94 Ibid , 206
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5 way to reclaim congregational interest. Yet, by focusing exclusively on the practicalside of the continuum, some preachers now feel their congregations have lost touch withthe eternal issues of Scripture. Response to these concerns has caused a strong trendback to theological and doctrinal sermons ,"95 This development is welcomed by thosewho preach from a theocentric perspective Ortlund added urgency to encouragement when he counseled, "Rather than carelessly assume the gospel we must aggressively ,deliberately , fully and passionately teach and preach the gospel The high call of preaching is matched by its high purpose as expressed byPitt- Wat son. "The Word of God comes to us in three ways, first in-Jesus Christ, the W^ordmade flesh, second, in the written Word of Scripture as contained in the Old and NewTestaments, but third (and this is the divine-crazy absurdity), in the Word preached " '7Implying a theocentric perspective he also stated, "What is preaching9 It is proclamation,not just moralizing. It is Good News, not just good advice, it is gospel, not just lawSupremely, it is about God and what he has done, not just about us and about what weought to do."9* The importance of preaching is reinforced by others, including Tuck who stated,"The audacity of preaching is rooted in the boldness of Jesus himself, carried forward bythe Gospel and Pauline traditions and espoused by many theologians "" Robert Jensendescribed the sermon as speaking for God, emphasizing the sacramental nature of 9' Ed Rowell, "Where Preaching is Headed", Leadership 18 (Winter 1997), 98
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