He that does not know how wisely to meddle with public affairs in preaching the gospel, does not know how to preach the gospel. Henry Ward Beecher
He that negotiates between God and man, as God's ambassador, the grand concerns of judgment and of mercy, should beware of lightness in his speech. William Cowper
I don’t practice what I preach because I’m not the kind of person I preach to. J Dobs
The first rule of public speaking. First, tell them what you're going to tell them; then tell them; then tell them what you've told them. Joyce Kramer
Preaching has become a by-word for a long and dull conversation of any kind, and whoever wishes to imply, in any piece of writing, the absence of everything agreeable and inviting, calls it a sermon. Sydney Smith
Christ beats his drum, but he does not press men; Christ is served with voluntaries. John Donne
Practice yourself what you preach. Titus Plautus
I preached as never sure to preach again and as a dying man to dying men. Richard Baxter
Spiritual leadership should remain spiritual leadership and the temporal power should not become too important in any church. Eleanor Roosevelt
The perfection preached in the gospels never yet built an empire. Every man of action has a strong dose of egotism, pride, hardness, and cunning. Charles DE Gaulle
A woman’s preaching is like a dog walking on his hind legs. It is not done well, but you are surprised to find it done at all. Samuel Johnson
It is curious that Christianity, which is idealism, is sturdily defended by the brokers, and steadily attacked by the idealists. Emerson
A good sermon does not share tenderness, love, joy, or security; it only talks about them and the fear of not finding them; unless! Brendon Pullman
There are many preachers who don’t hear themselves. Proverb
We shall be judged more by what we do at home than what we preach abroad. John F. Kennedy
The preacher’s garment is cut according to the pattern of that of the hearers, for the most part. Oliver Wendell Holmes
It is a good divine that follows his own instructions; I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching. Shakespeare
The sermon which I write inquisitive of truth is good a year after, but that which is written because a sermon must be written is musty the next day. Emerson
Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and speech only to conceal their thoughts. Voltaire
Humility is a virtue all preach, non-practice, and yet everybody is content to hear. John Shelden
No preacher is listened to but time, which gives us the same train and turn of thought that elder people have in vain tried to put into our heads before. Jonathan Swift
Fit for the mountains and the barbarous caves, where manners ne'er were preached. Shakespeare
Among provocative, the next best thing to good preaching is bad preaching. Emerson
It is easy for a man in health to preach patience to the sick. Thomas Fuller
No one is without Christianity, if we agree on what we mean by the word. It is every individual’s individual code of behavior by means of which he makes himself a better human being than his nature wants to be, if he followed his nature only. William Faulkner
Sermons remain one of the last forms of public discourse where it is culturally forbidden to talk back. Harvey Cox
He that has but one word of God before him, and out of that word cannot make a sermon, can never be a preacher. Martin Luther
God gave man two ears and one tongue so that we listen twice as much as we speak. Proverb
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C S Lewis
The preaching of divines helps to preserve well-inclined men in the course of virtue, but seldom or ever reclaims the vicious. Jonathan Swift
When I am angry I can write, pray, and preach well, for then my whole temperament is quickened, my understanding sharpened, and all mundane vexations and temptations depart. Martin Luther King
Always carry with you into the pulpit a sense of the immense consequences which may depend on your full and faithful presentation of the truth. Richard Storrs
Go into one of our cool churches, and begin to count the words that might be spared, and in most places the entire sermon will go. Emerson
In good speaking, should not the mind of the speaker know the truth of the matter about which he is to speak. Plato
What do our clergy lose by reading their sermons? They lose preaching, the preaching of the voice in many cases, the preaching of the eye almost always. Julius Charles Hare and Augustus William Hare
Finally: Three little ditties
Mine is a way that is little trod,
I am bound by no sect or creed;
I say my prayers to Nature’s God
In the field where the lapwings breed.
I hear the wind preach, and its Psalms are sung
In praise of the infinite free;
And ne’er a sermon from human tongue
Is half so divine unto me.
Ammon Wrigley
For the preacher's merit or demerit,
It were to be wished that the flaws were fewer
In the earthen vessel, holding treasure,
But the main thing is, does it hold good measure?
Heaven soon sets right all other matters!
Robert Browning
Oh Preacher, my Preacher, does God really care?
Are all races equal? Are laws just and fair?
“Boy; here’s the answer, no need to despair:
Shine those new shoes and cut short that hair.”
Oh don’t the days seem lank and long
When all goes right and none goes wrong,
And isn’t your life extremely flat
With nothing whatever to grumble at!
Unknown
.jpg "Old boys chatting") |
| Old boys chatting |
It is a secret known but to few, yet of no small use in the conduct of life, that when you fall into a man’s conversation, the first thing you should consider is, whether he has a greater inclination to hear you, or that you should hear him. Richard Steele
A gossip is one who talks to you about others, a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself. Lisa Kirk
Conversation is a fair for the display of the minor mental commodities, each exhibitor being too intent upon the arrangement of his own wares to observe those of his neighbor. Ambrose Bierce
Argument is the worst sort of conversation. Jonathan Swift
Reading makes a full man, meditation a profound man, discourse a clear man. Benjamin Franklin
Never speak of yourself to others; make them talk about themselves instead; therein lies the whole art of pleasing. Everyone knows it and everyone forgets it. Edmond and Jules De Concourt
The art of conversation, or the qualification for a good companion, is a certain self-control, which now holds the subject, now lets it go, with a respect for the emergencies of the moment. Emerson
No animal should ever jump on the dining room furniture unless absolutely certain he can hold his own in conversation. Fran Lebowitz
At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his thumb with a hammer. Marshall Lumsden
I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. Syrus
It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never to use either. Mark Twain
The success of conversation consists less in being witty than is bringing out wit in others; the man who leaves after talking with you, pleased with himself and his own wit, is perfectly pleased with you. LA Bruyere
It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. Mark Twain
Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and speech only to conceal their thoughts. Voltaire
When all other means of communication fail, try words. Denis Clifford
Political speeches are like steer horns; a point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between. Harvey Kurtzman
To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation. LA Rochefoucauld
The more time and energy you put into preparing a meal the greater the chance you guests will spend the entire meal discussing other meals they have had. Murphy’s Law
We do not talk; we bludgeon one another with facts and theories gleaned from cursory readings of, newspaper, magazines, and digests. Henry Miller
In conversation discretion is more important than eloquence. Baltasar Gracian
Any child who chatters non-stop at home will adamantly refuse to utter a word when requested to demonstrate for an audience. Murphy’s Law
The more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm of conversation. John Yates
Anything is possible if you don’t know what you’re talking about. Francis Wilkins
While a transcendent vocabulary is laudable, one must be eternally careful so that the calculated objective of communication does not become ensconced in obscurity. In other words, eschew obfuscation. Benny Tillman
The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard. William Hazlitt
How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state. Plato
That woman speaks eight languages and can’t say “no” in any of them. Dorothy Parker
The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it. George Bernard Shaw
Mathematics is the only science where one never knows what one is talking about nor whether what is said is true. Bertrand Russell
It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of thought. Agnes Repplier
One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody’s listening. Franklin P Jones
A free conversation will no more bear a dictator than a free government will. Lord Chesterfield
Talking about music is like dancing about architecture. Thomas Henry
The inevitable result of improved and enlarged communications between different levels in a hierarchy is a vastly increased area of misunderstanding. Thomas Martin
The intelligence of any discussion diminishes with the square of the number of participants. Adam Walinsky
Whoever interrupts the conversation of others to make a display of his fund of knowledge, makes notorious his own stock of ignorance. Sadi
Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself. Friedrich Nietzsche
Private, accidental, confidential conversation breeds thought. Clubs produce oftener words. Emerson
Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to? Clarence Darrow
God gave man two ears and one tongue so that we listen twice as much as we speak. Beatrice Logan
The opposite of talking isn’t listening. The opposite of talking is waiting. Fran Lebowitz
Conceit causes more conversation than wit. La Rochefoucauld
I often quote myself; it adds spice to my conversation. George Bernard Shaw
There’s no sense in being precise when you don’t even know what you’re talking about. John Von Neumann
Talk ought always to run obliquely, not nose to nose with no chance of mental escape. Frank Moore Colby
The only proper intoxication is conversation. Oscar Wilde
We seldom repent talking too little, but very often talking too much. Jean De la Bruyere
