John says:

'When i stand to welcome the people to worship in a sunday morning, i know there are William Cowpers in the congregation. There are spouses who can barely talk. There are sullen teenagers who live double lives at home and school. There are widows who still feel the amputation of a fifty year partner. There are single people who have not been hugged for twenty years. There are men in the prime of thier lives with cancer. There are mums who have carried two tiny caskets. There are soldiers of the cross who have risked all for Jesus and bare the scars. There are tired and discouraged and lonely strugglers. Shall i come at them with a joke?...What they need is a kind of joyful earnestness that makes the broken heart feel hopeful and helps the ones who are drunk with trifles sober up with greater joys'
- Tested By Fire, John Piper, P167