Terry Virgo on the Spirit of Revelation

"We must not simply learn the jargon, praising the view when all we’ve seen is a cloud-obscured mountain, leaving us to wonder what else there is to experience. No. Like Paul, we must get on our knees and pray, ‘Lord, open our eyes to see what you’re really like.’ Then God can reveal to us his glory; then we will be changed people and then all our Goliaths will have to step aside".

Terry Virgo - "The Spirit of revelation to open your eyes" - Terry Virgo Blog - April 28th, 2009

Tim Keller on Reaching Unbelievers

"We tend as Christians not to know what to do with non-Christians other than to say; "You're wrong". There are an awful lot of sermons that go like that. Here's how the sermon goes; "We believe this and this. You out there in the world around us don't believe this and this. We are right. You are nowhere near right. Let us pray. And we pray that the Holy Spirit will convict you through my words as negative and as blunt as they are".

There's another way to go here! Every culture has got some things that they appreciate about Christianity and some things they hate about Christianity. The attractive parts are A-Doctrines and the unattractive doctrines are B-Doctrines. Both are true. If you want to preach B-Doctrines in a way that is disarming and engaging then you have got to float the B-Doctrines on a raft of A-Doctrines. If you put the stones together in a river they will sink".

Tim Keller - "Preaching the Gospel" - Newfrontiers Leaders Conference at Westminster Chapel - Wednesday 25th February 2009.

Dr Stanley Jebb on Humour and Jokes in the Pulpit

"A minister needs to preserve a measure of dignity consistent with the importance of the message he proclaims. “Familiarity breeds contempt”. It does not help the cause of the Gospel if the man of God is just one of the lads, always telling jokes and fooling about. That is not to say that a minister will never tell a funny story. There is great value in humour in the right place and at the right time. But if that is what he is mainly known for there is something wrong. Incidentally it goes without saying that a minister should never tell shady or off-colour jokes, nor should he enjoy them when others tell them!".

Dr Stanley Jebb - "Approachability" - Alethinos Reflections - accessed April 27th 2009.

Dr Stanley Jebb on the Approachability of the Pastor

"Some men keep themselves so aloof that the church members feel they cannot get near him. That is a sad situation. The shepherd must know his sheep. On the other hand, a minister needs to preserve a measure of dignity consistent with the importance of the message he proclaims. “Familiarity breeds contempt”. It does not help the cause of the Gospel if the man of God is just one of the lads, always telling jokes and fooling about. That is not to say that a minister will never tell a funny story. There is great value in humour in the right place and at the right time. But if that is what he is mainly known for there is something wrong. Incidentally it goes without saying that a minister should never tell shady or off-colour jokes, nor should he enjoy them when others tell them!"

Dr Stanley Jebb - "Approachability" - Alethinos Reflections - accessed April 27th 2009.

Dr Stanley Jebb on the Authority of the Pastor

"Strictly speaking, the only authority a pastor has is the spiritual authority inherent in the message he preaches ... One thing, however, is clear, and that is that a minister should never be a dictator. Autocracy is quite out of place in the pastoral office".

Dr Stanley Jebb - "Authority" - Alethinos Reflections - accessed April 27th 2009.

Mark Driscoll on Singles and the Song of Solomon

"Sex in the Song of Solomon ... (this) is my favorite part of the Bible. If you are single, I apologize in advance. This will be a very unpleasant sermon for you, because the Bible says to not merely listen to the Word but do what it says. And you can’t".

Mark Driscoll - "“Sex, a Study of the Good Bits from Song of Solomon” - Preached in Edinburgh, Scotland on a Sunday morning [at a 12:00 service] on November 18, 2007.

Rob Rufus on Law and Sin

"The law didn't make you a sinner. Sinning was a condition you were born in from first Adam".

Rob Rufus - "Self-Righteousness vs the Gift of Righteousness" - City Church International, Hong Kong - Sunday 9th December 2007.

Douglas Moo on the Place of Law

"The entire Mosaic Law comes to fulfillment in Christ and this fulfillment means that this law is no longer a direct and immediate source of, or judge of the conduct of God's people. Christian behaviour rather is now guided directly by the "law of Christ". This "law" does not consist of legal prescriptions and ordinances, but of the teaching and example of Jesus and the apostles, the central demand of love and the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit".

Douglas Moo - "The Law of Christ as the Fulfillment of the Law of Moses" - in "Five Views on Law and Gospel" - Stanley Gundry (ed) - Zondervan (1999) - (p343).

David Holden on the Holy Spirit and Evangelism

"The Holy Spirit is a great evangelist! Why are we shutting Him out of our meetings just because unbelievers are there?".

David Holden - "Ministers of the Spirit" - "Together on a Mission" Leadership Conference - Brighton - 2006.

David Holden on Charismatic Life in Church

"We must model charismatic life HOWEVER big the church is!".

David Holden - "Ministers of the Spirit" - "Together on a Mission" Leadership Conference - Brighton - 2006.

John G Lake on a Passion for Healing

"A great cry to God, such as had never before come from my soul, went up to God. She must not die! I would not have it! Had not Christ died for her? … No words of mine can convey to another soul the cry that was in my heart and the flame of hatred for death and sickness that the Spirit of God had stirred within me. The very wrath of God seemed to possess my soul!".

John G. Lake - "Adventures in God" - p50-51 cited in Phil Moore - "A Healthy Theology of Healing" - Newfrontiers Theological Papers - 2008 - p15.

Terry Virgo on the FULL Gospel!

"If the church becomes a static establishment it loses its raison d’être. It ceases to function in line with its God-given calling. We must not forget that we are not only witnesses to his resurrection but are also ourselves resurrected people, co-raised with Christ and seated with him in the heavenlies.

The resurrected and enthroned Christ poured out his Holy Spirit, raising a people from death to life. The dead bones have come alive and come together as a mighty army going to the ends of the earth.
The church, the fulfilment of God’s great plan, is an extraordinary people in the Messiah called from among Jews and Gentiles and going to all the nations. We are the true children of Abraham, a pilgrim people, called to bless all the families of the earth".

Terry Virgo - "Easter meditations (conclusion)" - Terry Virgo's Blog - April 14th, 2009.

Mark Dever on the Song of Songs

Pah ...

"It seems to me that it is best to understand Song of Songs as a song or collection of sings that are, well, basically human love poems. This seems like the natural and literal meaning of the text doesn't it? ... In This way lovers are lovers and desire is desire. We might be embarrassed - at least in a sermon - by all the talk about breasts and kisses and embracing arms, but we understand it ... Song of Songs is certainly an important book about marital love".

Mark Dever - "Song of Songs: Wisdom for the Married" - in "The Message of the Old Testament" - Crossway Books, Illinois (2006) - (p553-554)

John Piper on the "Debtors Ethic"

"The debtors ethic says; "Because you have done something good for me, I feel indebted to do something good for you" ... God meant gratitude to be a spontaneous expression of pleasure in the gift and the good will of another. He did not mean it to be an impulse to return favors. If gratitude is twisted into a sense of debt, it gives birth to the debtor’s ethic—and the effect is to nullify grace".

John Piper - "Future Grace" - Multnomah Publications, US - (p32).

Dan Bowen on Glorious Grace!

"The scope of grace is as glorious as the stars that God flung into space. No matter how often we stare at it, we still haven't quite covered it or even begun to see all aspects of it!"

Terry Virgo on Despising Prophecy

"We didn't fight for the gifts of the Spirit to then ignore the gifts of the Spirit! That is despising prophecy, that is quenching prophecy".

Terry Virgo - "Talk 2- Play to Your Strengths" - "Half-Time Team Talk" - Together for the Future Conference in Switzerland - 2003.

Pope Leo XIII on the Holy Spirit

" At least there are certainly many who are very deficient in their religious practices, but their faith is involved in much darkness. Wherefore all preachers and those having care of souls should remember that it is their duty to instruct their people more diligently and more fully about the Holy Ghost - avoiding, however, difficult and subtle controversies, and eschewing the dangerous folly of those who rashly endeavour to pry into divine mysteries. What should be chiefly dwelt upon and clearly explained is the multitude and greatness of the benefits which have been bestowed, and are constantly bestowed, upon us by this Divine Giver, so that errors and ignorance concerning matters of such moment may be entirely dispelled, as unworthy of "the children of light." ".

Pope Leo XIII - "Encyclical Divinum Illud Munus" - May 9, 1897 - 1987

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Why the World Doesn't Come

"We are so decorous, we are so controlled, we do everything with such decency and order that there is no life, no power, no warmth and it isn't New Testament Christianity! That's why the world is outside!".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Quenching The Spirit (1)" - Martyn Lloyd-Jones Recording Trust CD.