1.
Pastors, if you become one of these… RUN! Run far away… possibly into a desert:
(Image courtesy: http://www.nakedpastor.com/)
2.
“It is important to remember that bold preaching will surely bring opposition from some. You must be prepared for opposition, even persecution. It is part of the cost that must be counted as you seek to become a better preacher . . . You must be prepared to face the criticisms which bold, confrontational preaching will elicit from the unrepentant — including those in our own congregation” (Roger Wagner, Tongues Aflame, pp. 59-60).
3.
“Let us beware of despising preaching. In every age of the Church, it has been God’s principal instrument for the awakening of sinners and the edifying of saints. The days when there has been little or no preaching have been days when there has been little or no good done in the Church. Let us hear sermons in a prayerful and reverent frame of mind, and remember that they are the principal engines which Christ Himself employed when He was upon earth. Not least, let us pray daily for a continual supply of faithful preachers or God’s Word. According to the state of the pulpit will always be the state of a congregation and of a Church.” (J. C. Ryle - Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 128, 129.)
