Christine Caine
Pain, suffering, and grief are not linear. There is no quota on suffering on this side of heaven. When we go through the fire again and again, there is a different kind of hope, because you live differently based on where you’ve been. You can enter into the ongoing hurt with ongoing hope because you’ve seen how Jesus can show up in your story.
Preaching is not a gig, not a performance. It is a way of life. And God is using us, in spite of ourselves. “Finishing well is the result of living well every day until you finish.” - Mark DeMoss
WHEN YOU START TO READ GOD’S WORD, IT’S FILLED WITH OUR IDENTITY. WHO WE ARE. NOT EVERYONE'S GOING TO LIKE YOU. I CANNOT LET PEOPLE DETERMINE WHO I AM, WHAT I DO, WHAT I SAY, AND WHAT I BECOME.
THAT IS WHAT ILLUSTRATIONS DO. THEY OPEN UP THE WINDOWS AND LET LIGHT IN. YOU DON'T WANT A SERMON WITH ALL WINDOWS, OR A SERMON WITH NO WINDOWS.
I WOULD ARGUE THAT IT'S NOT THE TRUTH BUT FACTS THAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE. FACTS ARE THE THINGS THAT WE CAN SEE, TOUCH, TASTE, SMELL, AND HEAR.
"A TRUE SERMON BRIDGES THE GULF BETWEEN THE BIBLICAL AND THE MODERN WORLDS, AND MUST BE EQUALLY EARTHED IN BOTH." JOHN STOTT: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS: THE CHALLENGE OF PREACHING TODAY (WM. B EERDMANS 1982).