Only by faith do the pleasures of Jesus look better than the pleasures of sin.
Finally we see that all these other points have been leading up to. Verses 26-29 tell us that faith lives by rejoicing in Christ. Does that sound odd to you, rejoicing in Christ, getting excited about Jesus? if it does, can I suggest you don’t know Jesus very well? We rejoice in Christ because He is better, and He rescues. Knowing Jesus is better that the best the world has to offer. See verse 26 tells us that Moses thought the reproach of Christ made him richer than all the treasures of Egypt. Isn’t that amazing? To know Jesus makes you rich beyond your wildest dreams, if you have faith. And faith lives by rejoicing in Jesus because Jesus rescues.
It was Jesus who rescued the Hebrews from slavery, covered in the blood of the Passover lamb, and walking over the Red sea like it was dry land. And it’s only Jesus that can save you from sin, from death and from Hell. Faith lives by rejoicing in this salvation, by realizing that whatever happens nothing can change the fact that your sins are paid for.
How will you get up tomorrow morning if you don’t believe His promises? How will you face trouble and heartbreak if you don’t know His promises? You won’t.
Secondly we see that faith lives by trusting the plan of God, in verses 17-23. This is the second part of looking at the promises. When you trust the promises, you know the plan is good. What was God’s plan in the OT? To have His people, in His place living in His presence. That’s why there are so many genealogies in the first 5 books, because we’re supposed to be seeing God’s plan working as His people grow. That’s why there are lists of places in Joshua, because God’s plan is working. All the men mentioned in this paragraph trusted in God’s plan, even to death.
Abraham trusted God’s plan even when he was called to sacrifice Isaac. Because he trusted the plan, he passed the test of his faith. At the end of his life Isaac blessed his two sons, Jacob and Esau and demonstrated his hope for the future. When Joseph died he promised that God would rescue His people from slavery in deliver them to the promised land, he even told the Hebrews what to do with his bones when they got here. Because Moses parents trusted the plan they kept Moses alive defying the kings order to kill him.
See what trusting God’s plan does? It makes you faithful, brave, and fills you with hope. God’s plan for you is good, and to do good to you. When you’ve had a bad day, or week, or semester, remember that, that God is working it all for good. When things happen in your life that you can’t understand, remember that God is working them together for your good, and trust in His plan.
In verses 24 an 25 we see that faith lives by rejecting the world. Moses was given up by his parents, they put him in a basket and floated him down the river, where he was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh. Moses grew up not as the son of a slave, but as the son of the most powerful man in the world. But he rejected it all, because of his faith. Verse 24 tells us he rejected the prestige that the world had to offer, refusing to be called Pharaoh’s daughter. He had everything in the world he could have imagined, and more, but Jesus was more important to him. Verse 25 tells us he gave up the pleasures of the world. With more money comes more opportunity, and the young Moses, prince in the household, could have had anything he wanted. Any sinful pleasure that you could imagine was on offer, but he gave it up, preferring to be mistreated with, identified with, suffer with God, that to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
Only by faith can we reject sin and live for God. Only by faith do the pleasures of Jesus look better than the pleasures of sin.
Finally we see that all these other points have been leading up to. Verses 26-29 tell us that faith lives by rejoicing in Christ. Does that sound odd to you, rejoicing in Christ, getting excited about Jesus? if it does, can I suggest you don’t know Jesus very well? We rejoice in Christ because He is better, and He rescues. Knowing Jesus is better that the best the world has to offer. See verse 26 tells us that Moses thought the reproach of Christ made him richer than all the treasures of Egypt. Isn’t that amazing? To know Jesus makes you rich beyond your wildest dreams, if you have faith. And faith lives by rejoicing in Jesus because Jesus rescues.
It was Jesus who rescued the Hebrews from slavery, covered in the blood of the Passover lamb, and walking over the Red sea like it was dry land. And it’s only Jesus that can save you from sin, from death and from Hell. Faith lives by rejoicing in this salvation, by realizing that whatever happens nothing can change the fact that your sins are paid for.
Monday 3 February 2014
Mr Edwards, how should we preach? (ii)
See part one here.
6) Plead for a Response
Edwards said 'sinners should be earnestly invited to come and accept of a savior, and yield their hearts unto him, with all the winning, encouraging arguments for the that the Gospel affords.' If we believe that responding to the Gospel is a matter of life and death, then we must urge people who are listening to us to respond. History proves, a Piper puts it that 'God has been pleased to give awakening power from preaching that does not shrink back from the loving threatening of the Lord, and that lavish the saints with the incomparable promises of grace, and that pleads passionately and longingly that no one hear the word of God in vain.'
7) Probe The Workings Of The Heart
Sereno Dwight said of Edwards 'his knowledge of the human heart and its operations has scarcely been equaled by that of any uninspired preacher.' But this knowledge didn't come from a psychology text book, it came from his time alone with the Bible. If we want to know the heart, we must know the One who made the heart, after all. Dwight also wrote that 'much of his insight into the human heart came from his thorough acquaintance with his own heart. Edwards knew his Bible, and he knew himself, so he knew his listeners.
8) Yield To The Holy Spirit In Prayer
How poor and half hearted my prayers for my own preaching often are. Almost an afterthought once outlines and handouts have been prepared! This was not so for Edwards who said 'ministers...should walk closely with God, and keep near to Christ; that they may be enlightened by him. And they should be much with him by prayer, who is the fountain of light and love.' If i believed less in myself and more in the Lord, i would pray more over my preaching. Good preaching is born of good praying.
9) Be Broken And Tenderhearted
Matthew 11:29 describes Jesus as 'gentle and lowly in heart.' He was a refuge for the weary and the hopeless. Jesus, for all His power, was tender. So power and persuasion and pleading in preaching is not mutually exclusive with tenderness and vulnerability. Again, not a hipster vulnerability that the times demand of us, but a vulnerability born of knowing the great promises and penalties of God. We catch the heart of this in his words; 'all gracious affections...are brokenhearted affections. A truly Christian love...is a humble, brokenhearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires. Their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble, brokenhearted joy.'
10) Be Intense
Something very great is at stake when we preach. You'd something was wrong with the man who could call his wife or children out of a burning building with no urgency or passion. How much more of the stand-offish preacher? It should be impossible to be blase about the realities we study and speak about. If they are impressed on our heart, and if we love our people, it will be. On this topic Sereno Dwight said; 'the power of presenting an important truth before an audience, the overwhelming weight of argument, and with such intensity of feeling, that the whole soul of the speaker is thrown into every part of the conception and delivery; so that the solemn attention of the whole audience is riveted, from the beginning to the close, and impressions are left that can not be effaced.
6) Plead for a Response
Edwards said 'sinners should be earnestly invited to come and accept of a savior, and yield their hearts unto him, with all the winning, encouraging arguments for the that the Gospel affords.' If we believe that responding to the Gospel is a matter of life and death, then we must urge people who are listening to us to respond. History proves, a Piper puts it that 'God has been pleased to give awakening power from preaching that does not shrink back from the loving threatening of the Lord, and that lavish the saints with the incomparable promises of grace, and that pleads passionately and longingly that no one hear the word of God in vain.'
7) Probe The Workings Of The Heart
Sereno Dwight said of Edwards 'his knowledge of the human heart and its operations has scarcely been equaled by that of any uninspired preacher.' But this knowledge didn't come from a psychology text book, it came from his time alone with the Bible. If we want to know the heart, we must know the One who made the heart, after all. Dwight also wrote that 'much of his insight into the human heart came from his thorough acquaintance with his own heart. Edwards knew his Bible, and he knew himself, so he knew his listeners.
8) Yield To The Holy Spirit In Prayer
How poor and half hearted my prayers for my own preaching often are. Almost an afterthought once outlines and handouts have been prepared! This was not so for Edwards who said 'ministers...should walk closely with God, and keep near to Christ; that they may be enlightened by him. And they should be much with him by prayer, who is the fountain of light and love.' If i believed less in myself and more in the Lord, i would pray more over my preaching. Good preaching is born of good praying.
9) Be Broken And Tenderhearted
Matthew 11:29 describes Jesus as 'gentle and lowly in heart.' He was a refuge for the weary and the hopeless. Jesus, for all His power, was tender. So power and persuasion and pleading in preaching is not mutually exclusive with tenderness and vulnerability. Again, not a hipster vulnerability that the times demand of us, but a vulnerability born of knowing the great promises and penalties of God. We catch the heart of this in his words; 'all gracious affections...are brokenhearted affections. A truly Christian love...is a humble, brokenhearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires. Their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble, brokenhearted joy.'
10) Be Intense
Something very great is at stake when we preach. You'd something was wrong with the man who could call his wife or children out of a burning building with no urgency or passion. How much more of the stand-offish preacher? It should be impossible to be blase about the realities we study and speak about. If they are impressed on our heart, and if we love our people, it will be. On this topic Sereno Dwight said; 'the power of presenting an important truth before an audience, the overwhelming weight of argument, and with such intensity of feeling, that the whole soul of the speaker is thrown into every part of the conception and delivery; so that the solemn attention of the whole audience is riveted, from the beginning to the close, and impressions are left that can not be effaced.
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