Basics in preaching

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1.      “Wherever there’s this kind of preaching that assures hearts of how they stand with God, I can conclude that such a sermon is true and presents the pure Word of Christ: (Luther)” (Kolb and Arand, Genius of Luther’s Theology, page 181).

Comment:

It is interesting the way in which Luther crams a whole book on Theology of Preaching in one sentence: if you assure hearts where they stand with God, you have preached the Clear Gospel of Christ. This is not to the demerit of preaching manuals and books, but sometimes we get too picky and cranky when judging sermons and preaching. This simple rule from the Reformer serves as a good starting point, from where all the other homiletical analysis could flow.

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