Preaching is not a burden we must carry on this earth while God sits back and relaxes in heaven.
Human preachers are not hired workers for lazy or reclusive managers.
God is the first preacher and the best preacher.
He is the one who makes known his life-giving words.
Therefore, when we as preachers preach the word, we have no initiative.
We are simply sharing the life of God.
We preach because God preached to us first.
--- p.28~29

The fact that we do not simply hear about God through sermons, but hear and encounter God, changes our desire for preaching.
For the congregation, this fact cannot help but raise their expectations for the sermon.
Instead of simply enduring tedious sessions of exhortation, hoping to find a true encounter with Christ somewhere else, the congregation can encounter God right where His Word is proclaimed.
Moreover, for the preacher, the substance of such sermons serves as a basis for humility and strength at the same time.
When the preacher knows that he stands in the pulpit as a messenger and steward of his Master, all desire to show off his own good looks disappears, and self-confidence seems foolish.
At the same time, the anxious nerves and weak knees of the timid preacher are strengthened.
Because no matter how you feel, you know that you are a prophet.
Whether young or old, experienced or not, preachers are instruments used by God.
Anyone sitting in the congregation is there not to see the preacher, but to hear the word of God.
--- p.45~46

For all people, from all cultures, temperaments, and circumstances, the Word of God convicts, humbles, diagnoses, and transforms sin.
God's Word explains, with insight no philosopher can match, what it means to be human, in all our glory and failure.
The Word of God speaks of a God who is infinitely understandable, yet surpasses all imagination, and which no other human religion has ever conveyed.
God's Word reveals the amazing secret of true happiness, a secret that no hedonist's quest has ever uncovered.
Who but one divine author could have invented the doctrine of the Trinity, or the Word made flesh, or the suffering of death on the cross for us, or the doctrine of regeneration?
--- p.51~52

'Showing' is a much more difficult task for preachers.
Words that are uttered without any direction cannot be a sermon that shows, and such sermons cannot come from a preacher who does not first rejoice in and revere Christ.
So our preachers too easily settle for just 'telling stories'.
A common example is a type of rhetorical question that congregations often ask preachers.
“Isn’t this a wonderful truth?” “Isn’t Christ glorious?” Such questions may seem quite pious, but in reality they are merely statements about the feelings the preacher hopes to have in his congregation.
Instead of showing the congregation how glorious and wonderful Christ is so that they can feel it, the preacher leaves it to the congregation to discover it for themselves.
‘Showing’ is not a challenge limited to the sermon itself.
It is also related to the spiritual life of the preacher.
Even a spiritually dry preacher can speak of Christ.
But if the preacher does not truly enjoy Christ, he cannot present Christ as worthy of enjoyment.
--- p.73~74

In other words, the Holy Spirit changes us by changing what we enjoy.
He changes our taste buds, so that we who once enjoyed sin come to find greater joy in God.
Such changes cause us to have different desires and act differently than before.
To preach faithful Christian preaching, we must have a thorough understanding of how the Holy Spirit transforms us.
Charles Spurgeon told his students:
“Remember.
“You were not sent to whitewash tombs, but to open them.” What he meant was that if we simply try to change our behavior, we end up creating hypocrites who are only outwardly moral and religious.
As servants who have been entrusted with the ministry of the new covenant and the ministry of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:6), our purpose must follow what the Holy Spirit pursues.
Our preachers preach to reform people's hearts so that they have different desires, that they love God, enjoy God, and glorify God.
--- p.94~95

Preachers must prepare more than just a sermon.
We must pray and prepare ourselves.
This is the deeper and more long-term preparation required for faithful preaching.
Only then will we find the right tone to convey God's word and deliver it with the fragrance God intended.
You cannot be a true ambassador for Christ without being like Him.
--- p.117

We preachers must prioritize our time in staying in the deep well of the water of life for our own health and the health of those we shepherd.
A preacher must feed his own heart and soul first.
To survive as a minister, one must constantly fight against spiritual stagnation.
We must study all of God's Word and study quality theological books that enhance our love for and knowledge of God.

--- p.122~123

Many people put up a high wall of defense because they feel guilty and ashamed and think the preacher is against them.
But knowledge and eloquence cannot remove such defenses.
The same goes for the sugarcoating that replaces love, like the staged 'sincerity'.
Only love does that.
Even hard truths like the fundamental sinfulness of humanity are more easily accepted by people when delivered by a preacher who truly cares about the congregation.
Love here means serving the congregation, not ourselves, with our preaching.
Like Christ, who conveyed all his wisdom in easily understandable terms, we must be careful not to flaunt our knowledge.
This is not to say that any practical wisdom should be set aside.
It simply means that we must use all our wisdom to serve the congregation, not our egos.

--- p.125~126