The gospel is both power and life - or it is not the gospel.
Preaching is not a three point homily. Preaching is a man burning in the pulpit for everybody to see. A preacher is an incandescent luminary.
A sermon may be a neatly turned and engineered presentation like the casing of an armour piercing shell, but it needs filling with explosive or it will bounce off the case-hardened minds of unbelievers. Their prejudices are fortified with argument, but the explosive power in a sermon filled with the Holy Spirit can demolish it.
The gospel is always a surprise attack. It gets at people from a direction they never planned to defend. They are prepared for argument, but the gospel doesn’t argue. They are prepared for sentiment, but the gospel is not sentimental. It comes with the melting waters of eternity flowing over their soul. On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was outpoured and transformed the disciples totally. Manpower had been filled with God’s power – and that is the secret even today.
Reinhard Bonkke....Evangelist to Africa
Preaching is not a three point homily. Preaching is a man burning in the pulpit for everybody to see. A preacher is an incandescent luminary.
A sermon may be a neatly turned and engineered presentation like the casing of an armour piercing shell, but it needs filling with explosive or it will bounce off the case-hardened minds of unbelievers. Their prejudices are fortified with argument, but the explosive power in a sermon filled with the Holy Spirit can demolish it.
The gospel is always a surprise attack. It gets at people from a direction they never planned to defend. They are prepared for argument, but the gospel doesn’t argue. They are prepared for sentiment, but the gospel is not sentimental. It comes with the melting waters of eternity flowing over their soul. On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was outpoured and transformed the disciples totally. Manpower had been filled with God’s power – and that is the secret even today.
Reinhard Bonkke....Evangelist to Africa