Confessions and Longings of a Preacher

I am still enjoying immensely the DMLJ sermons and hopefully benefitting from them.  They are so fresh and relevant and easy to follow.  I know I can learn from his approach to preaching and hope to become a better preacher of the everlasting Gospel.  His evangelistic zeal is affecting, and I feel challenged by what I am reading.  There is certainly no 'take it or leave it' with the Doctor when he preaches the Gospel.  He appeals to his hearers, pleads with them and urges them to trust Christ as the only Saviour there is for them.  I wish I had the same warmth and intensity when it comes to closing a Gospel sermon.  I can but try to be better, but as always, unless the unction of God is upon the preacher and preaching, it will avail nothing.

But we pray on and preach on.  I am greatly encouraged by the Doctor's view that it is not great preachers or great sermons that God blesses, nor even great orthodoxy, but great likeness to Jesus (McCheyne's term) - that bit rebukes me, mind you.  I will not be a great preacher nor will my sermons be great sermons, but I can strive to be more like my Saviour, and depend much more on the risen Lord to send His Spirit upon us each Lord's day, and whenever I have opportunity to preach the Gospel of God.