"Ministers generally avoid preaching what the people before them will understand. . . . They studiously avoid being personal, in the sense of making anyone present feel he is the man. I have always pursued a different course. I have often said, 'Do not think I am talking about anybody else; for I mean you, you and you.' "- Charles Finney
"We are, by nature, receivers. Even if we have a desire to learn God's Word, we still listen from a default self-centered mind-set that is always asking, What can I get out of this? But as we have seen, this is unbiblical Christianity. What if we changed the question whenever we gathered to learn God's Word? What if we began to think, How can I listen to his Word so that I am equipped to teach this Word to others?"- David Platt
"The critical question for our generation--and for every generation--is this:If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasure you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there? And the question for Christian leaders is: Do we preach and teach and lead in such a way that people are prepared to hear that question and answer with a resounding No?"- John Piper
"What I want to argue is that the most powerful and painful acts of radical obedience, beginning with remorse for sin, must be motivated by an awakened taste for pleasure in God, and that the preaching that kindles this must constantly portray God as supremely and everlastingly satisfying."- John Piper
"A pastor who feels competent in himself to produce eternal fruit - which is the only kind that matters - knows neither God nor himself."- John Piper
"Only after we are thoroughly convinced that God's Word is powerful enough to save (without added methods or techniques) will we be able to do away with the man-made altar call system. But when we do, we are able to see God work in people's lives without our manipulative interference. As a result, all of the glory goes to the Lord--and we can concentrate on being faithful in urgently inviting people to Christ rather than being numerically successful."- Carey Hardy
