"We have heard sermons preached, in which the minister prayed God to save souls; but, unless He had departed from His usual laws of procedure, it was not possible even for the Almighty God to use such discourses for any such purpose, for they have consisted of mere trifling with words, or an exposition of some minute point of opinion, or a philosophizing away of the mind of the Spirit." - Spurgeon
@cadejmcdonald I think he must mean something like, when the sermon starts to actually address the people and their needs, that's when it really begins. I wonder if he pushing back on preaching that's mostly just descriptive.
"Remember this: The one who abandons faith in the midst of a spiritual drought can be compared to the fool who throws away his pitcher the first day the well is dry."
"Greed has passed to and fro over the whole earth, reducing life to matter and matter to price. Though time and change bring sorrow, they belong to the seasons, to fecundity and health, but greed is a mortal disease." Wendell Berry
What an honor to preach at The First Baptist Church in Manhattan! Such a historic church building. Tim Keller had a 7pm service here in the early 2000's.
"God never permits His people to fall into any sin, but He intends to make that sin an inlet unto further grace and comfort to them." "Sin gains not, but is a loser by every fall of the godly." - William Bridge