The Supremacy of God in Preaching Book Review

Friends described that twelvemonth's lecturer as the "John MacArthur of the North." His proper noun was John Piper.

Then at that place I sat in the Hodges Chapel at Beeson, hanging on his every syllable. With each discussion, my call to ministry intensified. The Minneapolis pastor spoke as ane having authority—an authorization rooted in God'south Word and accentuating God's glory.

Information technology was an introductory dose of what all who've heard Piper have come to expect—an unveiling of the majesty and supremacy of God. That day I grabbed a copy of his bookThe Supremacy of God in Preaching (Baker). I quickly devoured, marking upwards every page. I've since re-read it every few years, and at present, 25 years since its initial publication, it deserves renewed attention. (Baker recently published a revised and expanded edition to marker the anniversary.)

6 Takeaways from an Indelible Book

How has the book stood upwardly over a quarter-century? It remains equally powerful, convicting, and encouraging as at the first.

Here are six takeaways:

1. To preach is to put one's deepest beliefs on brandish.

For better or worse, what comes out in the pulpit each Sunday will, over time, reveal what the preacher truly believes and prizes. At the nearly foundational level, this begins with his theological presuppositions. Marker information technology down: the preacher's presuppositions always shape the sermon. Luther and Spurgeon'south Christ-centered hermeneutic impacted their exegesis and their preaching. Calvin'due south God-centered arroyo did the same.

Piper's God-centered "Christian hedonism" radiates throughout his preaching. It likewise drives this volume. Piper puts preaching on a higher basis—pointing preachers to engage the truthful, deep longings of the human heart. As he observes, "People are starving for the greatness of God, merely most of them don't even know it."

2. The preacher should point his people to the thou truths of God.

In doing this, information technology is not that the preacher dismisses felt needs; he eclipses them. Piper writes:

My burden is to plead for the supremacy of God in preaching—that the dominant note of preaching be the freedom of God's sovereign grace, the unifying theme exist the zeal that God has shown for his glory, the grand object of preaching exist the infinite and inexhaustible being of God, and the pervasive atmosphere of preaching be the holiness of God. . . . Then when preaching takes upwards the ordinary things of life—family, jobs, leisure, friendships; or the crises of our day—AIDS, divorce, addictions, depression, abuses, poverty, hunger, and, worst of all, unreached peoples of the globe, these matters are non only taken upwardly. They are taken all the way up to God.

3. The preacher should exist relentlessly and precisely biblical.

Afterwards all, the preacher is to exist God's mouthpiece—his human spokesman—and it is high treason to misquote, misrepresent, or under-dignify the King and his Discussion. When the preacher vaguely references Scripture, Piper warns:

We are simply pulling rank on people when nosotros tell them, and don't prove them from the text. This does not laurels the Word of God or the work of the Holy Spirit. I urge you to rely on the Holy Spirit by saturating your preaching with the Give-and-take he inspired.

four. Balance gravity and gladness in the pulpit.

ReadingThe Supremacy of God in Preaching is a refresher on the majesty of God and the gravity of preaching. It is simply impossible for a warmhearted, thinking preacher to finish the volume without sensing afresh the weightiness of the preaching task. But Piper couples the call to gravity with a plea for gladness, rooted in the character of God:

Gladness and gravity should be woven together in the life and preaching of a pastor in such a way as to sober the careless soul and sweeten the burden of the saints.

There is a difference betwixt beingness glad and beingness giddy, betwixt existence weighty and beingness dour. Strive for the former; turn down the latter.

five. Preach to stir upward holy affections within your people.

Piper perceptively observes:

Skilful preaching aims to stir upward "holy affections"—such emotions as hatred for sin, please in God, promise in his promises, and tender compassion. The reason is that the absence of holy angel in Christians is odious.

Channeling Jonathan Edwards, he proceeds:

Outward acts of benevolence and piety which practice not menstruation from the new and God-given angel of the heart, which delight to depend on God and seek his glory, are only legalism and take no value in honoring God.

half-dozen. Accept ministry mentors, living and expressionless.

Of form, for Piper information technology's Jonathan Edwards higher up all. For us, information technology might exist Spurgeon or Whitefield, Luther or Carey. Link yourself to them. Know them. Reflect on their lives. Read their sermons. Absorb their perspective. Emulate their character. Draw strength from their sacrifices. Savor their God every bit your own. Then go be yourself.

Accept Upward and Read

The Supremacy of God in Preaching has stood the examination of time. It'south proven to exist a perennial book, useful for all preachers during every season of life and ministry. And it claim reading by a new generation of preachers who seek to honor God's Word and feed his people.

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Source: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/6-reasons-the-supremacy-of-god-in-preaching-remains-relevant-25-years-later/

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