Exhorting preachers to ‘never let men feel that you would gospel would be satisfied with mere decency’, Phillips Brooks makes the point that when addressing the outworking of sin the preacher should never leave their hearer with the sense that all we desire is modified behaviour. While challenging sinful behaviour, our true goal is to …

Continue reading

The ongoing unfolding of God’s word that takes place in the relationship of pastor and people is the essence of the sermon. A sermon is not a sermon unless eternal truth is communicated with the purpose of God’s people responding to the call on their lives, and that those who are not God’s people can …

Continue reading

Pastoral and preaching work in balance bring the call of Jesus in the Scriptures to the life situations of his disciples. In doing so they maintain the true emphasis of that calling being one in which following him brings his power and presence into our circumstances; rather than lapsing into a sentimental salve that seeks …

Continue reading

Providing opportunity for people to express their emotions while teaching from the Bible should be seen in stark contrast from using rhetoric to evoke a superficial reaction. This is as true for those whose scolding brings a conditioned response of sadness or guilt, as it is for those whose use of glibness provokes laughter. The …

Continue reading