Power in Preaching

I found this article written by my Dad in the latest edition of Themelios extremely helpful and convicting. While he certainly doesn’t need a plug from my tiny blog, I wanted to draw attention to the article as an expression of love and gratitude for my Dad, who has taught me so much through his preaching and writing, and even more through his life and example. Dad’s topic is power in preaching from I Corinthians 2:1-5. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“Why are we talking about preaching with power? Because of what Christianity is. Christianity is “a divine and supernatural light immediately imparted to the soul by the Spirit of God.” It is the living God coming down through the gospel of Jesus Christ to change us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Real Christianity is pervasively miraculous.”

“Remove wonder-working power from Christianity, and what do you have left? Religious franchises managing community service programs. But is that what we read about in the book of Acts? Biblical Christianity in the world today is an ongoing miracle of God’s gracious power. And if that is so, and it is, then Christian preaching can and must be in divine power.”

“Let’s never be intimidated or depressed by our ordinariness and inadequacy and unimpressiveness. Most of us are quite ordinary. All of us can improve our preaching, and we will. But the sacred given is the message of the cross, which the Holy Spirit empowers in men of the cross. Let’s not disempower it. Let’s trust God’s strategy. God himself entered into his own strategy through an egoless nobody named Jesus Christ, whom this brilliant world crucified. That Christ is sending us out to preach his message by his power. We are fully equipped in every essential with the testimony of God, the message of Christ crucified, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Will you decide to stake your whole ministry there?”