HOW TO MAKE GOD SUPREME IN PREACHING (GUIDANCE FROM THE MINISTRY OF JONATHAN EDWARDS)
“Choose one great theologian and apply [yourself] throughout life to understanding and mastering his thought” (67).
Keep God Central: The Life of Jonathan Edwards
SUBMIT TO SWEET SOVEREIGNTY: The Theology of Edwards
“The goal of all that God does is to preserve and display his glory” (79).
“The duty of man is to delight in God’s glory” (79).
“Preaching is a means of grace to assist the saints to persevere. Perseverance is necessary for final salvation. Therefore, every sermon is a ‘salvation sermon’” (81).
MAKE GOD SUPREME: THE PREACHING OF EDWARDS
STIR UP HOLY AFFECTIONS
Enlighten the Mind
SATURATE WITH SCRIPTURE
Employ Analogies and Images
USE THREAT AND WARNING
Plead for a Response
Edwards: “Sinners … should be earnestly invited to come and accept of a Savior, and yield their hearts unto him, with all the winning, encouraging arguments for them … that the Gospel affords” (94, from Concerning the Revival, 391).
PROBE THE WORKINGS OF THE HEART
Yield to the Holy Spirit in Prayer
Edwards: “I spent most of my time in thinking of divine things, year after year; often walking alone in the woods and solitary places, for meditation, soliloquy, and prayer” (99, from “Personal Narrative,” Selections, 61).
BE BROKEN AND TENDERHEARTED
Be Intense
“Good preaching gives the impression that something very great is at stake” (103).
Qualification: Piper says that “the cross is a witness to the infinite worth of God’s glory and a witness to the immensity of the sin of my pride” (35), against the idea that the cross is a witness to my worth. However, we should be careful not minimize the genuine sacrificial love that the cross displayed.