"The Art of Preaching" By J.C. Philpot

We are overrun with a shallow, superficial ministry,  which is destitute of all life, savor, and power. A dry,  dead-letter scheme of doctrine, as mathematically 
correct as the squares of a chess-board, prevails, where what is called "truth" is preached. And to move Bible texts on the squares as pawns, is called  "the art of preaching".
How simple is truth!  Man's misery--God's mercy.

The aboundings of sin--the super-aboundings of grace.

 The depths of the fall--the heights of the recovery.

The old man--the new man.

The diseases of the soul--the balm of a Savior's blood.

These lessons learned are in the furnace of inward
experience. How different from . . .
  the monkish austerity of the Ritualist,
  the lip service of the Pharisee, and
  the dry Calvinistic formulary!

What a dreadful lack is there of true preaching now!
I look round and see so few men qualified to feed the
church of God. We are overrun with parsons, but, oh
dear! what are they? I cannot but attribute much
of the low state of the churches to the ministers!

Ezekiel 34 is a true picture of the false shepherds.


Being a Calvinist myself I would never abhor Calvinistic preaching, only the lack of zeal that often times accompanies it.  Though zeal without knowledge is a dangerous thing, so is truth without fire!  A preacher should refuse to deliver anything other than the truth of God's Word but also should deliver this message in a manner that portrays the importance and urgency of the message.  Anything less is a mere lecture.  May God raise up preachers who posses knowledge of His truth and with hearts that burn with urgency!


Be Holy!
Shane C. Montgomery