--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Preaching will foster true contact by…" description: "\"“Preaching will foster true contact by helping people to discern the varying capacities of all things that vie for their attention. The apostle John pu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/zack-eswine-28040_discern_preaching-will-foster-true-contact-by-he_3132570.jpg" --- # Preaching will foster true contact by helping people to… ![“Preaching will foster true contact by helping people to discern the varying capacities of all things that vie for their attention. The apostle John puts it this way: We want to “know him who is true” so as to keep ourselves from idols (1 John 5:20).” quote by Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/zack-eswine-28040_discern_preaching-will-foster-true-contact-by-he_3132570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/zack-eswine-28040_discern_preaching-will-foster-true-contact-by-he_3132570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb8/zack-eswine-28040_discern_preaching-will-foster-true-contact-by-he_3132570.jpg) > ““Preaching will foster true contact by helping people to discern the varying capacities of all things that vie for their attention. The apostle John puts it this way: We want to “know him who is true” so as to keep ourselves from idols (1 John 5:20).”” [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True spiritual connection requires discernment of distractions and staying focused on authentic truth. **In simple terms:** Seek truth, avoid idols. Key Takeaway Practice discernment in daily life. Themes spirituality focus truth Mood contemplative inspirational Type religious philosophical When to use this quote - prayer - media consumption - decision making Key Concepts idolatry attention discernment faith Questions to Reflect On - What idols dominate your attention? - How can you cultivate deeper focus? A Different Perspective Modern distractions make discernment harder. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention Apostle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-apostle-5546614/) [Discern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discern/) [Helping people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping-people/) [Preaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preaching/) [Preaching Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preaching-foster-5546613/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [True Contact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-contact-3458323/) ## Related quotes > [“To make true contact is to touch the real thing, to treasure the flower more than the picture of the flower, the person more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/to-make-true-contact-is-to-touch-the-real-thing-to-treasure-the/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [True contact between beings is established only by mute presence, by apparent non-communication, by that mysterious and wordless exchange which resembles inward prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/true-contact-between-beings-is-established-only-by-mute-presence-by/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [I need an army. I need people out there who are either preaching with me to different audiences that I can't get to or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/i-need-an-army-i-need-people-out-there-who-are-either-preaching-with/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [“Biblical preaching must address three important questions: (1) What kinds of people in our community do we exclude from sitting with us and hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/biblical-preaching-must-address-three-important-questions-1-what/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“. . . I would learn to discern and distinguish the difference between presumption and confession, between those who see what the goal is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/i-would-learn-to-discern-and-distinguish-the-difference-between/) [Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/) > [Jealousy is the evidence that you havent discerned yet your own assignment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/jealousy-is-the-evidence-that-you-havent-discerned-yet-your-own/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [In conclusion we may say, in view of the confirmation that our study has given of the parallelism between individual and racial thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-conclusion-we-may-say-in-view-of-the-confirmation-that-our-study/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pay attention to the people God puts in your path if you want to discern what God is up to in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/pay-attention-to-the-people-god-puts-in-your-path-if-you-want-to/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [Exactly who does use the safe-haven laws is difficult to discern. Most states make no effort to study the cases or compile any data,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wil-s-hylton/exactly-who-does-use-the-safe-haven-laws-is-difficult-to-discern-most/) [Wil S. Hylton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wil-s-hylton/) > [“And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once aenlightened by the bSpirit of God, and have had great cknowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints/and-thus-we-can-plainly-discern-that-after-a-people-have-been-once/) [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints/) > [I go to my past in order to discern the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-doherty/i-go-to-my-past-in-order-to-discern-the-future/) [Catherine Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-doherty/) > [“I infallibly discern a flaw in all those who are interested in the same things as myself. . . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/i-infallibly-discern-a-flaw-in-all-those-who-are-interested-in-the/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [We need to discern what it is that requires reflection in our lives and in what we read and how we read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/we-need-to-discern-what-it-is-that-requires-reflection-in-our-lives/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Every election matters. Anyone that tells you otherwise doesn't understand politics. That said, not every election sends sweeping messages that are easy to discern,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-todd/every-election-matters-anyone-that-tells-you-otherwise-doesn-t/) [Chuck Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-todd/) > [“You can easily discern whether someone is truly interested to learn & know when s/he asks you or cornering and ambushing you to stumble...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assegid-habtewold/you-can-easily-discern-whether-someone-is-truly-interested-to-learn/) [Assegid Habtewold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assegid-habtewold/) ## More by Zack Eswine > [“A basic guide for application offers this equation: The intention of the text The human condition of the text The human situation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/a-basic-guide-for-application-offers-this-equation-the-intention-of/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“we want to expand Chapell’s FCF to more explicitly account for the global contexts. This means that we must fit the FCF for unchurched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/we-want-to-expand-chapell-s-fcf-to-more-explicitly-account-for-the/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“you were never meant to repent because you don’t know it all. You are meant to repent because you’ve tried.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/you-were-never-meant-to-repent-because-you-don-t-know-it-all-you-are/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“A pastor impatiently demands his children to know, believe, and do what it took him twenty-five or forty-five years with Jesus to know, believe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/a-pastor-impatiently-demands-his-children-to-know-believe-and-do-what/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“Biblical preaching must address three important questions: (1) What kinds of people in our community do we exclude from sitting with us and hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/biblical-preaching-must-address-three-important-questions-1-what/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“To make true contact is to touch the real thing, to treasure the flower more than the picture of the flower, the person more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/to-make-true-contact-is-to-touch-the-real-thing-to-treasure-the/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“Often the cynic is wise toward reality but a simpleton toward redemption. The cynic offers thick and nuanced description of the swamps and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/often-the-cynic-is-wise-toward-reality-but-a-simpleton-toward/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“Moralism explains why preachers are sometimes frustrated. We preach a message; we tell people to be good; we explain how to be good. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/moralism-explains-why-preachers-are-sometimes-frustrated-we-preach-a/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“grace leads us to reflect Christ’s holiness, but grace also motivates and enables us to reflect his mercy for the poor, his care for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/grace-leads-us-to-reflect-christ-s-holiness-but-grace-also-motivates/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“Therefore, those of you searching for something larger, faster, and more significant, who feel that if you could just be somewhere else doing something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/therefore-those-of-you-searching-for-something-larger-faster-and-more/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“Apprenticeship assumes that knowing a trade not only comes by numbers and outlines but also by watching and inhabiting. Knowing is found in these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/apprenticeship-assumes-that-knowing-a-trade-not-only-comes-by-numbers/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“Preaching reality and redemption will confront us with our own story. My original question returns: Could I now reach who I once was? This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/preaching-reality-and-redemption-will-confront-us-with-our-own-story/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“We learn a wisdom kind of outreach, an evangelism or testimony as those who are human beings wrestling with it all. It is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/we-learn-a-wisdom-kind-of-outreach-an-evangelism-or-testimony-as/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“But what if differences are made by remembering where we’d be without God and then ministering to others out of that knowledge? What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/but-what-if-differences-are-made-by-remembering-where-we-d-be-without/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) > [“When preachers seek to identify the under-the-sun features of a biblical text, they are looking for the Context of Reality (COR). By the Context…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-eswine/when-preachers-seek-to-identify-the-under-the-sun-features-of-a/) [Zack Eswine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) [Explore all 20 Zack Eswine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-eswine/) ## More Discern quotes > [“You can easily discern whether someone is truly interested to learn & know when s/he asks you or cornering and ambushing you to stumble...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assegid-habtewold/you-can-easily-discern-whether-someone-is-truly-interested-to-learn/) [Assegid Habtewold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assegid-habtewold/) > [“. . . I would learn to discern and distinguish the difference between presumption and confession, between those who see what the goal is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/i-would-learn-to-discern-and-distinguish-the-difference-between/) [Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/) > [Every election matters. Anyone that tells you otherwise doesn't understand politics. That said, not every election sends sweeping messages that are easy to discern,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-todd/every-election-matters-anyone-that-tells-you-otherwise-doesn-t/) [Chuck Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-todd/) > [We need to discern what it is that requires reflection in our lives and in what we read and how we read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/we-need-to-discern-what-it-is-that-requires-reflection-in-our-lives/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [“I infallibly discern a flaw in all those who are interested in the same things as myself. . . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/i-infallibly-discern-a-flaw-in-all-those-who-are-interested-in-the/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [I go to my past in order to discern the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-doherty/i-go-to-my-past-in-order-to-discern-the-future/) [Catherine Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-doherty/) > [“And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once aenlightened by the bSpirit of God, and have had great cknowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints/and-thus-we-can-plainly-discern-that-after-a-people-have-been-once/) [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints/) > [Exactly who does use the safe-haven laws is difficult to discern. Most states make no effort to study the cases or compile any data,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wil-s-hylton/exactly-who-does-use-the-safe-haven-laws-is-difficult-to-discern-most/) [Wil S. Hylton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wil-s-hylton/) > [Pay attention to the people God puts in your path if you want to discern what God is up to in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/pay-attention-to-the-people-god-puts-in-your-path-if-you-want-to/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [In conclusion we may say, in view of the confirmation that our study has given of the parallelism between individual and racial thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-conclusion-we-may-say-in-view-of-the-confirmation-that-our-study/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jealousy is the evidence that you havent discerned yet your own assignment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/jealousy-is-the-evidence-that-you-havent-discerned-yet-your-own/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Sure, theories of humor discern a few broad invariants: incongruity, misattribution, etc. But whereas I might find a blind date gone horribly wrong to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/sure-theories-of-humor-discern-a-few-broad-invariants-incongruity/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [“Comedy too can sometimes discern what is right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/comedy-too-can-sometimes-discern-what-is-right/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [We lie in the lap of immense intelligence, which makes us receivers of its truth and organ of its activity. When we discern justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-lie-in-the-lap-of-immense-intelligence-which-makes-us-receivers-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Sometimes the routes leading to feelings of anger are so convoluted and circuitous that it takes enormous skill to discern their original source, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-isaac-rubin/sometimes-the-routes-leading-to-feelings-of-anger-are-so-convoluted/) [Theodore Isaac Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-isaac-rubin/) [Browse all 62 Discern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discern/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Preaching will foster true contact by helping people to discern the varying capacities of all things that vie for their attention. 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