Ash delivered a series of messages at a minister’s conference in London back in 2008. That material has been adapted here, in what proves to be a decidedly helpful look at both the form and function of preaching within the local church. Ash skillfully examines how the proclamation of God’s Word is inseparable from the gathering of God’s people. The result is a much-needed encouragement to both those who faithfully preach and those who faithfully gather.

There is a place for discussion and questioning to clarify our grasp of meaning and to correct one another’s blind spots. But all too often, discussion is one of the ways we avoid submission. [36]

The God who is consuming fire is reality; whether you or I believe it makes no difference to reality, but it will make an eternity of difference to us. [50]

That Moses was preaching grace is confirmed in Deut. 30:15-20. He sets before them ‘life and prosperity, death and destruction’. But he does not then challenge them, ‘Therefore try harder, do your best to keep the law and to be loyal to God.’ Instead he says, ‘Therefore choose life.’ The choice Moses sets before them is not the choice between bad works and good works, or between half-hearted works and whole-hearted works; it is the choice between works and grace. ‘Therefore choose life’, means, therefore, choose grace, trust the God of promise. [70]

We do not gather just in order to hear; we gather because gathering is important. Gathering is what Jesus does. The time when the whole local church gathers is a foretaste of the time when all redeemed humanity will gather. We could scrap Bible study groups and still be a church (an impoverished church, perhaps, but still a church); but if we fail to gather together in our main meetings under the preached word of God, we cease to be a church. [92]

The point of the Bible is to shape a people under grace who will be people of grace. That is to say, the goal of the Bible is Bible performance, not Bible interpretation. The Bible is not there to be interpreted; it is there to be performed, and performed by a people corporately. [101] 

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As one of the few writings available on how to listen to sermons, Ash fills a much-needed gap with this booklet. He works through seven ingredients for healthy sermon listening, including examples and follow-up questions along the way. For those who have ever wondered why sermons are necessary (or wondered how to endure a poorly constructed one) this book will help you think and act in helpful ways. The result is easily accessible and easily recommended.

To listen humbly is to admit that the Bible is right and I am wrong, that God is God and I need to change. [8]

Unless we want to be brainwashed, we ought never to hear or watch anything without engaging our critical faculties. If that’s true for TV or a movie, how much more for sermons where the preacher claims the authority of God. We need to check that the preacher is actually using the only availably authority, which is a borrowed authority that only comes from teaching what the Bible passage teaches. So, we need to listen carefully to the passage and ask whether what the preacher says is what the passage says. [10]

The Bible is mostly addressed to the people of God together. This is disguised in modern English translations, where we cannot tell whether ‘you’ is singular or plural. It is more often plural than singular. The Bible’s purpose is to make and shape the people of God, which means in practice the local church. So the first question to ask ourselves is not: ‘What is God saying to me?’ but rather: ‘What is God saying to us?’ [14]

Every time the Bible is preached, we ought to repent again and trust in Christ again. The Bible doesn’t just call non-Christians to repent and believe. It calls Christians to repent and believe; and it does so today. [20]

Praying before the sermon is not a formality. Unless God works, the whole thing will be a waste of time. But God loves to change us through preaching, and He loves it when we pray to be given fresh repentance, renewed faith, joyful obedience and a corporate Christlikeness in the local church. So let us pray for this with confidence. [23] 

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