Another excellent Paul Washer Sermon

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I just love this guy. Seems odd to cozy up to hellfire and brimstone, but he sure tells it like it is!
 
Seems odd to cozy up to hellfire and brimstone
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I must be odd then (lol) because I've always, always, always been drawn to this kind of preaching. The preacher who stand up and tell me that I need to focus more and more and more on Christ, to stop thinking about worldly things, to always remember that I offend God every day and I had better be sorry for that, etc. I just love it. That kind of preaching draws me to scripture and gets me to turn off the TV!

Someone asked in an older thread "who would want to sit under this kind of preaching ever week?" I would sit under this kind of preaching every day!
 
Well, I was hoping to get some conversation on this, and I still may, but until then I guess I'll just add to it here or there. :)

One of the things Paul says in this sermon is that we should desire to read, study, and discuss God's word with other believers. That it should be our number one passion and want.

I agree, but here's my problem with that. I can find few others with this desire! I am sure there are some in mu church who have it, but they have children and famalies that demand much of their attention. Understand I am not saying their famalies should take a back seat to them going out with me to study and pray, but it still presents a problem for me.

My pastor is a great man, but he has pastoral duties to tend do as well as four small children as well. My wife and I are 36, so 99.9% of our friends have numerous small children as well and the .1% that do not are not strong Christians or are Arminian dispensationalists.

Any suggestions? I try and fulfill this passion here at the Puritan Board, but on slow days or times when my topics just aren't that popular I find myself sitting here just refreshing the board over and over getting somewhat frustrated.
 
Adam, it was I that posted the "who would want to listen to this every week" comment before, only because I wondered if he expanded his repertoire any or just had the same basic message - I was interested in hearing more about different verses in scripture and since that first sermon, I have heard more of what he has to say on different topics. We need more of this guy. Not just more preaching from him, we need more (multiples) of him.

Elizabeth and I listened to the sermon you posted on last night and it was every bit as hard-hitting as the first one I heard. Something he said in one of his sermons has really stayed with me (well, many things have, but this is one that has been conspicuously absent from much of N American Christianity). It was the comment about giving a Bible to a man and having him preach in a town square until men were brought to Christ or the man preaching was beaten to death. How many senior pastors can you see doing that? Associate pastors? Youth pastors? (Maybe a youth pastor...) But we seem to "need" a very sterile (or even luxurious) setting to do our work, for the most part.

PS - I know what you mean about the frustration, of refreshing again and again and seeing nothing. When I'm up, the majority of the folks on the board are either just getting up, getting ready for bed, or, most of all, are still sleeping. It's just Trevor, Rich, the Australians, and the few of us in China.
 
the comment about giving a Bible to a man and having him preach in a town square until men were brought to Christ or the man preaching was beaten to death.
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Gave me goose bumps!

How many senior pastors can you see doing that? Associate pastors? Youth pastors? (Maybe a youth pastor...) But we seem to "need" a very sterile (or even luxurious) setting to do our work, for the most part.
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Sadly I have to agree. I also agree about the possibility being stronger with a youth pastor, but why is that? I am not sure I just feel it's more likely! There may be an answer to more questions in there somewhere.

I will sadly also admit that some of these concerns apply to me as well. I love my job and don't push the gospel as strongly as I could at times in fear of alienating others. God forgive me.

PS - I know what you mean about the frustration, of refreshing again and again and seeing nothing. When I'm up, the majority of the folks on the board are either just getting up, getting ready for bed, or, most of all, are still sleeping. It's just Trevor, Rich, the Australians, and the few of us in China.
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I often don't go to bed until 1 or 2am EST
 
Washer is the kind of preacher who will provoke a strong reaction one way or the other.
 
ChristopherPaul said:
He is baptist too. For some reason the Baptists churn out better preachers than the Presbyterians. :)
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I agree that there are many good Baptist preachers, but I wouldn't say they are invariably better than the Presbyterians.
 
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Thanks Adam for recommending that sermon. I just finished it and it was great. Can you just imagine a debate between Paul Washer and Joel Osteen! He just devastates modern American churchianity. I really liked how he used 1 John as tests to see if you are in the faith.
 
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What I notice about him is this: After I sit and listen to one of his sermons, I get up, look around, and see my surroundings in a rather unattractive hue. It's like seeing someone caught in an affair that realizes what they've done is so very wrong; the other party in the scandal is not so beautiful under the penetrating light of reality, the ugliness shows through, as does the betrayal one has done upon their spouse. It never stands up under scrutiny and yet we think we can do it to the Creator of the Universe. He sounds like Jonathan Edwards Redux.

Paul Washer vs. Joel Osteen - my money is on a Scriptural K.O. in 12 seconds or less. Anyone want some of that action?

As for the Pres. vs. Baptist preachers, I know several Dominees (Reformed ministers of the Dutch tradition) that are like theological jedis and live it. The Baptists do tend to get more animated, I'll give you that.
 
kvanlaan said:
What I notice about him is this: After I sit and listen to one of his sermons, I get up, look around, and see my surroundings in a rather unattractive hue. It's like seeing someone caught in an affair that realizes what they've done is so very wrong; the other party in the scandal is not so beautiful under the penetrating light of reality, the ugliness shows through, as does the betrayal one has done upon their spouse. It never stands up under scrutiny and yet we think we can do it to the Creator of the Universe. He sounds like Jonathan Edwards Redux.

Paul Washer vs. Joel Osteen - my money is on a Scriptural K.O. in 12 seconds or less. Anyone want some of that action?

As for the Pres. vs. Baptist preachers, I know several Dominees (Reformed ministers of the Dutch tradition) that are like theological jedis and live it. The Baptists do tend to get more animated, I'll give you that.
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I love your analogy it is spot on. I am struggling lately with everything seeming so worthless and silly. I want to drop everything and live like a monk but I know that that is not right either. We are supposed to be salt and light but how do you balance that with the knowledge that everything is going to burn. I know intellectually that we balance it by doing all to the glory of God but I am having trouble putting that knowledge into shoe leather and walking it out.

Theological Jedis... :up: :up:
 
But see, that's what I love about the biblical foundation I grew up with; the whole Calvinistic approach that lays out life as God's story for your meager existence, that He spent time on getting your bit of the picture just as He wanted it. One of 6 billion that He's done this generation alone. He even gave us a manual, and it has everything in it. Not that everything will be easy, but it is His will that you are trying to follow (the whole trying-to-keep-up-with-Dad's-footsteps bit.) And the world will hate you for it. But so long as you go down swinging while fighting the good fight, you've visibly tried to put your feet in His footsteps. I fear for those who believe in the whole "why would God want me to be unhappy/burdened/inconvenienced?" approach. Paul Washer would put them on their derrieres in 12 seconds or less, sure, but God's wrath will put them in hell in a twinkle of an eye for eternity.

As for the theological jedi comment, it really is how they made me feel. Most of the ones I knew in high school were trained either in conservative seminaries in the Netherlands or during Calvin College's glory days. When there was an argument to be made/settled, they had a thorough knowledge of all of Scripture in English or Dutch, the Heidelburg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and Canons of Dordt, and an uncanny knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek roots of just about anything. And always cool as a cucumber. These were the sorts of guys you could look up to.
 
Adam - I like Washer. He is going to get a bad rap real quick (if he doesn't have one already). His message is sorely needed in our day and age.
 
houseparent said:
What do you think of him? What does he "provoke" in you?

Just wondering....
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Someone at a Bible camp gave me some CD's with several of his sermons a few years ago. I thought the messages were pretty good, especially as an antidote to what is normally heard in the average evangelical church. He was supposed to preach at that camp several years ago but was providentially hindered.

What I meant is that he no doubt angers and offends some who are not used to such plain speaking.
 
So if he's scripturally sound in his preaching but is rejected by those he is preaching for (and sometimes to), what does that tell us?

Where is his problem? For those who don't like him, I would like to know where exactly they fault him? Chapter and verse, if you please...

Also, I think that the reason a youth pastor can get away with more radical speech is that it will be considered an error of youth if he really messes up and he's got less to lose than someone who is a 'tenured' pastor. What this points towards though, sadly enough, is that many treat their occupation in the church body as a secular position in some respects, and embody many of the occupational politics that go along with holding and keeping a 9 to 5 job. I don't mean this as a blanket statement, but it is true many times.

While I love to listen to this guy, his statement about preaching until men come to God or until the preacher is beaten to death may be a foreshadowing of his own end as well; few love to hear the sins they love to act...

Personally, I think that if that was to be his end, he'd go smiling.
 
Where is his problem? For those who don't like him, I would like to know where exactly they fault him? Chapter and verse, if you please...
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I would like to hear the same!

Honestly, I just wish his sermons would get more attention here. I know the original post about him got a lot of attention, but why not now? Here we have a reformed (D.o.G.) preacher telling like it is in a time where that's desperately needed and yet he gets little attention.

...Maybe if he spoke about Baptism?:p
 
Thanks!

I'm feeling pretty good even after only 4 hours of sleep. Of course I'm coming off a 9 day break from work where I slept at least 8-9 hour every night of that break so I am sure that helps.

Thanks! Now, where's that next Washer sermon? :)
 
I half-way love his preaching but also half-way despise it, because it is so focused, more often than not, on navel-gazing and morbid introspection. If I did all he said we should do to "make sure" I'm saved, I'd feel like **** all the time... because I wouldn't be looking at Christ, but myself.
 
Gabe, I can see your point but like Adam said, I think this is a backlash against our straying ways. I really don't think he preaches like that in the mission field, I think he does it in the US because it is so deeply needed.

The other thing is, we hear a lot of "don't major on the minors" from the pulpit (usually attached to a "legalism stinks, Calvinists" sermon). And that's fine. BUT we should at least minor on the minors, and most of us don't.
 
That preaching style and message is definately used only here in the U.S. Paul claims most U.S. Christians would be excommunicated from the churches he visits in other countries.
 
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