Shepherding with Spurgeon

Weekly Newsletter for Pastors from SpurgeonBooks

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

When individuals are drawn together by sacred affinity, and the prayer-meetings become very different. The brother who talked twenty minutes of what he called prayer and yet never asked for a single thing, gives up his oration and falls to pleading with many tears and broken sentences; while the friend who used to relate his experience and go through the doctrines of grace and call that a prayer, forgets that rigmarole and begins agonizing before the throne. And not only this, but little knots here and there come together in their cottages, and in their little rooms cry mightily to God. The result will be that the minister, even if he does not know of the feeling in the hearts of his people, will grow fervent himself. He will preach more evangelically, more tenderly, more earnestly. He will be no longer formal, or cold, or stereotyped, he will be all alive.

Meanwhile, not with the preacher only will be the blessing, but with his hearers who love the Lord. When you preach with life, you will see your church activated for God’s work: One will be trying a plan for getting in the young people; another will be looking after the strangers in the aisles who come only now and then. One brother will make a vehement attempt to preach the gospel at the corner of the street; another will open a room down a dark court; another will visit lodging houses and hospitals. All sorts of holy plans will be invented and zeal will break out in many directions. All this will be spontaneous, nothing will be forced.

If you want to get up a “revival,” as the term is, you can do it, just as you can grow tasteless strawberries in winter, by artificial heat. There are ways and means of doing that kind of thing, but the genuine work of God needs no such planning and scheming; it is altogether spontaneous. If you see a snow-drop next February in your garden, you will feel persuaded that spring is on the way; the artificial flower-maker could put as many snow-drops there as you please, but that would be no index of coming spring. So you may get up an apparent zeal which will be no proof of God’s blessing; but when fervor comes of itself, without human direction or control, then is it of the Lord. When men’s hearts heave and break, like the mould of the garden under the influence of the reviving life which lay buried there, then in very deed a benediction is on the way. Travail is no mockery, but a real agony of the whole nature. May such be seen in this our church, and throughout the whole Israel of God.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION FROM SPURGEON

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe our union with Christ.

He has given us his life. That is a wonderful partnership of which he says, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” He actually laid down his life for us: “Who loved me, and gave himself for me.” His very self, his life, he brought into the partnership; it was the biggest asset in the whole concern, the costliest thing that could be contributed to this wonderful joint-stock company—Christ & Co. We without Christ would be poor worthless things; but Christ is ours, and Christ is all, so we have all. Oh, what a wonderful partnership is this in which he gave us his life!

SHEPHERD YOUR HOME

I’ve been there — I can talk about Jesus all day with adults in the church and even on Washington DC where I pastor. But often, I have no idea how to disciple my own kids.

God Centered Family is all about leading your kids to become lifelong followers of Jesus—so they don’t just hear about Jesus, but truly know him.

And a lot of parents think that it’s too good to be true. Or at least think that it won’t work for their homes.

Here are the four most common reasons I hear from parents about why they “can’t” have family devotions (and why they’re all wrong) —

• 🏃🏻‍♀️ “My life is too busy.”
  I get it — every family is busy! That’s why our devotionals take just 10–15 minutes each day.
  

• 🤪 “My kids are too crazy.”
  Sitting through something you don’t understand IS boring. That’s why we want to teach our kids a better way to interact with the Bible. Even the squirmiest and craziest among us can learn how to listen, ask questions, and enjoy the Bible.
  We’ll give you practical resources to help your kids learn how to engage with the text of Scripture (not just sit through it).
  

• 📕 “Is this subscription worth it?”
  For just $6 each month, you’ll get everything you need to teach your kids the entire Bible. This is less than the cost of one latte—but instead of a temporary caffeine boost, it gives your kids a foundation for lifelong faith.
  

• 😰 “I don’t know the Bible well enough.”
  We’ll help you know exactly what to say with an easy-to-follow guide.

Your kids are closer to their 18th birthday NOW than they’ve ever been. Don’t let another day slip by. Start today and build a foundation that lasts forever. Subscribe to God Centered Family now.

ONE MORE REMINDER: PREACH JESUS THIS WEEKEND

“The preaching of Christ is the whip that flogs the devil.” — Charles Spurgeon