Wayne Grudem states that
there are no differences in deity, attributes, or essential nature between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person is fully God and has all the attributes of God. The only distinctions between the members of the Trinity are in the ways they relate to each other and to the creation. In those relationships they carry out roles that are appropriate to each person.
(Systematic Theology, 1st ed., p251; 2nd ed.,…
Some choice extracts from this precious work by Richard Sibbes (1577-1635)
In time of temptation, misgiving consciences look so much to the present trouble they are in, that they need be roused up to behold him in whom they may find rest for their distressed souls.
What a support to our faith is this, that God the Father, the part offended by our sins, is so well pleased with the work of redemption! And what a comfort is this, that seeing God’s love resteth on Christ, as we pleased in him, we may gather that he is as well pleased with us, if we be in Christ!…
John Stott argues from Paul’s celebrated Areopagus speech in Acts 17.
First, Paul affirmed the unity of the human race, or the God of creation. For God had “made from one every nation of men” (v. 26), and all human beings are therefore his “offspring” (28, 29). We evangelicals rightly reject the concept of “the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of men” if it is used to deny the special fatherhood and fellowship God gives to his redeemed people.…
A summary of chapter 41 of The Fountain of Life, by John Flavel.
“When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3
Christ is described
A summary of chapter 40 of The Fountain of Life, by John Flavel.
John 20:17 – ‘Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.’
The persons to whom this message was sent: ‘My brethren’; a sweet term, and full of love.
The message itself: ‘Tell my brethren, I ascend to my Father, and your Father; to my God, and your God.’…
In Jesus, Interrupted (HarperCollins), Bart Ehrman has this to say about the length of Jesus’ public ministry, as indicated in the canonical Gospels:
…‘Our earliest Gospel, Mark, does not give an explicit indication of the length of Jesus’ public ministry, but does give some suggestive comments. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, in chapter 2, his disciples are going through the wheat fields and eating the grain, to the consternation of the Pharisees, who believe they are violating the Sabbath.
C.H. Spurgeon is often quoted as saying: “I take my text and make a beeline to the cross.”
Indeed, for Albert Mohler, this expression summarises Spurgeon’s entire preaching method.
For the record, I can find no evidence that Spurgeon ever said it (see here for corroboration).
But is it the sort of thing that the great preacher might have said? Well, kind of.
Perhaps the nearest thing we can find comes in a story told (with obvious approval) by the 24-year-old Spurgeon:
…A Welsh minister who was preaching last Sabbath at the chapel of my dear brother, Jonathan George, was saying, that Christ was the sum and substance of the gospel, and he broke out into this story:—
A young man had been preaching in the presence of a venerable divine, and after he had done he went to the old minister, and said, “What do you think of my sermon?”
The Evangelical Times, August 2020 reports:
The University of Pennsylvania, also known as Penn, has decided to remove a statue of the 18th century evangelical preacher George Whitefield from its campus.
The university issued a statement saying, ‘The case for removing Whitefield is overwhelmingly strong. He was a well-known evangelical preacher in the mid-eighteenth century, who notably led a successful campaign to allow slavery in Georgia. This is undeniably one of Whitefield’s principal legacies.
…‘Honouring him with a statue on our campus is inconsistent with our University’s core values, which guide us in becoming an ever more welcoming community that celebrates inclusion and diversity.’
A few thoughts from Warren Wiersbe.
“The purpose of preaching is not to explain a subject, but to achieve an object.” (Fosdick)
‘We have forgotten that the Bible is an imaginative book. It contains every kind of literature, from funeral dirges and pastoral poems to epigrams, parables, allegories, and creative symbols that have captured poets, artists, and composers for centuries. For some reason, our views of inspiration and inerrancy have robbed us of a living book, a book that throbs with excitement and enrichment.…
As the pages of the New Testament testify, the ministry of the Word encampasses a wide range activities. Over thirty verbs are employed. According to Peter Adam, these may be categorised as follows:
Words of Information: teach, instruct, make known, remind.
Words of Declaration: preach, proclaim, cry out, testify, bear witness, declare, write, read, pass on, set forth.
Words of Exhortation: call, denounce, warn, rebuke, command, give judgment, encourage, appeal, urge, ask.
Words of Persuasion: explain, make clear, prove, guard, debate, contend, refute, reason, persuade, convince, insist, defend, confirm.…
