Things Missing in Modern Preaching

Among things missing in much preaching today, I regret the following:

1. Too often no distinct text is announced at the outset (almost as though a text is a boring way to start a sermon). But nothing was more important. In former times; a preacher often gave out his text twice.

2. Lack of passion and urgency

3. On the the part of the preacher, there is a lack of faith-- not a lack of faith in his message, but of faith in Christ to enable him to speak in His name without dependence on a written manuscript. There is too much paper in pulpits!

4. Lack of memorization of Scripture! We all ought to know much more Scripture by heart than we do, and especially preachers. An occasional turning up of a reference with the congregation is understandable, but to make a practice of it, and to fail to quote Scripture freely, is to diminish what preaching ought to be.

5. Far better to be short than to be dull! A number of eminent preachers could be quoted who did not think 20 minutes is too short or is unacceptable. There ought to be more variation.

- Iain Murray

Sinners Always Avoid the Obvious

A friend recently mentioned they heard someone ask Martha Stewart the question, "You are so busy and active. What would you do if you got sick?", to which Stewart replied, "Sick? I'm too busy to get sick; I can't get sick; I don't have time to get sick; don't talk about getting sick; I don't want to even think about it."

Such is the world's attitude and approach to reality. Sickness?- "I don't like the subject"; Sin?- "don't talk to me about that religious stuff"; Death?- "O, that's morbid, why don't you talk about something pleasant?"

Often unbelievers, when facing the end of life, they and their families won't even discuss death and the need to be ready and face it; instead, the attitude is, "let's just enjoy and have fun in the remaining time we've got with you- let's be pleasant, laugh, eat, share memories, and be positive; we don't want to be discouraging and negative; let's all smile and be positive." Let's translate that:

Denial- "I don't want to talk about it."

The largest, most applicable realities that affect life the most are those that the world doesn't want to deal with it; Instead, they will only talk food, fun times, cars, movies, jokes, clothes, gossip, the latest Tiger Woods news, college football, movie stars, and fads. It's not that they only want to talk about lesser temporals, those are the only things that are real to unbelievers so its all they can talk about.

If God, Jesus Christ, sin, sickness, death, and eternity are not real to you, then you will have no interest in thinking about or focusing upon the greater issues of life, living, dying, and entering eternity.

So I would ask Ms. Stewart, "Well, Martha, when you come to die, will you be cooking then? What will you do when sickness does come and you are not before the cameras, but instead are on a sick bed-- what will you do then? Then, you will have time to be sick. When death comes to you, then you will face it. You may not want to think about it now, but then you will have no choice."

Sickness and / or death are fast approaching, and you will have a personal encounter with the irresistible force of every greater reality--sickness, death, eternity, and facing God in judgment and the unavoidable appointment of standing before the judge of the universe, Jesus Christ; then, you will not discuss cooking, or aunt Molly, or Facebook or Twittering, or the latest fad; when that day comes, guess what will be real then? Him and eternity and your fixed eternal destiny.

And guess what will not be in the thoughts of unbelievers then? Food, fun times, cars, movies, jokes, clothes, gossip, the latest Tiger Woods news, college football, movie stars, and fads.

"I don't like to think about it?" Every unbeliever, including Martha Stewart, needs to get real, get honest, get a Bible, and get to the Saviour to get ready. Now is the only time to think about it.

- Mack Tomlinson

Sinners Always Avoid the Obvious

A friend recently mentioned they heard someone ask Martha Stewart the question, "You are so busy and active. What would you do if you got sick?", to which Stewart replied, "Sick? I'm too busy to get sick; I can't get sick; I don't have time to get sick; don't talk about getting sick; I don't want to even think about it."

Such is the world's attitude and approach to reality. Sickness?- "I don't like the subject"; Sin?- "don't talk to me about that religious stuff"; Death?- "O, that's morbid, why don't you talk about something pleasant?"

Often unbelievers, when facing the end of life, they and their families won't even discuss death and the need to be ready and face it; instead, the attitude is, "let's just enjoy and have fun in the remaining time we've got with you- let's be pleasant, laugh, eat, share memories, and be positive; we don't want to be discouraging and negative; let's all smile and be positive." Let's translate that:

Denial- "I don't want to talk about it."

The largest, most applicable realities that affect life the most are those that the world doesn't want to deal with it; Instead, they will only talk food, fun times, cars, movies, jokes, clothes, gossip, the latest Tiger Woods news, college football, movie stars, and fads. It's not that they only want to talk about lesser temporals, those are the only things that are real to unbelievers so its all they can talk about.

If God, Jesus Christ, sin, sickness, death, and eternity are not real to you, then you will have no interest in thinking about or focusing upon the greater issues of life, living, dying, and entering eternity.

So I would ask Ms. Stewart, "Well, Martha, when you come to die, will you be cooking then? What will you do when sickness does come and you are not before the cameras, but instead are on a sick bed-- what will you do then? Then, you will have time to be sick. When death comes to you, then you will face it. You may not want to think about it now, but then you will have no choice."

Sickness and / or death are fast approaching, and you will have a personal encounter with the irresistible force of every greater reality--sickness, death, eternity, and facing God in judgment and the unavoidable appointment of standing before the judge of the universe, Jesus Christ; then, you will not discuss cooking, or aunt Molly, or Facebook or Twittering, or the latest fad; when that day comes, guess what will be real then? Him and eternity and your fixed eternal destiny.

And guess what will not be in the thoughts of unbelievers then? Food, fun times, cars, movies, jokes, clothes, gossip, the latest Tiger Woods news, college football, movie stars, and fads.

"I don't like to think about it?" Every unbeliever, including Martha Stewart, needs to get real, get honest, get a Bible, and get to the Saviour to get ready. Now is the only time to think about it.

- Mack Tomlinson

A Channel to Bless the World

I have thought much this Christmas season about the Lord being born of Mary. He could have come down as Elijah went up, in a chariot of fire. The Jews would have received Him then. But God took Mary--her body, her emotions, her substance and all she had, and through her He gave us His Son. In the same way, He blesses the world, not merely by what we say, but by what we offer. He takes what we have and through it, makes a channel to bless others.

We are to be broken bread and poured out wine, that through us by the indwelling Spirit, others are reached. Channels only, blessed Master.

Leonard Ravenhill, 1965

Our Faithful Keeper

Psalm 121

What a great reality that it is God who keeps us or we would not be kept. What a thought and what a fact that it is He alone that keeps us in all our ways. Just think for a moment what God promises us in this regard. In Psalm 121, we are told no less than six times in six verses that God is keeping us.

He who keeps you will not slumber- vs. 3

Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep- vs. 4

The Lord is your keeper- vs. 5

The Lord will keep you from all evil- vs 7

He will keep your life- vs 7

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore- vs. 8

I am so glad, so thankful, and so comforted by the fact that it is Christ who keeps us. I can't even keep my desk straight and clean--how then could I keep my life and soul preserved for the future and for eternity? How could we keep ourselves from the enemy? How could we keep ourselves from being overcome by life? We could not and we cannot keep ourselves. We would not be kept unless One infinitely greater than ourselves was not keeping us every moment.

Kept by the power of God through faith- 1 Peter 1:5

Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee- Isaiah 26:3

Unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you blameless before His presence with great joy- Jude 24

Kept

I am so glad of this certainty
That my King ever keeps me;
Preserved to the end I shall be
Kept by grace full and free.

Kept by love that never fails
Goodness and mercy my life do trail;
Kept by wisdom never ending
Kept by grace He keeps sending.

Kept by Him through promises unfailing
Kept for Him by power ere flowing;
Kept by Him till this life shall end
Kept for Him till this race I win.

Kept by Him unto eternity
Kept for Him forever I'll be;
Kept by Him till my days are done
Kept for Him till my course is run.

- Mack Tomlinson

What The Church Needs Most Today

What the church needs most of all today is the Word of God to be preached in the power of the Holy Spirit. I don't chase revival because revival does not come by chasing it; Revival comes by chasing Christ and by being conformed to the image of Christ.


- Paul Washer

Effects of God’s Sovereign and Undeserved Grace

1) It humbles us. We did not provide the decisive impulse that brought us to Christ. God did. We came because of him. If it weren’t for his drawing, I would utterly lost. God have mercy on me if I am not humble because of this truth.

2) It fills us with thankfulness. Everything I have, including my coming to Jesus, is a gift. O how thankful I am for sovereign grace. Aren’t you?

3) It gives us assurance. For if he drew us to himself freely and omnipotently, then he will keep us to the end. This is the great ground of our assurance. Those whom he called he justified, and those whom he justified he glorified.

4) From this, we get hope for the conversion of the people we love who seem utterly beyond hope. If conversion is decisively dependent on human character and on decades of habit, we would despair over many sinners. But nothing is too hard for God. When God calls the dead, they rise. When God draws his sheep, they come.

5) Finally, all glory goes to God, not to us. This is why God saves the way he does. All glory belongs to him. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” (Psalms 115:1).

Jesus does not speak mainly to create controversy. He speaks to call sinners to himself, and to humble the proud, and to glorify his Father. This is why he lived. This is why he died. This is why he rose again. Come to him. Be satisfied in him. Be humbled by him. Give glory to God because of him.

- John Piper