Trusting the Word and Nothing Else at All: Luther's Design for Evangelical Preaching

Preaching is as dangerous and as exhilarating as careening down some class IV rapids. It is dangerous because in the Old Testament God prescribed the death penalty for preaching ones own opinion when called to speak Gods Word. The pulpit is no casual or safe place! But preaching is also exhilarating because God places his creative life-giving word right into your mouth. And though you dont know what will happen next something that God appointed will definitely happen when you the preacher say what God authorizes you to say. This book is the result of over thirty years of wrestling with Gods word. It expresses some of my astonishment over how faithfully God acts through preaching that word. Preaching is Gods business. Mostly the preacher needs to get out of the way and let God do the talking. When that is the case your hearers will tell you about it and you will be less likely to miscarry in some of the myriad ways listed in this book. Hopefully Luthers design for the way preachers bring that life-giving word of promise will encourage and promote and once again bring the same world-changing power that was let loose in the Reformation. The bondage of the will is not a theological slogan or category. It speaks the truth and only hope of our existence. As a parish pastor who has had the joy and awesome responsibility of preaching week in and week out for 33 years it is clear that Toso gets at the heart of what preaching is and does in a refreshing and encouraging way. The preacher delivers the electing word of the living and risen Jesus in real time to broken sinners. --Randy Freund Augustana District Service Coordinator LCMC and Pastor New Creation Lutheran Church Perham MN Perry Toso declares a faithful and fearless witness to Christ Jesus. He is disciplined and careful refusing to compromise grace alone with any small tincture of human effort. Christ saves and needs no help. --James Nestingen professor of Church History Luther Seminary St. Paul MN Perry Toso is a Lutheran pastor who has served churches in Montana San Diego Scottsdale Iowa and Alabama. He now serves a multicultural start-up congregation in Saint Paul Minnesota. Growing up as a son of Madagascar missionaries he went back out to Madagascar to teach in a Malagasy church school between college and seminary. He has done three years of doctoral work at Luther seminary serving for part of that time as Gerhard Fordes teaching assistant.