Shepherding with Spurgeon

Weekly Newsletter for Pastors from SpurgeonBooks

Reminder: My new book, Sex and Self-Forgetfulness, launches THIS MONDAY. If you want to help couples in your church have more open, honest, and biblical conversations about sex — this resource will help. Pre-order your copy here.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

We must preach Christ only. With Paul, every true minister should be able to say to his hearers, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). The preacher must never mix up anything else with the gospel. Every time he preaches, he must still have the same old theme, “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Christ is the Alpha of the gospel and he is the Omega too; the first letter of the gospel alphabet, the last letter, and all the letters in between. It must be Christ, Christ, Christ from beginning to end. There must be no work-mongering or anything else mixed up with Christ. There must be no daubing with untested mortar in our building upon Christ, the one foundation, that is laid once for all.

The preacher must also mind that he preaches Christ very simply. He must break up his big words and long sentences and pray against the temptation to use them. It is usually the short, dagger-like sentence that does the work best. A true servant of Christ must never try to let people see how well he can preach; he must never go out of his way to drag a pretty piece of poetry into his sermon, nor to introduce some fine quotations from the classics. He must employ a simple, homely style, or such a style as God has given him; and he must preach Christ so plainly that his hearers can not only understand him but that they cannot misunderstand him even if they try to do so.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION FROM SPURGEON

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

Suppose someone were to tell my children that the continuance of my love to them will depend entirely on their good behavior. My children would repel the suggestion with indignation. They would answer, “We know better; you speak falsely. Our father will always love us.”

Even so the Lord’s children know that their Father’s love is immutable. For our transgressions, our heavenly Father will visit us with the rod, but never with the sword

RESOURCE FOR PASTORS

Learning Joy from the Persecuted*

We don’t usually think of our suffering as a gift, but it really is a treasure to suffer for the name of Jesus. And Christians around the world facing real persecution and daily threats of violence think the same thing.

Last year, I read a book sharing the stories of dozens of persecuted Christians, When Faith is Forbidden. I was thankful for this sobering look at the reality of persecution around the world today, but I was really surprised to read the actual words of persecuted Christians. In almost every one of these testimonies, they were clearly thankful for the ways God was at work even in their suffering.

A few examples:

• A woman thankful for the “wonderful time” of ministry she had while in prison.

• A widow moved to tears of joy by the fellowship she found after her husband was martyred.

• A former addict finding real joy in Jesus (even though it was costing him everything)

• A formerly-respected Muslim man who can’t stop grinning about the joy Jesus brings.

I started reading this book expecting to be convicted about the ways I needed to support the persecuted, but ended up being so helped and encouraged by their faith. I was the one being served!

If you join The Voice of the Martyrs’ free Church Leader Network, you can request a free copy of When Faith is Forbidden. This is a powerful resource — the strong faith of persecuted Christians (made stronger in the furnace of affliction) will strengthen your faith.

Join the Church Leader Network and request your copy today.

ONE MORE REMINDER: PREACH JESUS THIS WEEKEND

“Let this be to you the mark of true gospel preaching: where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing.” — Charles Spurgeon