Christian Quotes on Preaching and Ministry
Christians don’t need philosophy; Christians need Christianity. – Anonymous
The blackest deed ever committed by any man. Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver. Men sell Him today for less. Christians sell Him. Sinners sell Him. It is always night to the one who betrays Christ. How men sell Jesus today: gain; pleasure; sin; indifference. From Hyman J. Appelman’s Sermon outlines and illustrations
It is not my ability, but my response to God’s ability, that counts. – Corrie Ten Boom
The true ministry is God-touched, God-enabled, and God-made. – E.M. Bounds
The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. – E.M. Bounds
It is not great leaning nor great preachers that God needs, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity for God, men always preaching by holy sermons in the pulpit, by holy lives out of it.” – E.M. Bounds
The past has not exhausted the possibilities nor the demands for doing great things for God. – E.M. Bounds
My heaven is to please God and glorify Him and to give my all to Him and to be wholly devoted to His glory. – David Brainerd
“I feel it is my duty to plod on while daylight lasts.” – William Carey
Duties are ours; events are God’s. – Cecil
Resolved, never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life. – Jonathan Edwards
I am convinced from what I know of world conditions that the only hope of our day is a religious revival. – Dwight D. Eisenhower
The man who does things makes many mistakes. But he never makes the biggest mistake of all – doing nothing. – Benjamin Franklin
The question is not whether a doctrine is beautiful, but whether it is true. When we want to go to a place, we do not ask whether the road leads through a pretty country, but whether it is the right road.” – Hare
We are the salt of the earth, mind you, not the sugar. Our ministry is to truly cleanse and not just to change the taste. Vance Havner
Some preachers ought to put more fire into their sermons, or more sermons into the fire. Vance Havner
The Devil will let a preacher prepare a sermon if it will keep him from preparing himself. – Vance Havner
It is not our business to make the message acceptable, but to make it available. We are not to see that they like it, but that they get it.” – Vance Havner
“We have been too busy chopping wood to take time out to sharpen the axe.” – Vance Havner
“God uses broken things. It takes a broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength,. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume… it is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.” – Vance Havner
The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs. – Vance Havner
The Scriptures are not geared to frivolity, and the tone of the Gospel, while it is indeed God News, is Good News of a feast, not a frolic. No great revival ever stared in fun-making nor ran on such fuel. There is joy aplenty, but it is the heavenly joy of the Spirit of God and not the silly antics of human clowning under religious auspices. – Vance Havner
Our Lord had no place in His program for casual disciples. – Vance Havner
That religion that is not as old as Christ and his Apostles, is too new for me. – Joseph Hooke (A noted Baptist of the 17th century)
If you wish to avoid criticism, be nothing, do nothing, say nothing. – Elbert Hubbard
With added knowledge there comes multiplied responsibility. – Jack Hyles
A church will call a minister, place him in a refrigerator and expect him to sweat. – Dr. Jowett
Ministry that costs nothing accomplishes nothing. – J.H. Jowett
If you wake up in the morning and don’t meet the devil face on it just means you’re going in the same direction. — R.G. Lee
“Sympathy is no substitute for action.” – David Livingstone
If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice? – David Livingstone
If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road. – David Livingstone
“Do not trust proud, self-seeking leadership.” – Dr. Harold L. Lundquist
“When a Sunday school bus driver gets on that could bus and drives down a snowy street – the Lord will reward him for that. When a fellow goes out calling, with the snow blowing and the wind cold – God will reward him for that. How do we know that? Because Jesus said, ‘Even a cup of cold water given in My name shall not go without reward.’ – Tom Malone
“It is not great talents that God blesses, so much as great likeness to Jesus.” – Robert Murray M’Cheyne
Live near to God, and so all things will appear to you little in comparison with eternal realities. – Robert M. McCheyne
Give your life to God. He can do more with it than you can. – D.L. Moody
“The Holy Spirit is waiting in far-distant places of the earth for the voice of an anointed man to preach, in order that through that instrumentality He may carry on His work of convicting of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.” – G. Campbell Morgan
“He who said, ‘I am the Truth,’ never made peace with a lie.” – G. Campbell Morgan
If the Lord fails me at this time, it will be the first time. – George Muller
Preaching should break a hard heart, and heal a broken heart. – John Newton
Now, Nebuchanezzer in his pride, wanted to establish a universal worship. That’s been the effort ever since. That is the scheme today. – J. Frank Norris
Light and darkness cannot commune, for light dispels darkness. – Dan Reed
When you compromise scriptural truth, you always compromise down, never up. Compromise permits you to forfeit the higher ground and legitimizes your choice of lower standards, lower expectations and lower dividends. – George Riddell III
“Of what use is it to have many irons in the fire if the fire is going out?” – Eric Roberts
We can easily be too big for God to use, but never too small for Him to use. — Lester Rolloff.
Nothing lies beyond the range of prayer except that which is outside the will of God. – Bernie Smith
“It takes the highest courage to utter unpopular truths.” – Herbert Spencer
“We must not expect to see an immediate reward for all the good we do; nor must we always confine our efforts to places and persons which seem likely to yield us recompenses for our labours.” – C.H. Spurgeon
The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction. – Charles H. Spurgeon
We cannot avoid growing old, but we can avoid growing cold. – R.H. Stoll
Had I cared for the comments of people, I should never have been a missionary. – C. T. Studd
If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him. – C.T. Studd
More people fail from lack of purpose than from lack of talent. – Billy Sunday
Billy Sunday once thundered, “The backslider likes the kind of preaching that wouldn’t hit the side of a barn, while the true believer longs for preaching that brings him to his knees!”
The world is full of unsuccessful men letting empty buckets down into empty wells and drawing up nothing but hot air. – Billy Sunday
I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure – which is: try to please everybody. – Herbert Swope
I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking Him to do His work through me. – Hudson Taylor
God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him. – Hudson Taylor
Do not have your concert first and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and go first of all into harmony with Him. – Hudson Taylor
I would rather believe and teach the old that is true than the new that is false. – R.A. Torrey
The Devil is perfectly willing that the church should multiply its organizations and its deftly contrived machinery for the conquest of the world for Christ, if it will only give up praying…The Devil is not afraid of machinery; he is only afraid of God. And machinery without prayer is machinery without God. – R. A. Torrey
God’s truth has never been popular. Wherever Christianity becomes popular, it is not on its way to die; it has died already. – A.W. Tozer
“The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations, and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention, but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.” – A.W. Tozer
To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge. To do the will of God is the greatest achievement. – George W. Truett
A string of opinions no more constitutes faith than a string of beads constitutes holiness. – John Wesley
O Lord, let me not live to be useless. – John Wesley
Let it be observed, that slovenliness is no part of religion; that neither this, or any text of Scripture, condemns neatness of apparel. – John Wesley
Some clergy prepare their sermons; others prepare themselves. – Samuel Wilberforce
It is a poor sermon that gives no offense, that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher. – George Whitefield
It is undoubtedly true that every doctrine that comes from God, leads to God; and that which doth not tend to promote holiness is not of God.” – George Whitefield
We ought to attempt something so great for God that unless God intervenes, we are bound to fail. — Bruce Wilkinson
A hunter gratifies himself at the expense of his victim, but a shepherd expends himself for the good of the subjects of his care. – Merrill F. Unger
It is a tragedy when a man has no invisible means of support. – Unknown
More servants of the Lord have been rendered useless by giving heed to flattery than by suffering ridicule and persecution. – Unknown
Some people use language to express thought, some to conceal thought, and others instead of thought. – Unknown
What the church needs today are more calloused hands and fewer calloused hearts. – unknown
To be active in work for God is one thing, but to be effective in that work is quite another thing. – Unknown
Safety is not found in the absence of danger but in the presence of God. – Unknown
Don’t try to change God’s message; Let His message change you. – Unknown
A Christian minister once said, I was never of any use until I found out that God did not intend me to be a great man. – Unknown
The words you speak today should not be harsh and bitter because you may have to eat them tomorrow. – Unknown
When we get to the place where there’s nothing left but God, we find that God is all we need. – Unknown
Christ will never do more through you than He has been permitted to do in you.” – Unknown