Bright Wings

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with Ah! Bright Wings.

October 30, 2008

Enjoying the Grace of Preaching

It can be a bit strange to be a preacher.  If you don’t pursue it in creative ways- you rarely get preached to (or at). I try to spend some solid time being preached to by pastors whose ministries and lives I trust. Every week I look to see if John Piper and Ray Stedman have preached a message on the same passage that I’ll be preaching on Sunday. I do my best to not listen to their message until after I’ve done the bulk of my preparation so as to not be tempted to rip them off, and sell short the power of sweat in study to the grace of preaching. Mind you- this all assumes that I believe in preaching. Proclamation. The declaring of God’s truths with wisdom, grace, reason, and the Spirit’s power. I think it was Martyn Lloyd-Jones who said that preaching was ‘logic on fire’. It isn’t a conversation. It isn’t a dialogue. It is something uniquely, wonderfully biblical - it is preaching (read Matt. 3:1; 4:23; 12:31; Acts 8:25, 40; 18:5; Rom. 1:9; 10:14; 1 Cor. 2:4; 2 Cor. 11:7; Gal. 5:11; 1 Tim. 4:13; 5:17; 2 Tim. 4:1-2) . And I need it like every one else- maybe the preacher needs it MORE than everyone else.

Today I’ve been listening to a Piper sermon on ‘godly sorrow’ in preparation for my sermon this Sunday in 2 Cor. 7:5-13. I was struck at what a grace this is to me! To be able to listen to great teaching and preaching as I drive along. This was a particular hum-dinger of a sermon, and so, I spent many moments as I drove or stopped at a light- repenting or saying the Amen. Just a word for you to enjoy the grace of preaching throughout your week and every day. Click on the links above and download the MP3s - put them on CD or on your ipod and enjoy the grace of good preaching with me.

posted by Erik Braun