The following words from Spurgeon just popped up with a random photo. They grabbed my attention: While most Reformed preachers prefer to nourish themselves and feed others on the meat of Pauline theological expression, dogmatic formulations, and the language of systematic doctrinal concepts (none of which is to be slighted), we must never forget that the staple diet of biblical preaching also includes the carbohydrates, starches, and fats of metaphors, similes, illustrations, and other forms of imagery that truly turn ears into eyes. Unturned cakes (Hos. 7:8) and lukewarm water that make one want to vomit (Rev. 3:16) communicate far more than lengthy discourses on the marks and effects of spiritual compromise. The pains of childbearing (Gal. 4:19, Rom. 8:22) say what words cannot, as the preacher lays before his people his own agony for their regeneration and the yearning of earth for its own deliverance from the miserable effects of the curse. From the models of the Scriptures, the greatest preacher Jesus Christ, and the best examples of preachers in church history, we who preach today must, indeed, learn to turn ears into eyes.by Spurgeon________________My thoughts: If Scripture does not convict our own hearts (ie: be our staple diet), then we aren't going to be very convincing to anyone else. Diane
_________________Diane
The pains of childbearing (Gal. 4:19, Rom. 8:22) say what words cannot, as the preacher lays before his people his own agony for their regeneration and the yearning of earth for its own deliverance from the miserable effects of the curse.
_________________Mike Balog
The pains of childbearing (Gal. 4:19, Rom. 8:22) say what words cannot,
Unturned cakes (Hos. 7:8) and lukewarm water that make one want to vomit (Rev. 3:16) communicate far more than lengthy discourses on the marks and effects of spiritual compromise.