Am I Called?

Top Highlights

“But he should also structure the service in such a way that worshipers are reminded of how they came to Christ and continue in him. So the pastor calls people to worship as God calls them to Christ. Worshipers praise God for his call and invoke his presence. They confess their sins and hear God’s pardoning grace through Christ. After assurance of forgiveness, they boldly come into the Father’s presence through prayer, knowing that the Spirit intercedes for them. Then the Word is applied so that they might respond in grateful obedience. Finally, they depart with God’s blessing.” (Page 13)

“Only Christ-centered preaching can reform behavior in a way that produces a long, grateful, genuine, and joyful obedience.” (Page 10)

“‘The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation.’ If preaching is so important, and much more than merely reading the text, then what is it? Preaching requires a minister who has sufficiently studied God’s Word (Ezra 7:10) so that he can explain its meaning and apply it to people’s lives (Neh. 8:8, 12) in a way that leads them to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of all Scripture (Luke 24:25–27; 2 Tim. 4:5).” (Page 8)

“Even the greater apostle Paul, though selectively schooled by Greek and Jewish scholars, had to go to Jesus’ seminary for three years before he was ready to preach the gospel (Gal. 1:17–18).” (Page 9)

“When a pastor asks the Lord for a pattern of ministry, Jesus hands him a towel and a bowl of water and says, ‘Wash their feet’ (John 13:4–14) or a shepherd’s crook and says, ‘Tend my sheep’ (John 21:16). When a preacher inquires of Christ how to be promoted in the church, Jesus hands him a cup of suffering (Matt. 20:22).” (Page 6)