Dr. John Stott died earlier today at the age of 90. His preaching, teaching and writing ministry was hugely influential. He has left us a lasting legacy.

Warren Wiersbe is reported to have said, “if John Stott wrote a grocery list, I would buy it.” That is something of the measure of Stott’s gifting. He wrote more than 50 books, three of which have had a great impact on me: “Basic Christianity” which he wrote at the age of 37 and which has sold over 2.5 million copies, “the Cross of Christ,” about which J. I. Packer says, “No other treatment of this supreme subject says so much, so truly and so well” and his remarkable book on preaching, “Between Two Worlds.”

Regarding preaching, here is one of his quotes, ““It requires much study, as we shall see later, not only of God’s Word but of man’s nature and of the world in which he lives. The expository preacher is a bridge builder, seeking to span the gulf between the Word of God and the mind of man. He must do his utmost to interpret the Scripture so accurately and plainly, and to apply it so forcefully, that the truth crosses the bridge” (The Preacher’s Portrait, 28).

Its fair to say that I do lament Stott’s view on eternal punishment, yet today, I pause to say “thank you, Lord, for the life and legacy of John R. W. Stott – man of God and bridge builder.”