Shepherding with Spurgeon

Weekly Newsletter for Pastors from SpurgeonBooks

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PASTORS (BY SPURGEON)

Sound information upon scriptural subjects your hearers crave for, and must have. Accurate explanations of Holy Scripture they are entitled to, and if you are “an interpreter, one of a thousand,” a real messenger of heaven, you will yield them plenteously. Whatever else may be present, the absence of edifying, instructive truth, like the absence of flour from bread, will be fatal. Estimated by their solid contents rather than their superficial area, many sermons are very poor specimens of godly discourse.

I believe the remark is too well grounded that if you attend to a lecturer on astronomy or geology, during a short course you will obtain a tolerably clear view of his system; but if you listen, not only for twelve months, but for twelve years, to the common run of preachers, you will not arrive at anything like an idea of their system of theology. If it be so, it is a grievous fault, which cannot be too much deplored.

Alas! the indistinct utterances of many concerning the grandest of eternal realities, and the dimness of thought in others with regard to fundamental truths, have given too much occasion for the criticism! Brethren, if you are not theologians you are in your pastorates just nothing at all.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION FROM SPURGEON

Spurgeon was a master illustrator. You can use this illustration in your own preaching to describe free salvation.

“But what is the Physician’s fee?” asks one, who has vivid memories of earthly doctors’ bills. The fee,—oh, the Physician will have you yourself as his fee. When he heals you of your soul-sickness, he takes you to be his forever; but he wants nothing from you. Only trust him, only cry to him, then, and though your soul has abhorred all manner of meat, and you have drawn near to the gates of death, Jehovah-Rophi will cause your disease to vanish in a moment, and your soul shall rejoice in perfect restoration to health.

RESOURCE FOR PASTORS

The next era of Logos

Logos Bible Software is basically my left hand in ministry. I don’t know where I would be without it. And the latest updates to the software make it more useful than ever.

Here are some of my favorite features:

• Smart search — In the past, Logos search has required complicated logic (e.g., “Jesus AND Christ”) and returned simple results. Now, Logos search can accept natural wording (just like you would type into Google) and uses AI to return detailed summaries and responses with citations. These results will even include results from books that are not in your library!! This is huge — every time you ask Logos a question, you’ll be leaning on their entire catalog of biblical and theological resources and getting concise responses that will help you dive deeper when you want to.

• Generate AI summaries of chapters and books directly in Logos — This won’t replace real study, but it can give you an overview to decide if an article will actually be worth your valuable sermon prep time or reviewing insights when returning to a resource.

• Subscription model (sort of) — I don’t love subscription models for apps, but I also understand that subscription models are the only way to make ongoing development and advanced features like AI work. Logos has come up with a really unique hybrid solution for making subscription models work. You still own your books (and you always will), but Logos subscriptions are now available to make advanced features more affordable.

I’m excited about the next era of Logos. Learn more here.

ONE MORE REMINDER: PREACH JESUS THIS WEEKEND

“We are not called to proclaim philosophy and metaphysics, but the simple gospel.” — Charles Spurgeon