There must be a dread about the minister; one which works in such a way as to render him wholly dependent upon the Spirit of God to communicate the Word of God through him by means of his message. There must be a complete reliance on God and an utter destitute of self, or the pulpit is nothing more than an exercise in futility. If a preacher does not see this, then he is no preacher. If a preacher does not live this, he is not called to preach. Butterflies before preaching a sermon is not a warrant for understanding the weightiness of the task at hand. You can get butterflies before you speak at a bar-b-que. There must be a day-to-day cry from the closet of the preacher to the throne room of heaven, a besieging of heaven with a holy fervor that this man knows he is unable to bring any good to the people lest God is with him.

C. Matthew McMahon, Pastor, Theologe, Autor und Verleger

Topics: Church & Congregation, Discipleship

Occasions: For Reflection

C. Matthew McMahon

C. Matthew McMahon ist ein zeitgenössischer US-amerikanischer presbyterianischer Pastor, Theologe und Verleger. Er wurde vor allem als Gründer der Plattform „A Puritan's Mind“ bekannt und vertritt einen strikten, an historischen Bekenntnissen ausgerichteten Calvinismus. Für Bibelleser bereitet er theologische Schriften der Puritaner zur christlichen Lebensführung auf, polarisiert im weiteren evangelikalen Raum jedoch durch seine scharfe dogmatische Polemik.

All quotes by C. Matthew McMahon (11)

More on this topic

The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.

Tim Keller

The Church is not a cultural club, but the family of Jesus.

Pope Francis

The Bible in the pulpit must never supersede the Bible at home.

John Charles Ryle

In essential unity; in nonessentials liberty; in all this charity.

Rupertus Meldenius

The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones.

Henry Ward Beecher

I rejected the church for a time because I found so little grace there. I returned because I found grace nowhere else.

Philip Yancey

There is no perfect church. And besides, dear friend, if you ever found a perfect church, it would refuse to take you in. For as soon as it had taken you in, it would cease to be perfect. So your search is entirely useless.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

In a congregation, every person must be able to be as their heart truly is.

Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf

All quotes · lumen.bible

lumen.bible