Around the Horn

At first, Tim Challies has a funny piece on preaching being like playing. It’s a good one for a quick chuckle.

At second, Jon Jackson asks four questions that are worth some careful thought. I don’t know Jon personally, but he is one of the guys who has moved his family into Detroit to plant a church. And by Detroit, I don’t mean the suburbs. I mean everything you think of when you think of Detroit. May there be more.

At third, Nathan Busenitz has a helpful short article on cessationism, namely, what it is not. Frankly, cessationists get beat up a lot, and mostly by people who just make stuff up, which is fitting coming from charismatics. Okay, that was probably a gratuitous cheap shot, but to say that cessationists don’t believe in the Spirit, or are scared of the Spirit, or don’t believe in spiritual gifts for today, or the like, are just not true. Nathan has done a lot of work in this area. Some of it he has presented at past Shepherd’s Conferences, and they are worth listening to. I would post the link, but I am too lazy and I trust the Spirit will lead you to it through a word of knowledge or prophecy. Otherwise, just Google it.

Last, Brian Croft has a good paragraph on the what makes an effective, powerful preacher. It is certainly true that education and study is necessary for true biblical and powerful preaching. But we dare not trust them alone. These are not sufficient.