Shepherding with Spurgeon

Weekly Newsletter for Pastors from SpurgeonBooks

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

The preacher who neglects to pray much must be very careless about his ministry. He cannot have comprehended his calling. He cannot have computed the value of a soul, or estimated the meaning of eternity. He must be a mere official, tempted into a pulpit because the piece of bread which belongs to the priest’s office is very necessary to him, or a detestable hypocrite who loves the praise of men, and cares not for the praise of God.He will surely become a mere superficial talker, best approved where grace is least valued and a vain show most admired. He cannot be one of those who plough deep and reap abundant harvests. He is a mere loiterer, not a laborer. As a preacher he has a name to live and is dead. He limps in his life like the lame man in the Proverbs, whose legs were not equal, for his praying is shorter than his preaching.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION FROM SPURGEON

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the effective call of salvation.

When our brave King Richard was shut up in prison, far away in Germany, you know how he was found out by Blondel, a troubadour? The king and the minstrel had composed a song between them. First the minstrel sang one verse, and then the king sang one, and no other man in the whole world ever knew what the verses were except the king and the minstrel.

So the minstrel wandered through many realms and sang the first verse of his song. He sang it at all kinds of castle gates and dungeon doors, but there came no response, for the king was not inside. But at last, as providence would have it, he sang it in the right place, and faintly from inside he heard from the deep dungeon the voice that knew, and could sing, the second verse. And as he sang the third, and the fourth came through the iron bars, he knew that the king was there, for the verses could have been sung by none other than he.

I am sometimes occupied in preaching the gospel, and I preach it to thousands who give no response. There is no evidence of the Lord’s having chosen them. But another time there is a heart that says, “Your face, O Lord, I do seek.” Then I have found out the Lord’s chosen ones, found out the hidden ones, discovered as many as were ordained to eternal life. For their believing is the response to God’s gospel, and the evidence of their being the favorites of heaven.They, and they alone, believe in this way. As for those who do not believe, they perish in their sins. “But as many as received him—to those who believe in his name—he gave to them authority to become children of God” (John 1:12).

RESOURCE FOR PASTORS

An overlooked area of discipleship in our churches?*

Scripture explicitly commands us to pray for the persecuted (e.g., Hebrews 13:3). Do the people in your church regularly do so? What are YOU doing to help your flock grow in obedience to this command?

Here’s the thing — while our churches NEED to care about those who are persecuted for Christ today, I don’t want to just put another thing on your to-do list or church calendar. And that’s why, this year I’m partnering with The Voice of the Martyrs to give you some really great (and FREE) resources to help you and your church become more aware and active in caring for our persecuted brothers and sisters.

When you sign up for the VOM Church Leader Network, you’ll get instant access to a huge collection of digital and physical resources for you (free books, anyone?) and your church (including small group video studies, prayer guides, videos to share or watch together, and more).

The Church Leader Network is 100% free to join — sign up today.

ONE MORE REMINDER: PREACH JESUS THIS WEEKEND

“To preach Christ without his cross is to betray him with a kiss.” — Charles Spurgeon