"The pulpit is where the preacher announces God’s Word – a Word that builds up the

community so that it can go out and witness to God’s love. Obviously, the preacher’s words

are human, and so something of the preacher’s personality will inevitably come through in

every sermon. But good preachers know that sermons only work when God decides to speak

through them. As one of the Reformation confessions put it, “The preaching of the Word of

God is the Word of God.” So that’s what I think happens when preaching happens: In the

power of the Spirit, Christ reveals himself to people through the broken, incomplete, and even

sinful speech of ordinary human preachers. Otherwise, what would the point of preaching be?

And don’t think for a second think that I’m drawing an analogy between Jesus and myself. If

God speaks through this sermon, it will be for one reason and one reason only: because he

decides to. No human being is capable of speaking God’s Word. Only God can do that. But

since God promises to speak through preaching, it makes sense for us to expect him to do

exactly that. So you get the point. Jesus didn’t just preach in 30 AD. Jesus is preaching to

us right here – in this room – right now. He has something he wants to tell us. And so we’d be

wise to open our minds and hearts so we can hear his voice."

-ADAM NEDER

 

"O thou, who art the light of the minds that know thee, the life of the souls that love thee,

and the strength of the wills that serve thee; help us so to know thee that we may truly love

thee; so to love thee that we may fully serve thee, whom to serve is perfect freedom."

-AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO