Shepherding with Spurgeon

Weekly Newsletter for Pastors from SpurgeonBooks

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

Some imply that the hearing of sermons is not worshiping God, but that is a gross mistake, for to rightly listen to the gospel is one of the noblest parts of the adoration of the Most High. It is a mental exercise, when rightly performed, in which all the faculties of the spiritual man are called into devotional action. Reverently hearing the word exercises our humility, instructs our faith, irradiates us with joy, inflames us with love, inspires us with zeal, and lifts us up towards heaven.

Many a time a sermon has been a kind of Jacob’s ladder upon which we have seen the angels of God ascending and descending with the covenant God himself at the top. We have often felt when God has spoken through his servants into our souls, “This is none other than the house of God, and the very gate of heaven.” We have magnified the name of the Lord and praised him with all our heart while he has spoken to us by his Spirit which he has given unto men. Hence there is not the wide distinction to be drawn between preaching and prayer that some would have us admit; for the one part of the service softly blends into the other, and the sermon frequently inspires the prayer and the hymn.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION FROM SPURGEON

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe God’s power in our weakness.

It is well that it is in our heart today to do some little thing for the glory of God. As an old Puritan says, we give as tokens of love a cracked sixpence or a flower that soon fades. It is accepted as a token of love, not for its intrinsic value, but as an emblem of what our heart feels and would do if it could.

Even so it is with the Lord and the service his people seek to render to him. He takes our trifles and makes much of them.

RESOURCE FOR PASTORS

Thanks to CROSS CON for sponsoring Shepherding with Spurgeon this year. CROSS is a conference for 18–25 year-olds and their leaders.

Consider bringing a group from your church to Louisville next January to help them deepen their love for God and his Word. They will return home passionate about God, sound theology, and missions.

Learn more and register today.

ONE MORE REMINDER: PREACH JESUS THIS WEEKEND

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.” — Charles Spurgeon