by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
Paul, the apostle, often portrayed himself as weak, ineffective, and even fearful. Sometimes, he felt that his words didn’t impress anyone.<\/p>\n
I can relate.<\/p>\n
Every preacher has dreamed of doing great things for God with his oratory skills.<\/p>\n
Some have.<\/p>\n
Others simply preach the old, unchanging message consistently, despite their perceived lack of persuasive rhetoric. And they wonder if it does any good.<\/p>\n
Take a lesson from Paul. Though he wondered about the effect of his presence and preaching, there was obviously power in it. Witness the scores of changed lives. But the power wasn’t in Paul’s ability; it was in the words, the message itself. In that message, the power of God works to soften, penetrate, and change the human heart when nothing else has been able to pierce it before.<\/p>\n
Now, that’s power; power from God.<\/p>\n
“I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God<\/em>” (I Corinthians 2:3-5).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores Paul, the apostle, often portrayed himself as weak, ineffective, and even fearful. Sometimes, he felt that his words didn’t impress anyone. I can relate. Every preacher has dreamed of doing great things for God with his oratory skills. Some have. Others simply preach the old, unchanging message consistently, despite their perceived lack…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[536],"class_list":["post-88166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63489,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-power-of-god-in-i-corinthians-24-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":88166,"position":0},"title":"What is the power of God in I Corinthians 2:4-5?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In I Corinthians 1:17 \"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel - not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power\" and I Corinthians 2:4-5 \"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54014,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preaching-and-performance\/","url_meta":{"origin":88166,"position":1},"title":"Preaching and Performance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer There is a difference between preaching and performance. This is not to say good preaching does not involve solid delivery or shouldn't use any aids. It is to say there is a difference in focus, and the preacher does well to understand this. Performance aims at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83854,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-power-of-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":88166,"position":2},"title":"The Power of Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.\u2026And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87744,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preaching-the-word-to-a-world-that-doesnt-listen\/","url_meta":{"origin":88166,"position":3},"title":"Preaching the Word to a World That Doesn’t Listen","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author Unknown It seems to me that the theme of June in society is centered around the symbol of the promise that God made to mankind in a word, never to flood the earth again. Obviously, the rainbow is being misused and mistreated among those of various parties, but the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63289,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preaching-the-crucified-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":88166,"position":4},"title":"Preaching the Crucified Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 13, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Corinthians 1:17-31 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What does it mean to \u201cpreach Christ crucified\u201d? - I Corinthians 1:23 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The message of the cross is the power of God - I Corinthians 1:18 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The message of the cross is God\u2019s means of salvation - I Corinthians 1:21 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Therefore,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-gospel-paul-preached\/","url_meta":{"origin":88166,"position":5},"title":"The Gospel Paul Preached","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sean P. Cavender The book of Romans is Paul's defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Throughout the epistle, Paul details man's sin, man's need for justification, the conditions for justification, the effects of God's grace, and the assurances of the child of God. 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