Applying the Word

In my review of How Sermons Work, I shared that a place I struggle in developing my sermons is in regard to specific, helpful application. But application isn’t about giving a list of “to-dos,” it’s an instrument by which the Holy Spirit uses faithful preaching to bring about conviction, repentance and a greater desire for holiness, an idea captured well in this quote fromFrancis Wayland, as published in Living For God’s Glory:

From the manner in which our ministers entered upon the work, it i...