Shepherding with Spurgeon

Weekly Newsletter for Pastors from SpurgeonBooks

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

It is not true that some doctrines are only for the initiated; there is nothing in the Bible which is ashamed of the light. The sublimest views of divine sovereignty have a practical bearing, and are not, as some think, mere metaphysical subtleties; the distinctive utterances of Calvinism have their bearing upon everyday life and ordinary experience, and if you hold such views, or the opposite, you have no permission to conceal your beliefs. Cautious reticence is, in nine cases out of ten, cowardly betrayal. The best policy is never to be politic, but to proclaim every atom of the truth so far as God has taught it to you.

Harmony requires that the voice of one doctrine shall not drown the rest, and it also demands that the gentler notes shall not be omitted because of the greater volume of other sounds. Every note appointed by the great minstrel must be sounded; each note having its own proportionate power and emphasis, the passage marked with forte must not be softened, and those with piano must not be rolled out like thunder, but each must have its due hearing. All revealed truth in harmonious proportion must be your theme.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION FROM SPURGEON

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe the importance of meditation on Scripture.

Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: if we would have wine from it, we must bruise it; we must press and squeeze it many times. The bruiser’s feet must come down joyfully upon the bunches or else the juice will not flow; and they must well tread the grapes, or else much of the precious liquid will be wasted.

So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth, if we would get the wine of consolation from them. Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscle, and the nerve, and the sinew, and the bone, is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life.

SHEPHERD YOUR HOME

Quick results or lifelong faith?

As a dad, I want my kids to put their faith in Christ and be saved, but I also want them to be full of passion for Jesus — I want them to live as sold-out disciples of the risen King. I don’t want them to merely go to heaven later, I want them to know God today.

A few years ago, I started writing a series of family devotionals that prioritized this mindset. God Centered Family isn’t designed to give you “quick results” — it’s a long-term tool to produce lifelong faith.

These devotionals seek to lay three crucial foundations for a life of discipleship:

• Bible Habits — Cultivate a daily habit of Bible reading that will follow your kids for the rest of their lives.

• Bible Knowledge — By reading the ENTIRE Bible every three years, you’ll give your kids a thorough biblical literacy that will protect your kids from false teaching and sin.

• Bible Skills — Don’t make your kids sit through the Bible — train them to engage with the Bible, ask good questions, and dive deep.

If our kids are going to have unshakeable faith in our post-Christian world, they need to be deeply rooted in God’s Word. These three foundations are really important.

In a world of distractions, kids need the Bible more than anything. You are better equipped than anyone to teach it to them. My hope and prayer is that God Centered Family will be a resource to help you along the way.

ONE MORE REMINDER: PREACH JESUS THIS WEEKEND

“When we hear a sermon with no Christ in it, the preaching is spoiled and the presentation of the gospel is entirely ruined.” — Charles Spurgeon