Three Final Thoughts Before Preaching
May 20, 2008
“Some little while ago three thoughts came together in my reading of Scripture, and I find that I now recall them every time I stand up to preach. The first is that I must preach as ‘in God’s sight’. My eyes must not be upon men’s approval but God’s. Secondly, that only as a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies can it bring forth fruit. I need to die to myself and to to my pride every time I preach. And then, thirdly, I recall the lovely reassurance Paul gave to Timothy that God hasn’t given us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (Derek Prime, My Call to Preach, p 201)
I really enjoyed Derek Prime’s first thought: “preach in God’s sight”. If only those who preached would concern themselves with God and His Word, they would forget about the thoughts of men in the pew rather quickly. Prime’s book ‘Pastors and Teachers’ is FULL of golden nuggets and insights like this. This particular post brings up a question/concern I have had recently regarding preaching. Where has the wooden pulpit gone in most Protestant/Evangelical churches? I attempted to put together some meager thoughts about what has replaced the pulpit and what the pulpit represents as a symbol for preachers @ http://kowalkerjourney.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/o-pulpitwhere-art-thou/