Preaching as Expository Exultation

As I'm getting ready to preach in August, I am often meditating on the Scriptures I'll be preaching, and on the responsibility of preaching itself. I received hearty encouragement from John Piper's Preaching as Expository Exultation in the Glory of God in which he says:

What gives preaching its seriousness is that the mantle of the preacher is soaked with the blood of Jesus and singed with fire of hell.

What you believe about the necessity of preaching and the nature of preaching is governed by your sense of the greatness and the glory of God and how you believe people awaken to that glory and live for that glory.

That's why I believe meditation is so crucial in preparation.