I want to read from Acts chapter 5, the Acts of the Apostles. Chapter 5, we'll begin at verse 33 and we'll read to the end of the chapter. Acts chapter 5 and the verse number 33. Let's hear God's word as it is read. When they heard that, they were cut to the heart and took counsel to slay them. Then stood there up one in the council of Pharisee named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space. And said unto them, ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves. What you intend to do is touching these men. For before these days was up Thaddaeus, boasting himself to be somebody to whom a number of men, about 400, joined themselves, who was slain. And all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered and brought to naught. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him. He also perished, and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. Now I say unto you, refrain from these men, and let them alone. For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught. But if it be of God, You cannot overthrow it, lest happily ye be found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed. And when they had called the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach. Jesus Christ. Amen, and we'll conclude, as we said, our reading at verse 42. Let's unite briefly in prayer. Our Father and our God, we come now to Thee, praying for the help of Thy Spirit to preach the Word. We pray, Lord, that we may see the Savior. Grant, dear God, our hearts to be ready to hear God's Word. Recognize, Lord, that many, many are the cause our attention, even now in this service. And yet, Lord, we pray that every thought will now be brought into captivity, and Lord, every heart be focused on the Word as it is preached. Bless, Lord, Thy Word to the saving of the sinner, to the drawing back of the backslider, and to the sanctifying of Thy church. Encourage now these hearts, I pray. stir us up lord the things of god before we pray these are prayers through the savior's precious and holy name amen and amen in light of our motto text for this year they cease not to teach and preach jesus christ i i have felt over the last little while that the Lord would have me begin a new series of messages in our family worship services. I'm sure that many people have their idea of what the church needs to hear in these days. Messages on repentance, among the people of God are certainly needed. Preaching about revival is most welcome. Holiness is a subject matter that needs an airing these days from the Pope. But love among the saints of God would need a touch from the preacher. And those tongue sins that we're all guilty of, well, they would need to be dealt with by the minister. Prayer, soul winning, heart religion, personal and ecclesiastical separation, spiritual maturity, the will of God, parenting, courtship, money, prophecy, the moral issue of the days, are all subject matters that we would profit on hearing about. Now while I have no doubt that such suggestions are valid, Surely what we find the New Testament church preaching about in the first century shows us what we ought to be preaching about in the 21st century. There's no doubt we all want to return to New Testament days. with power in the pulpit and purity in the pew. The problem is that we don't want to employ New Testament methods to bring us there. You see, the New Testament church ceased not to preach and to teach, or teach and to preach Jesus Christ. But today, the church hardly preaches about Jesus Christ. Sermons today are Christ-like. In actual fact, there are some sermons and they are Christ-free. There is no mention of Jesus Christ. Little or no reference is made to the person and to the work of Jesus Christ by those who claim to be ministers of Jesus Christ. Congregations know more about COVID pandemics about the dangers of AI, about a cashless society, about a one-world religion, about some YouTube conspiracy theory that's doing the rounds, than they do about the person and about the work of Jesus Christ. It seems to be that the church of Jesus Christ today knows better than the New Testament church, and yet they were the ones, they were the ones that had 3,000 souls added to their ranks in one day, not us. They were the ones that saw 3,000 souls added to their ranks, not us. But we know better. We know better in the 21st century. Over the next period of time, I want to bring a Christ-centeredness back to at least my preaching. I want to do so by preaching on some of the names and some of the titles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before I do that, I want to take this service to present to you some reasons, some reasons why Christ-centered preaching needs to be recovered from the brink of extinction within the church of Jesus Christ. There needs to be a recovery from the brink of extinction, Christ-centered preaching. And so, for these moments together, I want to preach a message that I've entitled, A Call to Return to Christ-centered Preaching. a call to return to Christ-centered preaching. The Church of Jesus Christ needs to return to Christ-centered preaching because, first of all, the text from which we preach is Christocentric. The text from which we preach is Christocentric. Now, the text that I refer to is, of course, the 66 books of the Old and of the New Testaments. That text, the text that the preacher ought to preach from, the preacher's only text from which all sermons are to be preached, is full of Jesus Christ. When addressing his disciples in John chapter 5, if you want to turn there, John chapter 5, when the Savior addressed his disciples in John chapter 5, in the verse number 39, the Son of God encouraged them to do something. John 5 verse 39. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and there they which testify of me. Notice that closing statement. It's a familiar statement, I know, but let's focus on it. Verse 39. And there they, speaking of the Scriptures, there they which testify of me. Now you need to remember that the Scriptures that Jesus Christ is speaking of are not Matthew through to the book of the Revelation. Those books have not yet been written by the human penman. And so, the Scriptures that the Savior is speaking about are the Old Testament writings, the graphees. Graphee, that's the Greek word the Old Testament writings, the Old Testament books. And what the Savior is informing His disciples is that the book of Genesis, right through the book of Malachi, in these books, Jesus Christ is spoken of. In other words, the key to unlock the Old Testament Scriptures is Jesus Christ. Look down there at the verse 46 of what the Savior continues to say in John chapter 5. He says, For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote, that's speaking of Moses, for Moses wrote of me. Now Moses is attributed to have written the first five books of the Bible. They're called the Pentateuch. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And in those books, Moses wrote about Jesus Christ. Christ is found in those books. In Genesis, he's found as the seed of the woman, the one who had come to crush the serpent's head. In the book of Genesis, he's seen in Noah's ark, a picture of Christ. All who enter into him find safety from coming judgment. In the book of Genesis, Christ is seen in Moriah's sacrifice when Abraham goes up to the top of Mount Moriah and Aram is placed on the altar in the stead of Isaac, his son. Christ is seen in the life of Joseph. that one who was despised by his brethren, that one who was sold for pieces of silver, that one who was unjustly charged, that innocent one who was charged as one who was guilty, that one who was humiliated and yet that one who was ultimately exalted, Jesus Christ is seen in the book of Genesis. Jesus Christ is seen in the book of Exodus. for he's greater than Moses. Jesus Christ is seen in the Passover lamb in Exodus chapter 12. That separated lamb, that spotless lamb that was sacrificed and slain and its blood placed upon the doorpost and upon the lintel. Christ is seen in the Passover lamb. Christ is seen in the manna that came down from heaven. The Savior himself spoke about that bread that came down from heaven. Christ came down from heaven. That little man in the ground, that insignificant one, and yet that one who satisfies, that bread that satisfied the entire congregation. Christ is seen in the book of Exodus. He's seen in the book of Leviticus and all of the sacrificial sacrifices of the Levitical economy. He's seen in the book of Leviticus on that great day of atonement. Christ the great scapegoat, the one who bears away our sins, the one whose death and his blood is presented within the holy of holies, and yet the one who carries away the sins of his people, he's seen in the book of Numbers in the brazen serpent. As that brazen serpent is lifted up, Christ said to Nicodemus, just as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. He's seen in Aaron's rod in the book of Numbers, for Christ is that fruitful rod, the one who bears Fruit and blooms, blossoms. He's seen in the book of Deuteronomy in the cities of refuge. We run to Christ and we find refuge from the avenger of blood. And Christ is seen in the book of Deuteronomy. And so the dominating theme that unites all of the books of Moses is Jesus Christ. And the Savior goes on to prove that. If you turn to Luke chapter 24, you're probably there in John 5, so Luke chapter 24, he comes to prove that he is the uniting theme of the Old Testament Scriptures when he comes to rise again from the dead. You'll know the event, the Savior, and the disciples are on the amiss road. These two individuals, disheartened, disconsolate, discouraged as they walk the road. And so the Savior draws alongside those two disciples, and He begins to speak to them. He understands their need, and so what the Savior does, He conducts a Bible study to encourage them. And what thing does He take to cheer their heart? What theme does the Lord Jesus Christ take from the Old Testament scriptures to encourage these men who were disconsolate, who were discouraged? What did Jesus Christ preach about when he found himself on the Emmaus road? Did he preach about the Roman occupation of the land? Now it was relevant. The Romans had come into the land of Israel, their enemies were ruling over them, but was that what Jesus Christ preached about to encourage the saints? No. Well, let me ask you, did he preach about the spiritual downgrade within the visible church? The church had gone a-whoring after other gods, but he doesn't preach about that. Did he preach about the sin of unbelief, a sin that was obviously in their hearts? He doesn't even preach about that. What does he preach about, brethren and sisters? He preaches about himself. He preaches about himself. And note, he takes the entire Old Testament canon of Scripture as his text. Look at chapter 24, verse 27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. things concerning himself. Now when the Savior joins the disciples in the upper room, he comes to mention this Christ-centeredness of the scriptures to them. Look there at verse 44 of this same chapter. And he said unto them, These are the words which I speak unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me." Concerning me. The Old Testament books of Moses, the prophets, the Psalms, are a rich treasury when it comes to the revelation of the person and of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. But Jesus Christ was not the only person to claim that the text, and we're thinking about the text from which preachers preach from, Jesus Christ was not the only one who claimed that the text is all about Jesus Christ. When Philip comes to introduce Nathanael to the Christ, We read in John chapter 1 verse 45, Philip findeth Nathanael and said unto him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth the son of God, the son of Joseph. And so here we have Philip and he claims that the Old Testament scriptures, they speak about Jesus of Nazareth. They have found him of whom Moses spoke. And of whom the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth. Whenever Peter comes to address Cornelius, he said this about Jesus Christ in Acts chapter 10 verse 43. To him give all the prophets witness. Concerning Christ, to him give all the prophets witness. My beloved, since the Word of God is all about Jesus Christ. The legitimate question that needs to be put to me as a preacher and to all who have been called to preach is, why is it that there are times when there is so little of Christ in our preaching? Is it the case that we are not employing the text that God has given to us as we ought. Is it the case that rather newspapers or social media threads have become our textbook instead of the Word of God? If Christ is in all the Scriptures, and we actually employ the Scriptures in our preaching, then it stands to sense that there should be much of Christ in our preaching. Do you get the line of thought? Do you get the reasoning, the logic behind what I'm saying? If the textbook is all about Jesus Christ, and that's what the Scriptures are, they're all about Him, well then, brethren and sisters, our preaching should be about Jesus Christ. And if it's not about Jesus Christ, then we're not employing the text as it ought to be employed. And so I want you to see this reasoning. Now the Apostle Paul writing to Timothy, I thought about this just in our prayer meeting this morning. The Apostle Paul in writing to Timothy as he gives charge to Timothy, Paul is about to endure a martyr's death, and so he writes for the final time to his son in the faith. And you know the words well. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4 verse 2, he says, word timothy preached the word be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine and i start to think about that word word preach the word do you know what word that is in the greek that word is the word logos preach the logos john 1 verse 1 in the beginning was the Logos, same Greek word. Preach the Logos. Preach the word. Who is the word? Preach Christ. That's what Paul said to Timothy. Preach Christ the Logos. Preach him who is the word. That's the charge of the preacher. Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, he said, remove Christ from the scriptures and there's nothing left. If we are going to preach from the Word of God, and brethren, that's where we preach from. If we are going to preach from the Word of God, then we are going to be Christocentric in our preaching. We cannot be anything else, for the Word is all about Him. The text is all about Him. And so, we are closed into this. that Christ is to be preached, and He is to be central in our preaching. But the church needs to return to Christ-centered preaching because, secondly, the ministry of God the Holy Spirit emphasizes a Christocentric approach in preaching. That's very long, that second point, but let me repeat it again. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit emphasizes a Christocentric approach in preaching. Now let's turn to John chapter 15, because whenever you come to study the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, you will find that his ministry is Christocentric in nature. The Holy Spirit does not exalt Himself. The Holy Spirit does not, as it were, speak of Himself. There's something that the Holy Spirit does, the God, the Holy Spirit. He exalts the Christ. Look there at John chapter 5, or 15 verse 26. Now, these are the words of the Savior. And he says, But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth off the Father, he shall testify of me. And so we find in the words of Christ, firstly, that God the Holy Spirit testifies of Christ. That's his ministry. Look there now chapter 16 and the verse 13 and 14. For the Savior continues to speak here and he says in verse number 13 and 14 of John 16. How be it when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself That's verification of what I've said. And so the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ. And thus, brethren and sisters, a Spirit-filled ministry will have these two distinguishing characteristics about it. It will be a ministry that will testify of Christ, and it will be a ministry that will exalt or glorify Christ. That will be the distinguishing mark of a Spirit-filled ministry. The contrary is true. If a Spirit-filled ministry is characterized by a testifying of Christ and a glorifying of Christ, then a spirit-empty ministry will be a ministry that emphasizes man, will exalt man, will testify of man. And that's what you'll have today in certain pulpits. There will be preachers and they will talk about your best life now. Five ways. to be a successful person in this world. It will be man-centered and it will glorify man, but not a Spirit-filled ministry. Now listen, brethren and sisters, this is how you can verify. This is how you can verify a minister, a pastor, a church leader's claim that they have been filled with the Holy Spirit for ministry. This is the marks. These are the marks. Their claim, can I say, is not verified by miracles, signs or wonders. Their claim that they are filled by the Spirit of God for ministry is not verified by signs, by miracles, by wonders. It's not verified by their supposed ability to speak in tongues. It is not verified by visions or by revelations. It's not even verified by how many people come to hear them preaching. It is verified by how Christ-centered their preaching is. That's how it's verified. A preacher who is filled with the Spirit of God will testify of Christ and will glorify Christ. Some of you young people, you'll get married, and maybe it'll be in your mind to move away to a different church. I hope that's not the case. But you need to take these distinguishing marks, and you need to be discerning when it comes to where you sit under and who you sit under. Does the preacher preach about Jesus Christ? Does he glorify Jesus Christ in his preaching? Does he speak of Christ? Does he encourage you to come to Christ and believe in Christ and receive Christ as your Savior? This will be the distinguishing mark. Whatever other claims they may have, No matter if their houses are filled with people, it matters not. Their claim that they have a Spirit-filled ministry all comes down to this. Does he testify of Christ? Does he glorify Christ? Because that's what the Spirit of God does. And so for a man to be filled by the Spirit, he's going to do what the Spirit does. He's going to exalt Christ. He's going to testify of Christ. He's going to glorify Christ. John the Baptist was a man who was filled with the Holy Ghost. We've been thinking about him in our little devotionals over the last little period of time. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit, and whenever he preached, he preached Christ. In actual fact, he took the same text for the same three days in a row. behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world he came and he said these words John 3 verse 30 it's my life verse or my ministry verse he must increase but I must decrease that was John that was John gauge a preacher's claim of unfailing by the Spirit of God by the content of his messages if Christ is central then you can be assured that you're sitting under a Spirit-anointed preacher. He mightn't shout, he mightn't bark, but if he preaches Christ, that man is indwelt and infilled by the Spirit of God, because his only desire is to let Christ be known. And that's all I desire, that Christ would be known among you. That Christ would be exalted, that Christ would be glorified, that Christ would be believed on and received as Saviour and as Lord and as Master in your life. I wonder, is He your Saviour? Have you beheld the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world? Has He taken away your sin? Thirdly, the church needs to return to Christ-centred preaching because the practice of the New Testament church argues for Christocentric preaching. A quick survey of the early New Testament church will confirm that the person and work of Jesus Christ was very much the dominating theme in their preaching. You think about that sermon on the day of Pentecost, and we'll quickly go through the book of Acts just to show you this. Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 2, the verses 22 down to the verse 26. Maybe I'll read this portion, but I'll not be reading all of the portions of Scripture. Ye men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know him, being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loosed the bonds of death, because it was not possible that he should be holding of death. For David speaketh concerning him. I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither will I suffer, thine Holy One, to see corruption. And it goes on to then speak in verse 30, Therefore being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn an oath, Out of the fruit of his loins, according to his flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He's seen this before, speak of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, wherefore we are all witnesses. And so what we find here is that men, don't forget, they've just been filled with the Spirit of God in the upper room. Now let's notice their preaching. What is it about their preaching? It's all about Jesus Christ. It's all about Him. His life, His death, His resurrection, His exaltation, and that sermon led. 2 the conversion of 3,000 souls in Acts chapter 3 we read about another sermon this time it's preached in Solomon's porch the verses 11 through to 26 again Peter's the preacher and we find that Jesus Christ is very much at the fore of his remarks On this occasion, in his discourse, Peter emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in verse 13. In verse 14, he speaks of Him as being the Holy One and Just. And in verse 15, he speaks that He was crucified and He is the risen Prince of Life. And so it's all about Jesus Christ. In Acts chapter 4 and Acts chapter 5, we find the apostles are before the Jewish Sanhedrin. Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, Acts chapter 4 verse 10, Be it known unto you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by him, that this man stand before you whole. He speaks about Jesus Christ. In Acts chapter 5, the apostle again, verse 30 and 31, the God of our fathers, The God of our fathers, verse 30 and 31, raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a savior, for to give repentance to Israel and the forgiveness of sins. This is the chapter that speaks in our motto text, verse 42, and they cease not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ. It is a summary of the ministry of the New Testament church. And then as you go through the book of Acts, you'll see that Jesus Christ is very much again at the heart of the preaching. Whenever Peter or Stephen was in trial, he drew his accusers to the attention of the person of Jesus Christ in Acts 7 verse 52. When Philip goes down to the city of Samaria, we're told in Acts 8 verse 5, that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached what? Christ unto them. That's who he preached. He preached Christ. And this focus, this Christocentric focus of preaching Christ in Philip's life, it isn't only whenever he's in front of many, but when he comes to stand before a single Ethiopian eunuch. And Isaiah chapter 53 is before him, the scroll that the Ethiopian eunuch had bought in the city of Jerusalem. We are told there in Acts, 8 verse 35, then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached on to him Jesus. After Paul's conversion, in Acts chapter 9 verse 20, we read Paul straightway preached Christ in the synagogues, that he was and is the Son of God. The message that Peter preached in the home of Cornelius, that Roman centurion, was a Christ-heavy message. Acts 10 verses 33, 34 to 43, Paul's sermon at Antioch's synagogue was again very much focused on the person of Jesus Christ. Acts 13 verses 23 to 39, when Paul came to preach to the city of Thessalonica, in Acts chapter 17 verses 2 and 3, let's read those verses. Acts 17 verses 2 and 3, opening and alleging, Verse 2, And Paul, as his manner was, went into them three sabbath days, reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, the Old Testament Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. And whenever we come to the last chapter in Acts chapter 28, we find that Paul is still preaching Jesus Christ, even though he's under house arrest. Look at that last verse of the last chapter in Acts chapter 28. Verse 30, And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him. Whenever Paul was in Corinth, He spoke about his ministry in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 1 and 2. Let me read those verses. And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined, I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Paul declares, that the grand subject of his ministry was Jesus Christ and him crucified. That subject matter eclipsed every other subject matter. Christ alone would form the sum and would form the substance of the apostles' preaching material. Everywhere. In the synagogues, marketplaces, the judgment halls, prison, in crowded cities. Paul's one theme was this. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now, brethren and sisters, if the Apostle Paul believed in a Christocentric approach, if he believed that such an approach to preaching was essential, then we, who in no way are the Apostle Pauls of our day, then we ought to follow his example when it comes to our preaching. That is not to say that the Apostle Paul did not preach about other matters. He did. You only have to read his epistles to understand that he preached and he touched on other subject matters. But the overwhelming theme of Paul's preaching was Jesus Christ. You know, I could learn from that. And I'm sure that all aspiring preachers could learn from that. Christ front and center. Christ front and center should always be our aim when it comes to preaching. I need to be very quick on my last point. The church needs to return to Christ-centered preaching because the effects of Christocentric preaching are the kind of effects that we want to see. What happened whenever Christ was given his proper and when Christ was given his preeminent place in preaching? Well, I notice in Scripture three quick things. First of all, hearts were set ablaze. Hearts were set ablaze. This was true of the Saviour as He journeyed through the Old Testament Scriptures with the two disciples on the Emmaus Road. Those two disciples would testify in Luke 24 verse 32. Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way and while He opened on to us the Scriptures? What effect could be more desirable when Christ is preached than the effect of a heart set on fire for God? This is what we need, brethren and sisters, hearts set on fire. Our hearts quickly slaps into a cold state. But brethren, here's the remedy, Christ-centered preaching. When we hear of Christ, our hearts are warmed and surely that's what we want for all who listen to our preaching, that they leave the meeting with their hearts on fire for God. This is my Savior, my God, and my Redeemer. I saw the Savior today." What was it said concerning the disciples? Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Now, brethren and sisters, we're not going to see the Lord with our physical eyes, but we'll see Him in the Word, and we'll be glad of it. It'll gladden her heart. It'll gladden her soul. Hearts are set ablaze. Second of all, souls are saved when Christ is center. You think of Philip, that case example. What happened whenever he preached Christ in the city of Samaria? Well, I'll tell you what happened. The Bible will tell you what happened. Don't listen to what I say. Acts 8 verse 12, they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ and they were baptized, both men and women. A city came to believe in Christ and they evidenced their faith in Christ by being publicly baptized. Whenever Philip encountered the Ethiopian eunuch and he preached to him, Christ, what happened to that man? He believed in Christ. He became a Christian. Christ is the Christian fisherman's only hook by which souls are brought to Christ. It's the only net. He's the only draw. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only draw. Souls were saved when Christ was preached by Philip. Souls were saved on the day of Pentecost whenever Christ was preached. because he has the greatest draw. Charles Spurgeon said, I believe that those sermons which are fullest of Christ are the most likely to be blessed to the conversion of the hearers. It was the presentation of Christ that won our hearts, wasn't it? We heard of him and we believed in him. Last of all, the last thing, when Christ is preached, revival ensued. Every true revival has preaching at its heart and at its core. And a close examination of preaching during revival, you will find that really two main themes are majored upon in revival preaching. The law of God that condemns man and the Christ of God that saves man. You'll find that in every true revival of religion. The revival in the day of Pentecost takes place in the context of such preaching. They were pricked in the heart. and they heard of Christ. And 3,000 souls were added to the church. Now Brian H. Edwards has a book out that is called Revival of People Saturated by God. And in that book, Edwards has a chapter, and it's entitled A Revival of Christ-Centered Preaching. Edwards found that every revival has a distinguishing mark of Christ-centered preaching. He brings us to the land of Scotland. And he speaks about the revivals that took place in the land of Scotland, and he found that many of the revivals that happened in Scotland happened when? During the communion season. And what was the preaching like during their communion season in Scotland? I'll tell you what it was like. It was centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. David Brainard stated that he saw the greatest effects among the Indians of North America when, and I quote, I insisted upon the compassions of a dying savior, the plentiful provisions of the gospel, and the free offers of divine grace to needy distressed sinners. When Jonathan Edwards rehearsed what occurred during the 1733 revival in Northampton, New England, he described the centrality of Christ and the cross and the lives of his people. He wrote this, in all companies, on other days, or whatever occasions persons meet, Christ was to be heard of and seen in the midst of them. Listen to this, our young people, when they met, were wont to spend time in talking of the excellency and dying love of Jesus Christ. the glory of the way of salvation, the wonderful, free, and sovereign grace of God, his glorious work in the conversion of the soul, and the truth and certainty of the great things of God's word. In one of Count Zindedore's letters, he described the kind of preaching that was typical among the Moravians in their revival in 1727. He said, our method in proclaiming salvation is this, to the point out to every heart, the loving lamb who died for us, never either in discourse or in argument, to digress even for a quarter of an hour from the loving Lamb. Revival often takes place when Christ is central in the preaching. My brethren and sisters, are not these the effects that we want to see take place when we come to preach? The hearts of God's people set on fire, sinners converted, revival breaking out among us. If these are not the effects in our preaching, maybe we need to ask the question, how much of Christ is there in our sermons? How much of him is in our sermons? One preacher said, a sermon without Christ at its beginning, middle, and end is a mistake in its conception and a crime in its execution. ought to keep our Savior front and center when we come to preach, whether that's in the pulpit, whether that's in your Sunday school class, whether that's in the children's meeting, whether that's in the youth fellowship, whether that's in the open air, or whether that's in our daily one-to-one witness with others. Let's keep him front and center. May he in all things including our preaching, may he in all things have the preeminence. Christ preeminent. Now, do you know anything about the Christ you follow? Do you know anything about him? You'll get to know him as you get to know his names and his titles. And I trust as we look at them, and I don't think we'll start it next week, because I have another message in mind that ties into these messages, but we'll eventually get there. We'll start to think about who our Savior is, the great names that He possesses, the Alpha and the Omega, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Redeemer, Savior, Lord, Master, the Son of God, the Son of Man. And as we hear of Him, may our hearts be set on fire, may souls be saved, and may revival break out among us for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's bow our heads in prayer. O God, our loving Father, I pray for help to preach Christ. We thank Thee for Thy Word that speaks of Him, From Genesis to the Revelation, all about him. We thank thee for the Holy Spirit and his great ministry to glorify and to testify of Christ. We think of the example of the New Testament church. They preached Christ and all the grand effects that happened, the byproduct of preaching Christ. May all of these things provoke us and stimulate us to speak of Him. May we be like the Apostle Paul who said, I determined, I determined that there would be nothing else known among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We preach Christ crucified. We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. Help it to be so, Lord, we may not simply play lip service to this, but oh, that there might be much of Christ in all that we say to others, for we pray these prayers in Jesus' name.