Preaching: The Chief Means of Grace

Why do we as Reformed Christians refer to the preaching of the gospel as the “chief means of grace”? Is this a phrase that we use simply because this is the way that our spiritual fathers talked? Do we hold the preaching up as the chief means of grace as a trick so that parents might convince their children of the importance of going to church? The answer to these questions is a hearty NO! Instead, we Reformed Christians exalt the preaching of the gospel as the chief means of grace because...