Shepherding with Spurgeon

Weekly Newsletter for Pastors from SpurgeonBooks

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

See to it then, beloved, that you never pray a prayer which is not sweetened with Christ. I would never preach a sermon—the Lord forgive me if I do—which is not full to overflowing with my Master. I know one who said I was always on the old string and he would come and hear me no more; but if I preached a sermon without Christ in it, he would come. Ah, he will never come while this tongue moves, for a sermon without Christ in it—a Christless sermon! A brook without water; a cloud without rain; a well which mocks the traveller; a tree twice dead, plucked up by the root; a sky without a sun; a night without a star. It is a realm of death—a place of mourning for angels and laughter for devils.

Oh Christian, we must have Christ! See to it that every day when you wake you give a fresh taste of Christ upon you by contemplating his person. Live all the day, trying as much as you can, to season your hearts with him, and then at night, lie down with him upon your tongue. It is said of Samuel Rutherford, that he often did fall asleep talking about Christ, and was often heard in his dreams, saying sweet things about his savior. There is nothing which can preserve us and keep us from sin, and make our works holy and pure, like this bundle of myrrh.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION FROM SPURGEON

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe our constant need for Jesus.

You have heard, perhaps, the story of a party of travelers who were crossing the desert. They had exhausted all their supply of water, and they did not know where they could find any. But, at last, after some days’ march, they came near a cloudy stream of the filthiest water. In dashed the camels and defiled it still worse. Yet the poor travelers, who had come across the arid desert, were so thirsty that they drank what was more earth than water and thought it sweeter than any wine they had ever tasted. But after they had satisfied their thirst, did they still think so? Did they then say the water was sweet? No; they understood then what it was they had been drinking. After their thirst was once quenched, you could not have compelled them to drink there again until the thirst returned in all its force.

As long as the Christian is here, he will always have the pangs of hunger. He will always have all the sufferings of spiritual thirst if Christ is removed from him, and, therefore, that longing will always make Christ sweet to him. Our Lord must always have the dew of his youth on him because we shall always have an appetite for him as long as we are here. Or if we lose it for a little while—for fools will abhor all manner of meat sometimes—still that appetite must and shall return, and we will again fly to those living waters as with the wings of a dove, and hasten again to those cooling streams with all the speed of the panting deer that longs after the water brook, for it must drink or die.

Therefore, you see that because we will always need Christ, therefore he will always be fresh to us

SHEPHERD YOUR HOME

Here’s a challenging thought for parents: Is God just a PART of your family’s life or the CENTER of your family’s life?

The secret to making God the CENTER of your family’s life is making him the center of every day by cultivating daily rhythms, routines, or habits that actually shape our homes around God and his Word.

Read the Bible to your kids every day.

This is a simple habit, but it will have a MASSIVE impact on your kids.

You're not going to live with your kids forever (their college dorm will probably be crowded enough without you). You have a unique opportunity NOW to cultivate rhythms and liturgies that they can bring with them when they leave.

It’s all about cultivating Bible Habits.

Family devotionals from God Centered Family seek to lay three foundations for lifelong faith in Jesus. And Bible Habits is one of those foundations.

Here's how we lay a foundation of Bible Habits:

• Daily Readings — Our devotionals give you readings for every day of the week. Every family can do the devotionals at their own pace, but we've set you up to cultivate a DAILY habit for a reason.

• Habit-Building Resources for Parents — Starting a new habit is ALWAYS hard (especially when kids are involved!), so we've put together some practical tools to help you like this interactive worksheet.

• Weekly Reminder Emails — Every Friday, we'll send you a short email packed with encouragement for discipling your kids. The first thing is a reason to read the Bible to your kids every day. This short 1–2 sentence encouragement is my way of telling you, "not grow weary of doing good" (Gal 6:9), because persevering can be hard.

• Scope and Sequence — We've laid out the books of the Bible in an intentional order to help your kids build on prior knowledge. This way, you're never left wondering what you should study next.

• Daily Guides — Even in a crazy week, you can keep the habit going, because we've already done all the planning for you.

Does it work? Yes!

90% of families report that they read the Bible more often since subscribing to God Centered Family.

DAILY family devotions might seem like a big ask for a family as busy as yours, but you CAN do it... and it IS worth it!

I’m here to help you make it happen (AND make it meaningful) — subscribe to God Centered Family right here.

ONE MORE REMINDER: PREACH JESUS THIS WEEKEND

“If I should preach to you the atonement of our Lord Jesus, and nothing else, my ministry would not be unprofitable.” — Charles Spurgeon