Means Of What......What Are You Talking About Here?

               This is something that.....'is in the books'....to use that terminology....the Westminster Shorter Catechism for one. It is not a topic that is anywhere near talked about....but more of a question on a test....what are the means of grace....better put to most of us....what are these things they call....the means of grace?
               Well....put very very plainly.....they are....things.....instruments if you will....that God instituted to bring people to Christ.....but more what I'm trying to address here....to help strengthen people that are already in Christ....and to give much needed discernment. This through the work of the Holy Spirit.
               To the reader here no matter who they might be....if there is something to strengthen us....then it would behoove us to utilize that....'means of grace'.....would it not? Logically speaking....if a Christian listened to one sermon a week it should provide X  amount of strengthening.....and if a person listening to two sermons a week it should be 2X.....and so on. Does not this....although an imperfect axiom....make some kind of sense?
               Reading God's Word is....according to the theologians....a 'means of grace'....and so is the....preaching....of the Word of God. It gets more interesting as the Westminster Catechism says this...."The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching, of the word...." That word....'especially'....is the basis for this post.
               I need to use here John Piper's wonderful ministry....Desiring God....in an attempt to make a point. It may be hard to follow but please stay with me as I will make it very short.
               Previous to a month ago desiringgod.org included a Sermon Of The Day on their website. I utilized that for a few years....listening to one of Piper's sermons at least once a day....(I have to mention that some of them were actually conference talks)....along with sermons from many other preachers....primarily Charles Spurgeon. So the average would be between one and two sermons listened to every day....for a quite a few years. 
               It has to be said here that a sermon....any sermon....has to have the power of the Holy Spirit behind it. In today's church one could listen to 52 sermons a year and have experienced no means of grace at all.
               So John Piper's ministry no longer has its Sermon Of The Day. For whatever reason or reasons they now give exactly what R. C. Sproul's and John MacArthur's ministry for decades has given in their radio and Internet ministry....a condensed teaching. It may be from a sermon....if fact they still call it sermons....but it is no longer a sermon. My contention is that although the teaching surely will be wonderful....and a blessing in what teachings give....the means of grace....are no longer present as such....as to the preached Word of God.
               Now you do not agree with me....and possibly are having trouble even following what I'm trying to point out....but I would ask you to take the time and do an experiment. Right now you may think that the sermons that you listen to in church every Sunday are good....but you have nothing to compare this with. If you join this experiment and listen to the preaching from men of the past....such as Charles Spurgeon and J. C. Ryle and Martyn Lloyd-Jones and so many others.....their sermons easily Googled....and also listen to men today who preach like men of the past....such as John Piper and Michael Horton to mention only two of many....if you do this over even a short time....I am confident that you will see the difference in a preacher just taking the pulpit....and a man whose God's hand is upon....taking that pulpit....(in this case via a radio or Internet medium)....and preaching God's Word with the power of the Holy Spirit.
               This would be a good experiment for college students to be a part of in their upcoming summer away from the rigors of college life. If you do this you may come back to school in the fall....should the Lord even tarry....with a different perspective on the church today!  Also....I have tried to pass this opinion on to John Piper's ministry via email....a ministry that when it is centered around the preached Word of God may be the most powerful ministry today....but the ministry is so big that I don't even know if anyone reads the email. If you might agree with my thoughts....or even adamantly disagree and want to get me scolded....would you consider trying to contact Desiring God?
                We have many good teachers in the church today....if one knows where to look for them....and John Piper is a wonderful teacher.....but the extraordinary gift that God has given him.....more than anyone else that I have found today....is in preaching....whether it be in the pulpit or a conference hall!