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"Refuse to capitulate to the Kantian philosophy that says that ultimate truth about God is not accessible. He has been revealed. God is speaking and is not silent. He became flesh. He is risen. He has shown Himself. That not all see it is because the god of this age has blinded their minds, but as we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, God ‘has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Cor. 4:4-6)." ~ From Burning Hearts: Preaching to the Affections, by Josh Moody, Robin Weekes.

"We obsess about the future and we get anxious, because anxiety, after all, is simply living out the future before it gets here. We must renounce our sinful desire to know the future and to be in control. We are not gods. We walk by faith, not by sight. We risk because God does not risk. We walk into the future in God-glorifying confidence, not because the future is known to us but because it is known to God. And that’s all we need to know. Worry about the future is not simply a characteristic, it is the sin of unbelief, an indication that our hearts are not resting in the promises of God." ~ Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something , (Chicago: Moody, 2009) p. 48.  Quoted in  Burning Hearts: Preaching to the Affections by Josh Moody, Robin Weekes. 

This being an election year in the U.S., much of our attention is turned to the various candidates, the debates, the claims and promises, the sound bites, and the endless drama of self-promotion.   I recently read a communion sermon by Jonathan Edwards, "Glorying in the Savior" , preached in November, 1729, in Northampton.   I was arrested by the beautiful description of the Lord Jesus Christ and his reign, and the great blessing upon his people.  How wonderful to be under his spiritual reign now, and one day we shall see his Kingdom come in power and glory! ... He is a "King of righteousness" (Hebrews 7:2) who is perfectly just in his government. He is the "Prince of Peace" [Isaiah 9:6], a king of the most unparalleled clemency and grace. Never was any kingdom ruled by a government so mild and gentle and gracious. He is exceeding gracious in the manner of his ruling his people by sweetly and powerfully influencing their hearts by his grace: not gove...

C. S. Lewis wrote, "All that is not eternal is eternally out of date" ( The Four Loves ). J osh Moody and Robin Weekes, authors of Burning Hearts: Preaching to the Affections , would agree, and maintain that -- despite all our scientific and technological advances -- this age is pretty much like the ages before.  Therefore, "relevant" preaching will preach to those unchanging issues of greatest importance...   "What is the same about our age? Everything of greatest importance. People are still made in the image of God. People are still fallen and depraved. The world and the whole universe is still created by God and sustained by the word of His power. All of reality still throbs to the beating heart of the living God. Jesus is still Lord. The cross is the centre of the universe and of all time and space. The Holy Spirit is the power for ministry, life, change and Christlikeness... Ecclesiastes is right when it says that ‘there is nothing new under the sun’ (E...

"What reason have we to praise God, who has given us so much cause to glory in Christ Jesus, that we that deserve so much shame should have so much cause to glory. We were in a forlorn condition: we were depressed to the lowest depths of misery and wretchedness; we were filthy and abominable, had made ourselves viler than the earth, and deserved nothing but shame and everlasting contempt; we had nothing to glory in, but all the circumstances of our case were such as administered to us just cause of shame and confusion of face. "But God has been pleased to provide one for us to take away our guilt and disgrace, and to be the glory in the midst of us; to put great honor upon us, to be as a covering to hide our nakedness, and not only so, but to adorn us and make us glorious; to be to us wisdom, to bring us from our shameful ignorance and darkness; to be our righteousness for the removal of our guilt and to procure acceptance with God for us; to be our sanctification, to chang...

Here's a quote from Sunday's sermon ... “Remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”   ― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory