On Sunday we were met with the holiness of God. It was powerful; he is powerful and gracious. During the sermon (manuscript) I mentioned several resources: the Sumerian Myth of Martu (which you probably aren’t looking for!), Dynamics of Spiritual Life, (A shorter version is: Renewal as a Way of Life), and Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. If you are looking to grow in your understanding of God’s holiness and personal renewal, I highly recommend the following books:
Ministers are noteworthy of their calling. All preachers are vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy. In fact, the more faithful preachers are to the Word of God in their preaching, the more liable they are to the charge of hypocrisy. Why? Because the more faithful people are to the Word of God, the higher the message is that they will preach. The higher the message, the further they will be from obeying it themselves. ~ R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God
Are you teetering closely to the edge of holy hypocrisy or are your sermons doable bits of moral advice? Are we pressing into the Word of God to encounter his holiness and grandeur or finessing deliveries to impress men with our personal insights? We have to ask ourselves, are we preaching higher and higher messages that threaten our discipleship with the promise of sanctifying joy or are we preaching lower messages that promote a numbing nominalism?
