Discerning Reader: Read More-Read Better!

One of the reasons I set up this blog was to direct people to resources, and I think this one can be very helpful. I was recently directed to ‘Discerning Reader’, I will let the site host speak to the purpose of this site;

“Discerning Reader is a site dedicated to promoting good books–books that bring honor to God. At the same time, we hope to help Christians avoid being unduly influenced by books and teachers that are not honoring to God.

We do not seek to be harsh or judgmental. Rather, we seek only to be discerning as we compare books to the written Word of God. We let the words of authors speak for themselves and simply hold the books up to the light of Scripture. In doing so, we are building a database of reviews which we feel cast a discerning light on the books that are found in Christians homes, churches and bookstores.

We invite you to browse around, to read the reviews, and to examine the features of this site. We think you will find it to be a blessing.”

Right now the site mainly consists of book reviews, but it looks slated for much more (summaries, church resources, and upcoming releases). Check it out!

Thoughts on Expository Preaching: John Piper

John Piper presented some good arguments for “Why Expositional Preaching is Particularly Glorifying to God” at the Together for the Gospel Conference in 2006. Below I have highlighted some key remarks on expository preaching.

Piper quotes Arnold Dallimore (A George Whitefield Biographer) that the foundation of expository preaching is the “heralding God’s word from the kind of heart” that is mighty in the Scriptures, aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace, dead to self, willing to labor and suffer, indifferent from the accolades of man, broken for sin, and dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty, and holiness of God.

The preachers view of God is foundational for their philosophy of preaching, Piper argues “What you believe about the necessity of preaching and the nature of preaching is governed by your sense of the greatness of the glory of God and how you believe people awaken to that glory and live for that glory.”

God is revealed in His word, and “God intends for preachers to unfold these words and exult over them”- this is what Piper calls expository exultation. This is where passion in preaching comes from, exultation. When the preacher exults over the truth that he is unfolding it becomes worship,  giving glory to God in heralding Christ through the power of the spirit.

This is huge, in essence what Piper is arguing is that the preacher should not only exposit the text (open, unfold, clarify, explain, display), but also exult over it (Worship through sharing the glory of the Gospel).