Oh, the remembrance of my great sins, of my great temptations, and of my great fears of perishing forever! They bring afresh into my mind the remembrance of my great help, my great support from Heaven, and the great grace that God extended to such a wretch as I. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
It is profitable for Christians to be often calling to mind the very beginnings of grace with their souls.Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (Authentic Original Classic) (Kindle Locations 71-72). Destiny Image. Kindle Edition.
Remembrance is an understanding of the reality of the past in such a way that the events of the past become a force in the present, producing some activity of will or of body or both.
It is possible to preach with exegetical accuracy but not reach the heart. Reminding may seem to be primarily a cognitive function of preaching, but it actually has just as much to do with emotion as cognition. This is because an act of reminding assumes that the listeners already know the content of an utterance, but their knowledge slumbers and must be aroused. It smolders and must be ignited.Preaching as Remembrance, 57
Like Moses and the prophets, Paul and the other New Testament letter writers regularly reminded their hearers of what they already knew and believed. The Epistles show what preaching to believers probably sounded like in the first century—not preaching for evangelism (Acts illustrates that), but preaching to the faith family within the walls of a house church. In such preaching we overhear the apostles stirring memory. Their Epistles show us that we are not forced to communicate something novel each week.Preaching as Remembrance, 53
We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief [in Christian doctrine] nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. . . . Do not most people simply drift away?Mere Christianity
We write our benefits in dust and our injuries in marble. . . . It ought not so to be. If our memories were more tenacious of the merciful visitations of our God our faith would often be strengthened in times of trial.
In the ancient world people sometimes collected and kept their tears in a small bottle as a memorial of their grief. God so identifies with his people that he puts our tears into his bottle and writes them in his book. When the Heavenly Father remembers, he answers prayer (Gen 30:22), blesses (Ps 115:12-13), saves us from our enemies (Num 10:9), protects (Gen 19:29), and rescues (Ps 136:23-24).Preaching as Reminding, 19
Ministers must learn to stir memory, not simply repeat threadbare platitudes. We must rouse that which is already present within the child of God: knowledge of our Father's love and majesty.Preaching as Reminding
one of the preacher's main callings is to make knowledge, values, and experience present once again. Ministers must serve as the Lord's remembrancers because things learned can be buried, lost, amputated, or corrupted.Preaching as Reminding, p6
without memory, we are lost souls. That is why the Bible is replete with statements, stories, sermons, and ceremonies designed to stir memory. Even nature—the rainbow after the flood—serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness (Gen 9:13-17).Preaching as Reminding (p. 3)