Preaching to the Heart
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Preaching to the Heart is a short treatise on the art and necessity of preaching for a response. Think of it, preaching that calls forth action! Preaching that gets results! Preaching that stirs the listener so that he must respond! That is what we need today.
- Examines the biblical emphasis on preaching to the heart
- Explores the importance for the church today
- Addresses the current state of preaching
- Introduction
- What Is the Heart?
- Two Kinds of Hearts
- Preaching From the Heart
- Boldness of the Heart
- Preaching From God’s Heart
- Heart-Convicting Preaching
- A Heart-Adapted Form
- Conclusion
Top Highlights
“If the heart of man in the Bible refers to the inner life, from which all else flows, what is the point of preaching to the heart? In the light of this meaning, we may say that preaching that goes to the heart genuinely affects the person. He has been hit at the very source of his whole life (Prov. 4:23). He has been pierced by the preached Word where it counts. This does not necessarily mean that he is converted or, in the case of a believer, that he will repent of his sin, but it does mean that the sermon has truly hit home. That is why, whether the response is favorable or unfavorable, preaching that pierces the heart is preaching that elicits a response.” (Page 6)
“When Peter preached, great numbers repented and believed the gospel; when Stephen preached, his listeners killed him. Yet both were filled with the Spirit and preached to the heart. This double and opposite response makes one thing clear at the outset: while preaching to the heart is a desirable effect brought about by the power of the Spirit, the exact nature of that effect on the listener may vary greatly and cannot be predicted beforehand.” (Page 2)
“If heart is used to refer to feelings or emotions as over against thought or intellect, that use is discordant with Scripture. Never in the Bible is the word heart set over against the head or the intellectual processes.” (Pages 3–4)
“Putting these and other concepts of heart together we come to the conclusion that the heart is the inner life one lives before God and himself.” (Page 5)
“When the Word of God is preached, it receives two kinds of responses: some hearts are ‘hardened,’ and others are transformed.” (Page 7)