Spurgeon on the Sermon

From a great post over at www.gospelcoalition.com.

Here’s how C.H. Spurgeon summarized what he believed the matter of a sermon should be:

Of all I wish to say this is the sum; my brethren, preach Christ, always and evermore. He is the whole gospel. His person, offices, and work must be our one great, all-comprehending theme. The world needs still to be told of its Saviour, and of the way to reach him. Justification by faith should be far more than it is the daily testimony of Protestant pulpits; and if with this master-truth there should be more generally associated the other great doctrines of grace, the better for our churches and our age.

From Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students (Chapter 5: “Sermons — Their Matter”).

Meditation on Sin & Mercy

Wonderful musing on sin, grace, mercy, and repentance from one of my favorite books and authors:

I am a mass of contradictions; I don’t want to be but I am.

I preach a gospel of pace, but my life isn’t always driven by peace.

I talk about a Jesus who alone can fully satisfy the soul, but I am often not satisfied.

I celebrate a theology of amazing grace, but I often react in ungrace.

And if I rest in God’s control, why do I seek it for myself?

Even in moments when I think I am prepared, I end up doing what I didn’t want to do.

Irritation

Impatience

Envy

Discontent

Wrong talk

Anger

Self-focus

Are not the fruit of the new life, are not the way of grace.

So there is this law operating inside of me.

When I step out with a desire to do good, evil follows me wherever I go.

There is this war that rages inside of me, between a desire for good and sin that is anything but good.

There are times when I feel like a prisoner, held against my will.

I didn’t plan to be mad at the grocery store, but that guy made me mad.

I didn’t plan to be discontent, but it just enveloped me in the quietness of the car.

That discussion wasn’t supposed to degenerate into an argument, but it did.

I am thankful for God’s grace, but there is daily evidence that I’m still in need of help.

That battle inside me cannot be solved by

Theology

Strategies

Principles

Techniques

Plans

Preparation

Helpful hints

Outlines.

I have been humbled by the war I cannot win.

I have been grieved by desires I cannot conquer.

I have been confronted by actions I cannot excuse.

And I have come to confess that what I really need is rescue.

SO, have mercy on me, O God,

According to Your unfailing love

According to Your great compassion

Blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity

And cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions

And my sin is always before me.

I embrace the rescue that could only be found in You.

Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!

- Whiter than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy, Paul David Tripp, pp. 43,44.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! Psalm 51:2

Father thank you for your patience grace. Thank you for being longsuffering. I desire, with everything in me, to live a life of holiness in response to your great grace! To You be the Glory, forever and ever – Amen.