too formal and too impersonal. Sermons use too much theological jargon. Sermons are too propositional, with too little illustration. Too many sermons simply reach a dead end and give no guidance to commitment and action.8 A. J. Gordon was asked to explain the decline in the effectiveness of preaching in his day. He replied: “This decline is due, we believe, more than anything else to an ignoring of the Holy Spirit as the supreme inspirer in preaching…. The true preacher