THE PREACHER'S STUDY
unspoken criticisms with which the atmosphere seemed sultry. At all events, reflecting subsequently on the comparative failure of that sermon, he resolved that never again would he lengthen out his prologue so discursively, nor travel to his goal by so roundabout a road. Between Athens and Corinth, the decision was reached. He would indeed meet his hearers on their own ground, but he would take them straight from there to Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. Well for us if we have learnt the same lesson, and made the same vow in our own souls! If you have a propensity towards long and involved introductions, check it ruthlessly. A few vivid sentences can be so much stronger and more telling than the most elaborate historical or theological approach. "Gentlemen," said Spurgeon to his students, "don't go creeping into your subject, as some swimmers go into the water, first to the ankles, and then to the knees, and then to the waist and shoulders: plunge into it at once over head and ears!"
Before passing from this matter, let me add that perhaps the ideal sermon introduction is that which consists in a judicious combination of the two main methods outlined above. One example must suffice. Take the striking incident of Paul's encounter at Ephesus with the group of disciples who had never "so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." A sermon on this text might begin from the Biblical passage itself. You might portray Paul puzzling over the lack of vitality and the sense of strain in the religious life of those Ephesian converts, until the root of the
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