Preaching the Word

“We see that God, who might perfect his people in a moment, chooses not to bring them to manhood in any other way than by the education of the church. We see the mode of doing it expressed: the preaching of celestial doctrine is committed to pastors.”

John Calvin

Institutes of the Christian Religion, (4.1.5)

“Christian preaching is an immense tool. No reader of the Bible can fail to be impressed by its place in the forwarding of God’s purposes and the coming of His kingdom. It has changed the face of world history. Anyone who has sat under authentic preaching must long for it to be the norm; and it can be.


The fact is that the preached word is the chief evangelist and pastor in a church. There is no experience quite like that encounter with God when he makes the Scripture, reverently and rigorously unleashed, his life-giving agent. By it he imparts Christian salvation, rips up the conscience, comforts the trembling, enlightens our understanding and empowers our obedience; yet how rare is such a living voice, week by week!”

Peter White, The Effective Pastor