“A preacher cannot bear witness to Christ and to himself at the same time. He must aim to unveil Christ and conceal himself'” (David Murray, How Sermons Work, 154).

“A fool can preach like a genius, but it takes a genius to preach simply. And by genius, I don’t mean that some people have an innate ability to make the profound simple. Genius is usually the end-result of extremely hard work” (David Murray, How Sermons Work, 146).

“However, in many circles, especially perhaps in some Reformed churches, we may be in danger of over-complicating sermons. By over-complicating sermons I mean… Too much logic, not enough likes: Just read the Gospels and ask yourself if you are like picture-painting Jesus or philosophical Plato. Yes, we need logic. But we also need ‘likes’ (e.g. the kingdom of heaven is like…) and stories (e.g. there was a rich man…)” (David Murray, How Sermons Work, 145).

“Very few people will complain if a sermon is shorter than expected” (David Murray, How Sermons Work, 141).

“And so I close this chapter with an appeal for more Christ-centered application. In a sense, this is the most important point in this chapter because only Christ-centered application will deliver us from mere moralizing and latent legalism” (David Murray, How Sermons Work, 117).

“It is not enough just to draw a general principle out of a passage (‘you should be holy’). The general principle must be pointed to specific, concrete, everyday situations by asking ‘How? Where? When?'”  (David Murray, How Sermons Work, 115).

“While focused on that particular preaching passage, preachers must also ensure that their application is consistent with the rest of Scripture” (David Murray, How Sermons Work, 110).

“The faithful preacher bases his application not on anecdotes or inspiring stories, but on God’s Word, and on that particular preaching passage” (David Murray, How Sermons Work, 109).

“‘Application is the … process by which preachers make scriptural truths so pertinent to members of their congregations that they not only understand how these truths should effect changes in their lives but also feel obligated and perhaps even eager to implement those changes'” (David Murray quoting Jay Adams in How Sermons Work, 107).

“Sermon material should be organized throughout with a spiritual intent — with the aim of doing spiritual good” (David Murray, How Sermons Work, 92).